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Kyungsoo growls at the short girl in front of him.

She has to get away. It's too dangerous there. She, a mere mortal, wouldn't understand.

But she holds her ground, squatting so that she's a bit lowered. "Shhhhh," she tries to soothe. "It's okay." She extends her hand to his forehead, hesitantly, and begins to the fur behind his ear as if he is a dog.

He gives her a look of vexation, because, really, he's much more than a dog. However, since he is still in his wolf form, he supposes that it looks much more terrifying than he intended. It probably seems as if he's glaring at her with hunger.

Because the next thing she does, is say, "Good boy," cautiously, one hand out to show that she means no harm, and the other rummaging through her bag.

He sniffs the brisk air. She has no weapons in there, but it wouldn't have made sense if she did. If she had weapons, he would either be dead or she would have tried to harm him earlier already.

"Here," she whispers. She practically flings her arm out at him, quivering from the small bit of fear that he can smell, but still completely firm in her resistance to leaving him there.

This time, he snaps at the air. He is incredibly displeased. Did she just...did she just give him some jerky?!

"I know that wolves usually eat fresh meat, but this is all I have, and I can't leave you here like this," she mumbles looking down at her feet.

He exhales loudly through his nose. Seriously. It's not safe for her to be here. 

"And besides, I don't think you'd hurt me. You seem so...intelligent. Almost human." She seems to be in awe.

He has to hold back a snort. 'Jesus,' he thinks.

He steps back, paws creating too much noise, more noise than he normally would on the fallen leaves and dried twigs that covered the forest ground.

She scrambles to her feet, trying to stop him from moving. "No, stop!" she whisper-yells.  "You're hurt."

His eyes flash at her, irritation being the only thing on his mind. Her eyes meet his, and don't turn away. She holds his gaze, her own thoughts every bit as intense as he's feeling.

One of his own heart beats. Two heart beats. Three heart beats.

He can hear how much her pulse quickened, how much more shallow her breathing has become, how she forcibly swallows her spit. He can sense the tangled mess of conflicting emotions she's feeling. He can smell her fear, but he can also smell her determination to help him.

He can also smell her fruity shampoo, but he overlooks that.

Strangely, the shampoo is the thing that keeps him from rushing at her and chasing after her heels, to make her leave. It helps him think, that one part of curbed nature.

At twenty seven heart beats, her eyes are still boring into his. They've turned darker, her breathing deeper, but her heart is still quick, jumping like a jackrabbit.  It is the only thing that gives away that she has not yet calmed down.

She swallows again, and he rips his eyes away from her as he watches tighten as it bobs up and down.

But then, it too, slows back to normal. She's just looking at him, half in amazement, half in concern. Her damn concern. He would be fine soon enough. He doesn't need someone weaker than he is to be worried about him.

Low howls and high keening rips the air, and her pulse begins to race again, trying to stay in first place so that the other contenders don't devour her.

Kyungsoo is more urgent now. The rest of his pack has turned, probably already had hours ago, and with Joonmyeon gone, there is no telling what they are going to do, no way of knowing if they are controlling themselves. Because they aren't as good as Joonmyeon and himself when it comes to restraint yet, having lived only among others like themselves.

Kyungsoo is only a beta, and he cannot control them. They can easily overpower him when they are hungry.

He hears the squeals of small animals to his far left, and his ear rotates, at attention. There are the sound of hooves thudding heavily, and he can feel vibrations, as well as hear, when a body falls a second after.

He hears the snapping of sharp teeth as a jaws tear into the meat of the deer. He hears the scraping the canines make as they clash against bone. He hears the crunch of the bone as it reverberates through the woods. He hears as they drag the corpse, slowly, coming closer and closer towards him.

He almost hisses, but he is a wolf, not a cat, for 's sake. Wolves do not hiss.

His thick fur bristles on his back while he gets more and more anxious. God, he can already smell her, and she's so enticing. His nostrils are flared and breathing, sniffing. Taking in her scent.

Her blood is warm, and is seems so rich. Her strong heartbeats are racing still, and it practically roars in his ears. It's almost agony for him, and he can only imagine what torture it would be for the rest of his pack.

It only deepens his belief that she should leave as quickly as possible. He shakes his head a little, sharply, to clear his mind of any unnecessary, primal thoughts. No matter what, his human side has to conquer his wolf. If he gives in now...

Well, that isn't going to happen.

She has to leave his forest before the others come, before she freezes in the terror of four, feral wolves, eager to tear her apart, limb from limb. She has to leave before Kyungsoo loses control. She has to leave now.

He stands on all four legs, giving no warning before he suddenly rams into her, headfirst, running with her shocked figure draped across his broad back. He runs, lopes, bounds through the forest, trying to find the quickest route back to town while being as silent as he can.

Her fingers tighten in his silky fur as she half registers what he did. That he has been trying to warn her about something. That he's currently saving her neck.

The wind rushes past them, whistling in his ears, as the pads of his paws pound the earth like a heartbeat, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

He rushes past the nymphs, the satyrs, the werecats. He rushes past the banshees, the mirror lake, the merpeople, and the sirens. He rushes past the magic barrier that surrounds the forest on nights such as this one.

Then he skids to a stop, sitting down gently, allowing the girl to fall softly in the grass. He noses her side, making sure that she gets up, wanting her to just go home.

She brushes off her jeans as she rises, throwing him one last look, before spinning on her heels, and jogging easily back into the lights and security. Her ponytail is knotted with twigs and leaves, but it is of no matter. Such trivial things are not his concern.

Before he knows it, he's back in his clearing in the forest, nails scraping the large, flat, slightly elevated rock beneath him. A shudder forces its way through his body as every fiber of his being feels like it's being torn asunder. His fur and nails shrink slowly back into his skin, his frame becomes smaller.

Ragged breathing as he rubs his arms, the only thing that shelters him from the biting cold is a dark t-shirt and a thick pair of black sweatpants. He reaches into the backpack he prepared earlier, pulling on his socks and shoes, wishing that he had packed a jacket.

It's a special day, in both a good and a bad way.

He pauses, glancing up as the last of the Full Moon disappears, and the clouds roll in the sunrise. He smiles softly to himself, but it is tinged with a bit of resentment.

He tells himself, "Happy Birthday, Kyungsoo. Happy ing Birthday."

(A/N)

Happy Birthday Kyungsoo!!!! omg he's so old *sobs* Have a healthy, happy year!!

Also, I'm probably going to end up turning this into a full-fledged fic. I like the concept. And the possibilities.