The next morning…

'Wait, what?'

Chanyeol dug in the bowl in front of him as if it was the most delicious meal he'd ever had, ignoring everyone's eyes on him. 'This is really tasty, D.Oya!' he complimented the Legend who was eyeing him with shock as well.

'You claimed her?' Suho repeated, sounding disbelieving.

'And then you ran away?' Baekhyun sounded equally disbelieving but also pissed.

Chanyeol stuffed his mouth with even more fervor.

'Ugh,' Baekhyun smacked a palm across the table, looking like he'd hit his head on the wood but Chen hooked a finger under his collar so he choked instead but stopped attempting to face plant on the table. 'I thought Tao was bad. Why the hell did you run away???'

Chanyeol mumbled something like 'I panicked' that annoyed Baekhyun even more. Here he was, attempting to build a reputation for his gang as suave and smooth criminals and his wingman practically ditched the girl he'd just claimed because he got ing nervous. What the hell was that?

'Even I know not to do that,' Chen added his own two-bits, making him guilty. He'd panicked, okay?

'She was asking me why my eyes turn red, what the hell was I supposed to say?' Chanyeol defended himself. D.O cuffed him in reply.

'Anything, any freaking thing!' Baekhyun smacked the table again, 'You could've claimed to be a werewolf or an alien or something.'

'Yeah,' Chen nodded vigorously, his newly permed hair bouncing on his head like a poodles', 'Or you could've pulled a Cullen and asked her to tell you what she thought you were. Haven't you seen Twilight?'

''Say it',' Tao imitated gleefully, ''out loud!''

'But she didn't know what he was,' Sehun objected.

'She's a genius, she must've had a working theory,' Baekhyun waved his hand dismissively before fixing Chanyeol with a glare, 'You could've done a lot of things but you don't freaking abandon your mate after claiming her!'

'So irresponsible,' Chen shook his head.

D.O, who'd been leaning against Chen, froze, eyes darting guiltily to Kyra, who'd joined them for breakfast today. She was playing with her food, not apparently interested in the chatter going on around her. Her skin was flushed, like she had a fever and her scent was so potent, it was like someone had stuffed his nose with Kyra-scented buds or something.

He hadn't claimed her so this shouldn't apply to him, right?

She glanced up suddenly and their eyes met, holding for a long moment before she suddenly grimaced. Glancing down, he saw Tiffany's hand brushing against hers and it made him feel worse.

, he was no better.

He was aware of what he'd done, even before Lay had approached him, concern oozing from his pores.

 'She'll be in pain the longer you put it off,' he'd warned D.O when he'd conveyed his intentions of leaving her alone. He hadn't meant to touch her, let alone mark her because he'd honestly wanted to give her the choice to make her own decision rather than forcing his claim on her.

And yet, he'd ended up doing exactly that.

He'd been picking Kris's brain regarding the marking thing but far as he knew, nothing short of actually completing his claim would relieve her. And that meant taking the choice away from her, essentially forcing her to accept him.

Although Kris had suggested…

His eyes snapped to his Shadow's face, gut twisting in denial.

But if it was her choice…

He swallowed, restraining the beast inside him even though his eyes flashed red. Chen glanced at him questioningly, no doubt picking on the sudden drop in his mood but he shook his head, withdrawing his head off his shoulder and straightening, staring down in his plate.

She liked Chen, would probably accept him way more willingly than she'd accept D.O. And given that her memories of him were lost, he knew he stood little chance because she didn't have any residual emotions holding her back.

Could he really do that to her when he knew how she felt about his Shadow? Jealousy rose like bile in his gut but he pushed it back as well, standing up and gathering the plates so the urge to snap something, preferably Chen's neck, wouldn’t overwhelm him.

Chen glanced at him again, eyes serious as if he'd sensed his thoughts but D.O couldn’t be bothered to stay or justify himself. Casting Kyra another glance, he went outside.

………………………………….

Sehun and Raina stared at each other warily, a measure of distrust and a lot of disgust clear on their faces.

'Why do I have to pair with him?' Raina objected, narrowing her eyes and pointing at him, eyes flicking to her teacher.

'Yeah, why her?' Sehun echoed, wrinkling his nose as if she stunk. She glared at him in irritation, he put on the most suffering expression he could, turning to face Yunho as well.

Yunho didn't even look their way, too busy straightening the other couple. Kai had been paired with Hyeoyeon, one of the best dancers they had but it was awkward because both dancers had their own style and together, it wasn't working out.

Raina supposed she could understand why he'd suggested they use random assortment for pairs because otherwise, they always ended up picking people they could work with. 'Individual style is good and everything but in a couple routine, its two people and you need to know how to work with it.'

Unfortunately for her, Sehun was her partner.

It wasn’t that she had anything against him… except that she did. Back when she'd been crushing on Lay, he'd been the one coming in between them because apparently Lay had liked him (although she knew better now, he obviously liked Kris); and now, he didn't let a chance to pass. He was always getting chummy with Tao, snuggling with him when Tiffany refused and always, always gloating whenever she messed something in her dance. Her competition with Sehun was actually more than with Kai because Kai was a whole new level and she didn't want to mess with him.

And now, she had to dance with him. Ugh.

Pouting, she glanced at the doorway wistfully. Why couldn't Yunho be nice like Lay and let Tao join her? He was perfectly capable of doing all the moves and she'd been told, from the couple of times Tao had joined them, that they had great chemistry.

Sehun looked like he'd swallowed a bitter pill, looking disgusted and it offended her because she was not disgusting. He was disgusting.

'Stop dawdling!' Yunho yelled, clapping his hands right beside her ear and making her jump. 'Get cracking, you two!'

Reluctantly, she put her hand on his shoulder as his went to her waist just as reluctantly and they began to move. It was stiff and awkward because neither was looking at the other and after a moment, Yunho was clapping his hands again, telling them to stop.

'Your partner is not over there…' he jabbed a finger in the direction of the door, 'look at him. You want to be intimate. I want emotion, feeling, I want to see you two connect. Now stop looking like robots and dance.'

She supposed there was nothing to it and bracing herself, she looked up at him. He was still looking like he'd swallowed a bitter pill and it was annoying as hell but Yunho was watching so she forced herself to smile. Sehun returned it with a grimace of his own and they moved in time to the music.

'Better. Keep going…' Yunho encouraged, 'You're connecting. Just think of him as your favorite celebrity. Or boyfriend or girlfriend, whatever.'

Raina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. As if. Sehun had nothing on Hugh Jackman and absolutely nothing on Tao.

Sehun apparently had no such compunctions. He snorted rudely, 'As if! Tiffany's way prettier.'

'Yeah?' Raina bristled, 'Well… Tao's taller!'

'Is not!' He glared at her.

'Is too!' She glared right back.

'Whatever.' He rolled his eyes and pushing her a little distance away. 'Keep away, I don't like you stinking me up.'

'Excuse me?' she shrilled, irritated. Ugh, Tiffany was a saint to put up with him.

'Tao's an idiot, falling for you,' Sehun retorted. The urge to hit him was so strong, she could actually feel her fingers tingling but she didn't think Tiffany would appreciate that.

'I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that,' she told him, closing her eyes so she didn't have to see his face. 'If you promise to stay quiet, I'll not kick your balls.'

Sehun snorted rudely again but stepped back discretely. She thought she heard him mutter something about her being too tall for him to even pretend she was Tiffany but ignored it in favor of conjuring an image of Tao.

A small smile tugged on her lips, earning a 'gross' from Sehun and a kick to his shins.

'Shush,' she quieted him, 'and focus on the movement.'

She didn't open her eyes again, trying to hold Tao's image in her head – the way he looked with his hair falling into his eyes as it was wont to, the kitty curl corners of his mouth, the distinctive nose and eye-bags, his beautiful smile, the heated look in his eyes when he held her close while they danced – and let it guide her feet.

By the time it ended, Sehun was thoroughly creeped out by the smile on her face and absolutely irritated that she'd stepped close enough for her scent to travel over him.

'Ugh, you've contaminated me!' he complained, pushing her away like she was infectious. 'Now I smell like you, ugh!'

She didn't respond, reluctant to part from the fantasy of Tao but Sehun's grumbling was too jarring and eventually, she opened her eyes to glare at him. 'Will you shut up?'

He was sniffing at his arms, mouth turned down in a frown and looking like he'd smelled dead fish, even turning a little pale before throwing her a dirty look and stalking off with an annoyed huff.

'It's not like you smell any better!!!' she yelled after him, resisting the urge to chuck her bag at his head. He just had to go and ruin her daydream.

Kai snickered quietly where he was bent down, stuffing his gym clothes in before straightening.

'It's not funny.' Raina told him, yanking his can of deodorant and spraying it all over herself, feeling self-conscious. She had the next class with Tao and if she stunk so badly, she couldn't possibly sit next to him. How embarrassing.

'It is though,' he chuckled, ducking to avoid her punch before looking at her seriously. 'You don't stink – he's just overreacting.'

'Really?' She asked in a small voice.

'Really,' Kai nodded affirmatively, heading towards the exit. Raina fell in step with him. 'It's just that our noses are more sensitive and you know how Sehun is about mixing his scent with anyone other than Tiffany.'

'I see,' she nodded with relief. Then the perfume around her registered and she made another face. Great, so now she'd put on men's deodorant for no reason.

Kai patted her shoulder consolingly before jogging away and Raina trudged off to class.

………………………………

Tiffany didn't know what had gotten into Sehun but she wasn't going to complain. Not when he was such a scrooge when it came to romance, despite his insistence on nightly snuggling.

She buried her head into his shirt, rubbing her face all over his chest and sighing contentedly. The rumbling underneath her fingers indicated he was doing the same and then, his hands fell on her back, pulling her closer into the hug.

She resisted the urge to melt into a puddle at his feet – his ego was big enough, thank you very much – and wrapped her arms around his waist. His chin rested on the top of her head, hers nestling into the crook of his neck as he seated himself on the window ledge and she stepped closer so they were completely entwined.

He'd just come stomping into the class, sweaty from dancing and ill-tempered, grabbed her hand and dragged her away, ignoring her demands about where he was taking her – not that she minded, she was just curious – and the scandalized looks thrown their way.

He'd pulled them into an isolated corner and before she could ask what was going on – more like demand he explain himself – he'd grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her like he was starving.

To say her brain short-circuited was putting it mildly. It probably went through a huge power outage, running on nothing but the feeling of Sehun's mouth against hers. It was mind-blowing.

Then, he'd proceeded to pull her into a tight hug but not before loosening a couple of buttons of his shirt, making her gulp because… well because. She couldn't even complain that they were missing class because the class could go to hell, she liked where she was right now.

She felt very much like a content kitten, almost purring when his fingers started carding through her hair, his other hand running up and down her back as if he couldn’t stop himself from touching her.

She knew he liked it when her hair was mussed – he'd confessed, after she'd bugged him for an entire hour, that he'd because he liked messing her hair – so it didn't really surprise her that his fingers started pulling the pins out of her hair, making it fall over her shoulders. Since he was being suddenly so demanding, she was going to let it go.

But then, he pulled a strand close to his nose and started sniffing it and okay, this was where she drew the line.

She pulled back. 'Sehun, what the hell?'’

His eyes were closed, forehead wrinkled in a frown as he took another breath, the light hair tickling his nose because it twitched. She knocked on his head. 'What's gotten into you…?' He didn't respond.

'Ya!' She snapped, 'Stop sniffing me!'

He ignored that as well, pulling her head back against his chest and putting a hand up to stop her from backing off. She struggled for a bit before giving up – it wasn't like she actually minded it, he was just being weird.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. 'I'm yours,' his voice was low, 'and no one else's.'

Since when had he turned into such a sweet talker? She buried her head against him even more contentedly than before. 'And I'm yours,' she responded, feeling a silly smile tug on her lips.

He pushed her back, making her whine because his chest was nice but he held her back with one arm, looking her full in the face. She was surprised to notice he looked upset. 'No, I'm yours.' He repeated, as if clarifying something.

'I know,' she replied slowly, wondering what he was getting at. 'You're mine and I won't let anyone else touch you.'

He nodded, 'I shouldn’t smell like anyone else either.'

'Okay, now you're creeping me out.'

She knew he'd been offended when she'd accidentally mixed Minho's scent with hers but what…oh.

'Who was it?' She demanded, suddenly irritated. If anyone had tried to get their filthy claws anywhere near her man… she'd forgiven that dancer girl because it had been his showcase but no way was she putting up with that sort of crap from anyone else. Ooh, she'd claw her hair off…

Her ferocity seemed to soothe him. He pulled her back into a hug, patting her back as she huffed angrily against him. 'Relax,' he sounded amused and utterly satisfied, 'it was just Raina.'

'I don't care!' she declared angrily, tightening her arms around him to get even closer to him. 'I'll still claw her hair off!'

He laughed at that while she grumbled out irritated threats. What was Raina even doing, touching him?

'We had to dance together,' he sounded like it was the most disgusting thing in the world; it gave her erse satisfaction. She hummed noncommittally before turning her head to plant a quick kiss on the exposed sliver of skin between the parted collar, then one on his collarbone before moving up.

She was breathless when they parted, both because he'd stolen it and because of the intense look in his eyes. Heavens only knew how much she'd craved being looked at like she was someone special – her string of bad relationships had been nothing but a chase after this elusive look – and to have it now directed at her from the man she loved more than life…

'Ya, don't turn on the waterworks!' He sounded part amused, part baffled.

'Idiot,' she sniffed, wiping her eyes, 'insensitive jerk.'

'You love me.' He bragged, back to his normal self.

'Whatever.' She rolled her eyes, pulling out of his embrace – smirking when he seemed reluctant to let go – and turning around.

A familiar face peeking around the corner caught her eye, giving her a pause. 'Lily?'

……………………………………

Rose couldn't even claim to be surprised when she came to and found herself hunkered down in foliage facing the Black Pearl. Whatever that thing inside her was, it always ended up bringing her here.

She just hoped that's all she was doing when she out. Leo's police friend, Hongbin, had dropped by yesterday and they'd been talking about some disturbing events taking place in the neighborhood and Leo had cast this worried, thoughtful look in her direction that had made chills run down her spine.

Was she responsible for those things? They'd found one man almost mauled to death and he swore he'd been attacked by an animal. But his wounds were inflicted by a human, possibly female… and she'd woken up with bloodied hands, nails clogged with torn flesh and had almost thrown up, worried sick about what she'd done. She was glad to know the man was alive but how long until she actually killed someone?

She could tell Leo was thinking the same when he'd tucked her in later that night, making sure to lock the window and telling her to be very, very careful about who she met with. It was almost as if he knew that she often didn't get home until after sunrise and she'd seen Xiumin return to his home from wherever he went at night.

Today was the same. She'd woken up, completely unaware of how she'd ended up here no matter how hard she tried to remember, waiting for Xiumin to return. He'd come in some time before sun was up, accompanied by someone else this time.

And it was this someone else who'd led her here.

Because there was this strange sense of familiarity inside her when she looked at him, the high cheekbones and curly hair beckoning her. She didn't know if she'd seen him before but he certainly felt familiar and her curiosity got the better of her.

So when Xiumin went upstairs and the other man started heading away, she followed him, making sure to keep in the shadows.

He went inside a double-storey building and she'd wondered if that was the end of it. She hadn't left, speculating if she could sneak in to see where he went but twenty or thirty minutes later, he re-emerged, this time with a group of people.

She wondered if they were friends of Lily's. When Rose had woken up, it had been in an unfamiliar place and she'd been scared, body uncoordinated and completely lost. Lily had found her crouching beside the bed a couple of hours later and she vaguely recalled other people coming in before they'd gone away, leaving her alone with her sister.

She'd been taken to the hospital and then, Leo had shown up and taken her home with him. She only remembered Xiumin because he'd accompanied them through the procedure and Lily had quietly told her he was her boyfriend.

She'd gotten caught up with the medical procedures to help her rehabilitate afterwards and then, Lily had broken up with him and they hadn't gone back.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the increase in commotion and looking around, she was surprised to find the number of people in the area. A glance around told her she was at the university and due to the rush, she hurried out of the shadows, taking care to pat herself clean so she looked presentable and following after the group more closely.

She bumped into a girl who was hurrying away, quietly snicking her university card and flashing it to enter the place. She'd never been inside any university because… well, she wasn't the studious one, that was Lily. She'd been happy to polish her expertise with henna and Leo had agreed to open her a tattoo shop, so she could contribute to the family as well.

Once inside though, she lost sight of the group and wandered around, admiring the open, large vista, the bustle of students coming and going and peeked inside the classes with curiosity. She got a few strange looks and a glance in window glass showed her why. Her hair was utterly unruly, the curls flying away as they were wont to, her clothes messy from her nightly endeavors; the dark circles under eyes were made more prominent by the kohl she'd put in last night and the tattoos on her arms from where she'd been practicing with henna last night made her look like a shifty character.  

Self-conscious – this was obviously a place for spiffy high class people, not people like her – she hid herself into the shadows once again, quietly observing the people coming and going with fascination.

Her cellphone beeped – Leo had bought her one when she'd woken up as a gift, so she could contact people when she needed – and a glance downwards told her it was from him, asking where she was. She quickly typed a reply and the resumed observing the people.

A tall man stomped past, looking angry and irritated and she followed him curiously with her eyes. He was quite good-looking but she was curious because he'd been among the group she'd followed here. A couple of minutes later, he was stomping back, this time with a girl in tow and they disappeared around a corner.

She stared after them before getting up to leave – what was she even doing here, right? She'd hand the card to the guard, tell him she'd found it dropped somewhere and head back home. Leo must be worried and in her state, she shouldn’t be around so many people. What if she…

As if in response to her thoughts, a weight pressed against her brain – like there was too much blood inside her head. She shook it, heart suddenly jumping into . No, not here please.    

She swallowed, directing her feet in the opposite direction than the voice inside her demanded, struggling to push the weight back, stop it from taking over her consciousness.

No, the childish voice resisted, still trying to take over, a sense of dread filling her, must do it or the bad person will hurt us…

Must do what? She wondered wildly before shaking her head, speeding up until she was almost jogging away; her vision was tunneling and she knew it would be mere moments before she was taken over again and she needed to get away. What if she hurt someone else?

Despite her efforts, she barely made it to the end of the corridor before her vision went completely dark and then, she knew no more.

………………………………….