[CONTENTID1]Cyclamen[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Thirty[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Baekhyun was on the way to his car when it happened. A kind of dread he had never felt before overcame him. It made him stop in his tracks. He scanned the driveway, but his sharp eyes didn’t find any intruders or threats anywhere in the vicinity. Clenching his jaw, he gazed back at his home. Something wasn’t right. He couldn’t explain the eerie sensation, and it made him restless.

He had been about to pick Yoonhee up from work; maybe he should get in his car and ignore the odd feeling. Perhaps the stress of the past weeks was getting to him… After all, he had been in a constant state of alarm due to the vampire attacks all over town. Baekhyun sighed, crossed the gravel path, and approached his car. However, when he noticed movement from the corner of his eyes, he stopped abruptly and turned his head. A dark green plant sprouted from the grass next to him, growing until a flower bud appeared. He furrowed his brow as he watched the odd scene.

“Yoonhee?” he mumbled and looked around. “No, it can’t be.” She wasn’t here, he would have sensed her heartbeat and fragrance, but the flower growing before his very eyes was real, and she was the only one who could do such a thing. The flower revealed its soft pink petals, and Baekhyun realized it was a camelia, Yoonhee’s favorite. He was in awe at the sight—had she sent this to him? He hadn’t known it was possible. Crouching, he took a closer look at the camelia, but when he attempted to touch it, a change occurred. The pink petals lost their vibrant color. It faded as the flower wilted and all of its petals died, floating down on the ground. He caught one last petal, then the camelia was gone as if it had never existed in the first place.

Terror struck him like a sledgehammer. He connected the dots in a blink—the strange sensation from before hadn’t been his imagination. Something had happened to his soulmate, and his instinct had warned him. This camelia must have been her last desperate attempt at contacting him. She was in danger, and he had to act fast.

Had she been dead already, he would have felt it—soulmates always knew when the other half of their soul was gone. So at least he still had a chance to get to her. Baekhyun did not look back. His body shot off like lightning. He didn’t bother taking his car as it would take too long. Reaching her was crucial, it was vital. The shapes and colors of his surroundings blurred as he pushed himself to run faster and faster. The wind ripped at his clothes, but he didn’t care. He pushed himself to his absolute limit and jumped from roof to roof with one destination in mind. She had to be at her flower shop.

Its bright façade caught his eye from afar and he took one last leap from the edge of a roof, landing on the pavement before he rushed through the door. His bloodred gaze scanned the inside of her shop within a second, and as soon as he realized she wasn’t there, he his heels. Relying on his nose, he caught her scent and pursued it. Her fragrance was mixed with the smell of her human employee, so they must have left the shop together. Yoonhee’s faint scent led him through random streets and he wondered why she had come here.

Baekhyun reached a busy street where Yoonhee’s scent disappeared without a trace—she must have entered a car right where he stood. “!” he hissed and looked up and down the street. People stared at him, hurrying past him. The cars’ fumes burned in his sensitive nose as if to taunt him. Too ing slow. His soulmate was gone.

Baekhyun's mind was blazing as he thought of a way to get to her. She had left no trace, it was as if she had vanished into thin air. How the hell should he ever find her at this rate?! Nobody had seen—he paused and his eyes widened a fraction. Then he was running, searching for one particular person. Her scent was easy to miss since it wasn’t as pleasant as Yoonhee’s, but he was a natural at hunting people down, so it merely took him two minutes.

The human woman had collapsed in a heap on the sidewalk, half-hidden behind a parked car. Her shoes were soaked from the rain and her make-up ran over her cheeks, mixing with her tears. Pitiful hiccups, a sniffle. She clutched Yoonhee’s dagger in her shaking hands. The human was too occupied with herself to hear Baekhyun’s approaching footsteps, although the sound of his heavy boots was loud. He stopped right in front of her, staring down at the only witness, the only clue he had. And finally, she raised her head. The horror he read in her gaze confirmed his suspicion—she had seen something… and it must have been gruesome, too much for an ignorant human to handle.  

“You’re… Baekhyun? Y-Your eyes!” She hyperventilated and looked like she was about to vomit. “They’re just like his.”

“What?”

She pressed her hand on . “He a-and that thing had red eyes too… Are you a monster just like them?”

“Get up, we need to talk,” Baekhyun demanded. When she didn’t react fast enough, he clicked his tongue, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up. “Listen, I know this is a lot to take in. You don’t know what’s happening and you just experienced something terrible, but you have to get yourself together. Yoonhee’s fate depends on it.”

The woman’s glossy eyes became impossibly wide. “Can you help her?”

His fang dug into his lower lip. “I hope I can, but I need your help. You have to tell me what happened. I need to know exactly what you witnessed.”

She leaned against the brick wall behind her and rubbed her teary eyes. “Yoonhee and I were delivering an order in the neighborhood and on the way back, this thing appeared. It attacked us and she stopped it somehow? I’m not sure what she did, but it suddenly turned to dust. That’s when a man with red eyes appeared. He seemed to know Yoonhee…”

A string of curses left his mouth along with a guttural growl that prompted Siyeon to freeze. She took a deep breath, wondering who the hell her boss really was and why she was acquainted with such weird and dangerous people.

“Yoonhee told me to run, s-so I did. When I heard her scream from afar, I got worried and returned to see if I could help, but she was gone. They were both gone. I don’t know where he took her.”

“Did you hear his name?”

“N-No, but I know what he looks like,” she whispered, full of fear. “Black hair, a dark gray coat… and a very narrow chin. I could… recognize him if I ever saw him again.”

“I see,” Baekhyun muttered, scowling since this didn’t help much. Regardless, he would notify the council and his clan. They had to find Yoonhee before it was too late—she was in mortal danger. Baekhyun was sure that the murderer of her parents was behind this. Since the vampire had recognized Yoonhee, this was the only explanation that made sense to him. Baekhyun was furious. It took all of his strength to hold himself back, otherwise, he might have punched a hole through the wall next to the human.

“Give me her dagger,” he demanded and held out his hand. She hesitated, but the impatience in his tone made her change her mind. He took the dagger, carefully avoiding the blade and only touching its hilt. The pungent stench of wolfsbane and vampire blood hung in the air. His soulmate must have hurt the bastard—good.

“What is he? A-And what are you?” the human stuttered.

Baekhyun figured he might as well tell her the truth—it was too late for damage control anyway. “We’re vampires.”

She nodded as if she had expected as much. “What are you going to do now? Will you find her?”

“I won’t rest until I do.”

Baekhyun didn’t have time to waste, so he took his leave. This human was not in any danger, she would survive—Yoonhee on the other hand… What awaited her with the murderer of her parents? He didn’t dare to think about it since it was too horrific. However, Baekhyun already knew what he would do to the bastard if he ever got his hands on him, and it wouldn’t be pretty. Anyone who dared to hurt his soulmate would face his rage. Baekhyun wouldn’t let him get away with this.

Beneath all the anger that originated from his instinct to protect his partner, he was worried. Baekhyun had a sinking feeling in his stomach, fearing that he wouldn’t reach her in time. What if the vampire hurt her so badly that the damage would be irreversible? Even though she had overcome her fear of vampires thanks to Baekhyun’s help, facing the murderer of her family all alone had to be dreadful. Baekhyun wasn’t there to comfort or protect her, and he despised himself for it. He should have been her shield.

Due to his superior speed, he reached his home within minutes and rushed inside, calling everyone’s names. His sudden and hasty arrival alarmed the rest of the clan, even more so when they didn’t sense Yoonhee anywhere even though she should have been home already.

“What happened?” Junmyeon asked the moment he saw Baekhyun’s ferocious glare.

“Yoonhee is gone.” It was only three words, but Baekhyun could hardly verbalize them. His voice sounded like a snarl. “The vampire we’ve been looking for attacked her and her employee while they were at work. I found the human not far from the shop. Yoonhee fought the vampire all alone… I think we’re dealing with the person who killed her parents.”

It was a lot to take in. The vampires at first couldn’t believe it. Shocked silence spread through the room until Yerin broke it. “What? Yoonhee was… abducted? Are you serious? She must be so scared, I can’t even imagine!”

“We have