[CONTENTID1]Black Rose[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Twenty-Two[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

The next morning began uneventfully… at least until Yoonhee entered the kitchen. If she had foreseen what was to come she would have fled the house quicker than a vampire could run. But she was still floating on cloud nine while she remembered Baekhyun’s confession. The dreamy smile plastered on her face was the first thing Chanyeol noticed when she entered the room. Next was her scent which closely resembled Baekhyun’s.

The red-haired vampire sported the most obnoxious grin in the whole world. “Good morning, Yoonhee,” he snickered. “Did you sleep well? How was your night?”

Startled by the question, she stared at him. “My night?” She blushed as her thoughts strayed to her slightly naughty memories of last night. “Why are you asking?”

Chanyeol cracked up and laughed so loudly that he attracted other clan members who entered the kitchen to see what was happening. Kyungsoo, Yixing, and Yerin joined a very amused Chanyeol.

“What’s going on?” Yixing asked in confusion, but he received his answer when a suspicious new smell reached his nose. “Oh, I see. About time,” he commented and left the kitchen as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Kyungsoo gave Yoonhee a grin and a thumbs-up before he left as well. Yerin however wore a frightening expression on her face and wouldn’t let her friend off the hook easily.

“Yoonhee baby,” she drawled. “Tell me, did you have fun? Did he behave well?”

“What are you talking about?” Yoonhee asked suspiciously. She wasn’t asking about that, was she?

“Your bond is sealed and your scent has changed,” Chanyeol smirked. “Did you think we wouldn’t notice?”

Yoonhee fell from cloud nine and hit the ground hard. “W-Wait, it’s that obvious?” she squeaked.  

“Of course!” Yerin giggled. And that was when Yoonhee realized they would tease the hell out of her and Baekhyun. She shouldn’t have expected anything less of Yerin. “Now tell me the juicy details!”

“No,” she groaned. “Please no. Spare me.”

Lured in by the commotion in the kitchen, Baekhyun joined them. His eyes jumped from a wheezing Chanyeol to a giggling Yerin and landed on his exasperated soulmate. “Baekhyun!” Yoonhee whined. “Save me!”

“What the hell is going on?”

“Can I at least see your soulmate mark?” Yerin begged.

“Okay,” Yoonhee grumbled, pulling at her shirt to unveil the dark mark above her heart. Its elegant outlines caught Yerin’s eye immediately.

“A musical note? Aww, it suits you and Baekhyun,” she smiled. “Congratulations. I’m glad your bond is sealed. It must be a relief.”

“It is,” Yoonhee said.

“By the way, Yoonhee, you haven’t answered my question yet,” Yerin smirked. “Did you have fun last night?”

“I’d love to hear your answer, buttercup.” Baekhyun’s smirk was full of mischief and infuriatingly confident.

Yoonhee’s cheeks reddened. She put her hands on her hips and gave him the best pout she could muster. “Stop teasing me, Baek. And yes, I did have fun! Are you happy now?”

“Indeed,” he chuckled and left a kiss on her cheek.

After breakfast and a whole lot of teasing from Yerin, Baekhyun continued working on a project he needed to finish for a client and Yoonhee used the amazing weather to her advantage, heading outside to the garden. The sun greeted her when she left the mansion and walked around it. She shielded her eyes with her hand and let them wander over trees, bushes and flowers. In the distance, she spotted Kyungsoo’s head. It peeked out from behind a few bushes. With a smile on her lips, she approached him to see what he was doing.

“Hi Kyungsoo. May I join you?” She had brought her spellbook and held a blanket in her other hand.

“Sure,” the vampire smiled. They were in a secluded part of the garden where she liked to go when she wanted to practice spells. Kyungsoo wore casual clothing—a button-up shirt and jeans—and kneeled on the grass next to an impressive arrangement of flowers. Their blossoms tentatively opened, sensing the warmth of Yoonhee’s magic.

“You’re not even doing anything, and they start blooming. I wish I had such an ability,” Kyungsoo chuckled.

“This is why I’ve decided to become a florist. Growing flowers is easy when you’re a green witch,” she answered while she settled down on the grass, searching for a specific chapter in her spellbook. The old, worn-out pages felt comforting under her fingertips. Some of them contained little notes with advice she had received from her parents. She didn’t want to forget any of what they had taught her, so she had written it down.

“That reminds me, what about your shop? Will you reopen it soon? It’s been closed for a while.”

“I would love to,” she smiled wistfully before her eyes lost their shine, “But as of right now, I have other things to worry about.”

“Aeri.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, one of his fangs showing when he scowled. “I’m dreading her party… It’s hard to say what she’s up to, but we all know how obsessed she is with Baekhyun.”

Yoonhee couldn’t help but cringe in disgust. “She better leave him alone.”

“Why don’t you place a curse on her?” Kyungsoo joked to which she laughed.

“I can’t cast spells of this kind, Kyungsoo. Curses are only used by dark witches. Their magic is dangerous—they need to be careful not to succumb to its sinister power. My parents have always told me to stay away from evil spells.”

“Interesting. I didn’t know your own magic could work against you.”

Yoonhee shrugged. “It mostly happens when using dark magic and fire magic—the latter is very destructive when it gets out of control.”

“Have you met someone who uses fire magic?”

“Yes. Many years ago, I met a friend of my parents, but I don’t remember his name or where he came from,” she explained. Her attention was captured by a beautiful butterfly that landed on a blossom nearby. “Most witched and wizards hide even from their own kind. It’s very, very rare to meet one of them.”

“Doesn’t that make you feel lonely?” he asked carefully while he watered a set of peonies.

Surprise flickered over her features. “I guess… it used to?  I was lonely after I lost my parents, but not anymore. I found a new home now. All of you have been so welcoming towards me. Loneliness is the last thing on my mind.”

Kyungsoo didn’t answer, instead giving her a cheerful smile that made his eyes glimmer.

“It’s over there, see?” Yoonhee pointed to a parking lot near the woods that marked the start of a popular hiking trail. Two days had passed since she and Baekhyun had become a couple, and she had been thrilled to share the news with her friends Chaewon and Mark. Chaewon had proposed to meet up soon since she wanted to know who her friend’s new soulmate was.

Yoonhee was curious as to how this would play out since vampires weren’t exactly known for getting along with werewolves and vice versa. Baekhyun hadn’t seemed bothered by her suggestion, but she still wondered whether he and her werewolf friends would like each other.

She spotted Chae and Mark next to their car. They must have arrived moments ago. Yoonhee’s heartbeat spiked in excitement, prompting Baekhyun to hide a little grin. Her enthusiasm was contagious and too adorable to overlook. He parked the car and watched as his soulmate jumped out of the car to greet her friends while he followed at some distance.

“Yoonhee!” Chaewon called and hugged the young witch. “I haven’t seen you in ages! How are you?”

“Perfectly happy! I’m so glad you had time for this. It’s great to meet you.”

Mark smiled at them, giving Yoonhee a nod when their gazes met. Baekhyun came to stand next to his soulmate, studying the werewolves with curiosity. He had to get used to the slightly off-putting smell accompanying them.

“Oh, right! I should introduce you,” Yoonhee sputtered, overflowing with child-like excitement. She took Baekhyun’s hand and smiled at him. “This is Baekhyun, my soulmate. And these are Mark and Chaewon, my friends.”

“Nice to meet you. She’s told me a lot about you,” Chaewon grinned.

“Only good things, I hope,” Baekhyun joked, prompting her to laugh.

“Of course. From what I heard, you’re a perfect match. Yoonhee’s always in a good mood when she calls me to talk about you.”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows rose and his gaze landed on Yoonhee. “You call her to talk about me?”

A laugh escaped Mark. “Hey, you know how women are. They’ve probably shared all kinds of embarrassing secrets with each other.”

“Yes, and that includes you,” Chae added cheekily. “Don’t think I would forget about the time you growled at the neighbor’s cat.”

Her soulmate cleared his throat and failed to hide his embarrassment. He looked like a kicked puppy, and a little sulky too. “Why don’t we go for a walk like we planned and stop talking about this?”

Chaewon giggled. “Fiiine.”

Before any of the men could say anything else, she grabbed Yoonhee’s hand and tugged her towards the forest. The women walked ahead together and disappeared into the woods, enjoying their serenity and the sunny weather. The distant sound of their voices faded. This left Baekhyun alone with Mark who opted to walk next to the vampire, matching his step. The black-haired wolf shot the women up ahead a glance, making sure Yoonhee couldn’t overhear what he was about to say.

“I need to thank you.”

Baekhyun’s astonishment was reflected in his blue eyes when he gazed at the werewolf. “Why?”

“Because you showed up at the right time and triggered a much-needed change. Before you met her, Yoonhee was stuck in a toxic relationship, and no matter what Chaewon did to help her, she was too scared to separate from her boyfriend. But when you appeared, she found the courage to leave,” Mark explained. “Chae and I were worried about her, but after she met you, she became a whole different person. Happier