D.O was watching the camera feed silently, taking in the empty rooms and corridors, eyes flickering between screens before settling on the report in front of him.

It was the medical report of the man who'd been mauled in the animal attack a few weeks ago… who had died. The cause of death listed here was infection and gangrene but according to inside sources, the doctors were still confused; the tissue culture had revealed an alarming number of saprophytic bacteria which would explain the rapid decay but there was something else too and they had been unable to identify it.

D.O was sure it was the infectious goo that turned abbies' touch lethal to humans, which meant that there was an abby on the loose and he suspected it was the same abby Tao and Raina had encountered in the university.

It was safe to assume, though, that they weren't dealing with their average brainless abby.  

For several reasons: a) she was human – both because of Tao, Raina and Tiffany's description and because the reports of this attack indicated that the guy had been mauled by a human, likely female or a young boy; b) she was quick, fast enough to not only avoid Tao's attack, knocking him down instead, but also to evade capture; and c) she obviously had more powers than the abbies and abogs that Evil usually sent, as indicated by her counter of Tao's attack and the fact that the Legend's powers didn't affect her.

The strange creatures in their last battle had come from the very depths of Abyss and they had powers like that – which meant that she was one such creature herself or, as seemed more likely, possessed by something which gave her superhuman powers.

Evil…?

Evil seemed unlikely though because neither Lay nor Kyra had even had the slightest vision; they would've warned the Legends. Besides, their battle had to have left him depleted of power as well – opening that many portals and transposing Abyss on Earth was no joke… and with Kris's killing spree, picking out Evil's clones and killing them off meant that he was weakened even further. D.O doubted Evil would risk himself again, so soon after their battle, especially since they had two more members at full power and everyone's powers were functioning well.

No, this was definitely something else.

'Ya, why're you frowning so hard?' Chen's voice floated over before the door opened as he stepped inside.

'Nothing…' D.O muttered, back tensing, 'Just thinking.'

'Planning world domination again?' He joked, opening his wardrobe and pulling out clothes. D.O swiveled in his chair, training his eyes on his Shadow's back.

He still wasn't sure if his suspicions about Chen were true – he hoped they weren't but…

But Chen was still hiding himself from D.O.

And that wasn't all. There were many times where he'd disappear for hours at a time with no proper explanation about where he had been or what he'd been doing; he was inconsistent about his reports and check ins and more casual about his duties than he'd ever been before. Which was quite unlike the Legend because Chen was a jokester but never one to ignore his obligations.

And then, there was the incident.

It was a small thing, really, but it had made D.O's ears prick and his instincts kick in.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun had been playing around, like they normally did, while they were helping shift the furniture back into the HQs before they moved in and somehow, they'd ended up double-teaming on Chen, wrestling him around until they ended up pinning him to the floor, with his wrists locked between Chanyeol's and Baekhyun sitting on his legs.

D.O had only a moment in which his mind clicked and went .

The next moment, Chen went bat crazy, trying to buck the Legends off himself, panic written clearly on his face and yanking so hard, he actually hurt himself. When he sat up, his face was pale, breathing hard and he'd curled in on himself, cringing from touch as his friends tried to comfort him. D.O had shooed them away – more like thrown them out – before returning to his side and just rubbing his back comfortingly.  

He hadn't looked up and D.O had left his Shadow alone to get his bearings. He'd seemed alright when he'd come back, smiling brightly and laughing it off when the other two apologized profusely and Chanyeol blubbered guiltily, Baekhyun dragging Lay with him to give Chen a healing feel-good hug.

None of the others seemed to have noticed how his eyes had flashed a dull red when he had struggled, or the black marks which had appeared briefly over his face and arms before he'd ducked his head, curling in on himself… almost as if he was hiding it. 

D.O wanted to believe it was his imagination but it wasn’t leaving him alone. And it made him feel terrible because what the hell was he thinking, suspecting his own brother, his own Shadow???

Sadly, the emotional upset was not enough to stop his brain from questioning everything that was in front of him. He sighed, feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. How could he ask him to help him with Kyra if he couldn't even trust him?

Chen glanced over his shoulder, taking in his depressed pout. 'You okay?'

'Mmm…' D.O mumbled.

He turned around to look at him fully. 'Wanna talk about it?'

D.O blinked. 'Huh?'

'Whatever's bothering you… want to talk about it?' Chen asked, eyes sincere and concerned. D.O eyed him suspiciously, making the Legend break into one his large grins. 'What? Suspicious of me now? Dude, you need to trust people around you more…'

He didn't notice D.O's grimace at his words as he turned back, yapping over his shoulder. Chen was right – if he couldn't trust his brothers, his Shadow, who else was there for him?

Ignoring the gut feeling that told him he was missing something – he'd been wrong before – D.O decided to talk. After all, Chen and the security issues weren't the only things bothering him.

'I…' he began quietly and Chen dropped his clothes, moving to sit down on the edge of his bed, 'did something terrible…to Kyra.'

'Oookaay…' Chen dragged the word out, 'What did you do?'

'I…' D.O gulped, feeling nervous, 'I gave her the beast's mark.'

Chen hummed before straightening in shock. 'Wait, what?'

D.O didn't say anything, letting the silence speak for itself. Chen shook his head. 'Are you sure? I mean, is it even… possible?'

It was pretty damn obvious by now that everything they'd thought was a myth or campfire story held more a measure of truth than anything else. He nodded dejectedly. 'Very.'

'But…' Chen's eyes bugged, 'that means…'

'She can't touch anyone,' D.O bit his lip, trying not to squirm under Chen's surprisingly hard glare.

'That's not all, is it?' he accused and D.O hung his head guiltily. 'Dammit D.O, she'll be in heat until you claim her!' 

The beast's mark – the bite he'd given Kyra – was considered something of a low blow, a way to basically force the mate into accepting the beast and something frowned upon because it was a breach on the mate's right of self-determination. Something D.O had been struggling hard to avoid and yet, look where he'd ended up.

He hit the armrest angrily, almost breaking the wooden piece with his power but Chen didn't look sympathetic. 'When did it happen?' he demanded and D.O cringed internally. It had been almost a month, maybe more…

'Dude what the ?' Chen snapped, annoyed, 'Why haven't you claimed her? What're you waiting for?'

D.O bit his lip, his mind flashing to the talk he'd had with Kris – about how, theoretically, it was possible for the Shadow to…

'Oh no, no way in hell!' Chen stood up indignantly, mouth pursed in a thin line, 'She's your mate, I am not touching her.'

'I am not forcing myself on her!' D.O countered, now equally irritated. Chen was acting like this was easy for him, having to stay away from her when her scent was so potent, so filled with arousal that all he could think of was ravishing her. 'She already hates me enough…'

Chen shut up at that, staring at him disbelievingly. 'Hates you?'

'She forgot me, Chen,' D.O snapped, trying not to show how much it had hurt him, 'what does that tell you?'

'That she was traumatized,' Chen countered, calming down. 'Which is understandable because she ing died, you ! I don't see how you-'

'She's afraid of me, okay? I can smell the fear on her, the moment I'm near her,' D.O lowered his voice, jaw clenching. 'She thinks I'm an animal, always growling and snarling like that and I went and proved it, biting her like one.'

Chen's eyes softened a little. 'That… might be so but it doesn't…'

'I've forced her enough already, I'm not forcing my claim on her.' D.O's tone was final. It was true after all – he'd forced her to come along with him to Oulphesden, forced her stay, forced his company on her when she hadn't wanted to meet him at all and then…

The blow to his head was hard and unexpected, making tears spring into his eyes. 'OW!'

Chen grabbed his collar, yanking him up and shaking him hard – the element of surprise was enough that D.O didn't engage his powers and that gave his Shadow the perfect opportunity to give him a sound beat up.

'Get you head out of your !' Chen snarled, eyes flashing red… and gold – bright crimson of the beast and something in D.O's heart settled. 'She's your mate! She might be afraid, she might get scared or worried but that's understandable because she's only human – but she's not going to hate you. The way you go around, cornering her and growling in her face is enough to scare anyone. But have you tried being a little more, I don't know, normal and actually talking to her? Huh?'

D.O clenched his hands around Chen's wrists, trying to pry them off, the aura of the Beast slipping out because he didn't like being talked to like this. It wasn't something that had ever worked on Chen, though and it didn't work now. He rolled his eyes, tightening his hold and stepping even closer, despite the shadows seeping out and rising in an intimidating smoke around him.

'Don't give me that crap, you know I’m right.'

D.O glanced away, a tick working in his jaw. Chen jerked his collar loose, stepping away and running a hand through his hair. 'Is that why you stopped going to your sessions?'

D.O didn't say anything but he didn't need to. Chen shook his head, 'I never expected you to shirk your responsibilities like that.'

'Trying to be considerate isn't…'

'This isn't consideration.' Chen stared at him, 'You're hurting her the more you delay it. And my point remains, you haven't even tried talking to her – maybe she changed her mind. You're a good guy, even if you go around scaring people. Or who knows, maybe her memories came back.'

D.O shook his head, 'Impossible.' Would she keep avoiding him if she'd remembered just what she meant to him? What they had together?

'Geez, for a master planner, you're sure an idiot.' Chen tutted, smacking his head again and making him snarl. 'Even if she remembers now, it's not going to be easy, approaching you after she's spent months trying to run in the opposite direction. And frankly, you're not the most approachable person around.'

D.O glared at his Shadow and Chen glared right back at him, looking indignant. A reluctant smile broke out on his face, tugging his lips into a small smirk before it widened into a full-fledged, heart-shaped smile.

Chen shuddered, 'Dude, that's creepy!' 

D.O shook his head, giving his Shadow a friendly pat on the back – which made his knees buckle with the force – before heading back to his seat and swiveling it around.

He'd really needed this dressing down and nobody, not even his alpha, could get to him like his own Shadow. After a long time, it felt like he really had his Shadow back and it satisfied something deep inside him, a feeling of contentment settling in his gut.

Chen was right, he hadn't exactly done anything to help his case with Kyra and then, he'd acted like an idiot and run away instead of manning up and taking responsibility for his actions.

That was changing now. He would talk to her, like she'd suggested right before he'd bitten her, apologize and ask for another chance to court her properly. Better late than never, right?

'Damn right!' Chen ruffled his hair fondly and D.O growled, irritated that Chen had pried into his thoughts.

'You wanna die?' He jumped out of his seat and Chen yelped, running out of the room; he barely got the living room when D.O caught up to him, grabbing him in a wrestling hold and throwing him on the couch.

Raina and Tao, who'd been snuggling on the said couch, suddenly found their laps full of a squirming Legend and Tao shrieked upon finding D.O, eyes red and beast aura fully engaged, jumping on them. He threw Raina out of the couch unceremoniously but was unable to escape himself, squashed under the combined weight of the now-wrestling Shadows.

Someone had enough sense to pull the furniture out of the way before their antics got too much and before long, all the Legends save Suho, who was no doubt busy with Angel, were embroiled in a violently enthusiastic wrestling match.

Then Baekhyun had the bright idea that they try and one up D.O – who'd engaged his Beast powers by now, eyes glowing red but a friendly-creepy smile on his face, cracking his knuckles and scaring the out of the rest – and before they knew it, everyone was being thrown about.

The girls came out at the commotion and started cheering them on, hooting and catcalling. It had been a while since they'd done something so lighthearted, so frivolous and it was great.

The past few months had been so serious, what with the aftermath of their battle and the constant stress of being on their toes all the time, they totally embraced the chance to fool around.

Kyra stood in the doorway of her and Raina's room, smiling at the silly antics and wanting to join in but with everybody standing in close quarters and dancing around, avoiding physical contact would be impossible. After a couple of minutes, she decided to head back but an incredulous sight caught her attention and she froze, hand resting on the knob, rooted to the spot.

D.O was laughing.

Not the crazed, evil overlord laugh either but a genuine laugh of pure joy as he playfully wrestled with the rest of the Legends. It was…

'Amazing…' she breathed, still caught up.

As if he'd heard her, he straightened at that same instant, eyes clashing with hers. His eyes were filled with mirth and joy before fading into something more intense.

She swallowed, feeling heat rise inside her, the bite in her neck throb insistently – as if his gaze was enough to burn her up – and she could feel herself becoming aroused, a flush climbing up her neck. His nostrils flared as if he'd scented her and his teeth bared into a feral grin.

Before either of them could do anything, however, one of the other Legends hit him in a classic rugby tackle, dragging him to the floor and then, D.O was buried in a mass of invading limbs, loud laughter and groans of pain ringing around.

She hurried back into her room, shutting the door and leaning against it, heart thundering a mile a minute. Behind her closed eyes, a very similar scene was playing out, D.O getting side-tackled by Chanyeol and then dragged away, a part of her remembering that this was when they'd first come back to the HQs.

A wave of nostalgia crashed over her, his smile from then and now merging into something softer and sweeter than anything she'd ever witnessed from the usually cranky Legend.

Unbidden, a vision of herself presenting him with flowers came, accompanied by his soft smile and her gut clenched at the thought of being the one to make him smile like that.

It twisted something deep inside her, making her sad. It felt like she'd lost more than just her memories – she'd lost him, she'd lost what they had together and even though she'd been opposed to the idea at first, it felt like she'd lost the most beautiful part of her life.

Stupid really, considering that she'd been battling with cancer then and literally fighting for her life but somehow, it felt like she'd been a lot happier. Maybe that was why she'd forgotten him… because the thought of leaving him had been too painful.

She should've taken the chance when he'd been chasing after her… maybe if she'd given in to the signals her body was sending her, maybe if she'd trusted herself – and him – some more instead of fighting the attraction…

A drop fell on her hands, followed by another and another before she covered her face and broke down completely.

………………………………….

A/N:

Yet another Kyra/Do focused chapter and I'll admit, they're so much fun to write. I'm glad Chen gave D.O the dressing down because boy it was beginning to annoy me... even though I wrote it. Anyway, this marks the beginning of progress in this couple... I mean, they're both coming to their senses. Also... I hope this gives us some idea about that elusive Abby and touches on some of the other relevant issues. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you think in the comments. Oh and before I leave, Happy Kaisoo Day ... I mean, I know its Nini's birthday but I forgot to wish Satansoo his, so we're celebrating together. Also, I ship :P haha, anyway, I'll see you guys later.