CHAPTER ONE

reathless, Joonmyeon ran through the woods as fast as he could. He had to be faster. He had to get to them.

The leaves hit his face mercilessly, the cold winter burnt his lungs with each painful breath, but somehow he managed to keep going. Every step hurt. It hurt so badly, the wounds on his abdomen and torso made it so hard to move. He could smell them now - it was faint, but the scent of his pack mates was close.

Zitao, Luhan and Yifan. Breathing. Alive.

He could smell their seeping blood, but even from afar, he felt relieved; it did not seem like much. He heard howling, as if many wolves were grieving a terrible loss and it gave his heart a sinking feeling. It went on for God knows how long.

He kept running. He blamed himself for what had happened- he never should have left Zitao go in there all alone. Nevertheless, he had been so happy, so eager now that he finally got a chance to prove himself in battlefield.

There was the sound of pounding in the air. He heard his name called repeatedly.

“Hyung!” it was Sehun, his youngest wolf, “hyung… hyung…”

Joonmyeon woke with a start.

Sehun was leaning over him, a frown etched on his face, “Are you ok? You’re covered in sweat.” Joonmyeon heaved a sigh of relief - he had never been happier of waking up before.

“Yes, I’m fine. It was just a nightmare.”

Sehun nodded, but he still looked preoccupied. “Um, Kyungsoo hyung wanted me to come wake you, he said breakfast was ready.”

“Thanks,” Joonmyeon rolled onto his side, burying his face on Yixing’s already cold pillow, “I’ll be there in a second.”

Sehun sent one last look his way before retreating, shutting the door quietly behind him. Joonmyeon took a deep breath as he laid there, his heart returning to a normal speed. He could have sworn it was real, but the images were already fading from his memory. He vaguely noticed Yixing was already gone, but figured he was out jogging with Lu Han, like usual.

He managed to get up in less than 10 minutes, which was a record. He only did it because he could practically hear Kyungsoo’s nagging voice in his head, saying, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you are not about to miss it."

Still, he only got to his bathroom and started to brush his teeth when Kyungsoo banged on his door and demanded him to go downstairs and eat. Joonmyeon gave up on his bed hair and instead decided to let it be, pulled on his sweatpants and dragged his feet across the floor. It took him a grand total of 5 minutes and 45 seconds to reach the kitchen and an extra 47 seconds to sit down and eat. Saturday mornings were slow and even slower on the winter.

Kyungsoo set a plate full of fried eggs and bacon in front of him and a glass of orange juice. Joonmyeon wolfed down half of his breakfast before Jongin came stumbling in, looking like he had lost a fight to his blanket.

“What happened to you?” Kyungsoo turned to him, “what time did you go to bed last night?”

Jongin yawned in response, leaning down to bury his nose in Kyungsoo’s neck. What a sweet moment, it would be such a shame for someone to ruin it, right?

"Jongin ah, don't you think it is a little too early to be molesting your hyung?" Joonmyeon heard rather than saw Jongdae's entrance, a cheeky smile most likely stuck on his face; at the same time, Chanyeol waltzed in and frowned, "Yah, hands off," he said, tugging Jongin towards him, who stumbled a bit before falling in his mate's arms, where he simply snuggled. Perhaps he fell asleep; you never knew with Jongin.

Kyungsoo sent Jongdae a dirty look but didn't comment and instead just pushed a plate his way, ignoring Jongdae's yelp of surprise when it nearly went crashing to the ground. If Joonmyeon had been more awake, he would have noticed the small, evil smile that graced Kyungsoo's features.

By the time Joonmyeon finished his breakfast, more of the wolves had found their way downstairs. Much to Kyungsoo's despair, Baekhyun was the biggest morning person on the planet, so the moment he sat down he was already pelting story after story, making Kyungsoo’s eye twitch and the vein in his forehead throb.

Yifan had just recently squeezed himself between Zitao and Baekhyun when a tap on the glass doors startled those who weren’t exactly awake yet. Joonmyeon turned in time to see Amber waving frantically at them, shouting something along the lines of “my is freezing!”

Yifan gave one last, longing look at his breakfast before getting up. Even though the young witch accidentally smacked him in the face, he stepped aside to let her in.

“Sorry,” she said dismissively, “but Taeyeon wants you and Joonmyeon in the meeting hall in less than five, and you just know how she can get.”

Joonmyeon immediately got to his feet, not wanting to anger the fairy’s wrath. Sure, she had a small frame and didn’t look threatening at all with that bubblegum pink hair, but she had a fiery temper and wasn’t  someone you wanted on your bad side. He managed to put on his shoes and chugged down the rest of coffee before he remembered he was still technically in his pajamas. Then he noticed the fluffy slippers and cotton pants Amber had on under her coat and decided he didn’t care.

“Did she say why the hurry?” inquired Yifan, already downing what was left of his breakfast (obviously, Zitao and Baekhyun had treated themselves to some extra food).

“Not exactly, but...” Amber chewed on her lip nervously, shooting an uncertain glance at Joonmyeon before she answered, “there are Council agents in there and they don’t look exactly happy.”

If it weren’t for Yixing’s coughing as he choked on a piece of toast, the room would have been in absolute silence. The Council only made personal appearances when the situation was critical.

“We’ll get there as soon as we can” Yifan nodded and Amber turned to leave, not before she threw a curious glance at Yixing, who continued to hack due to the piece of bread lodged on his throat. Clearly, his pack mates cared a whole lot. Joonmyeon felt bad for him, so he reached over and patted his back until his mate could breathe again.

There was silence in the room for a moment before Baekhyun picked up his conversation with Sehun. Leave it to him to shift the mood so easily, Joonmyeon thought fondly.

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The Meeting Hall wasn’t exactly a hall; it was more of a barn-turned-office. On the outside, it didn’t look like much, with double doors painted red and a low ceiling. Nevertheless, on the inside, the floor was made of ceramic and there was a circular table, made to seat nine people. Around the room, where the stables would have been, sat rows of long benches, made for the rest of the Circle. Usually, the room would be alive with chatter, considering the families weren't strangers to each other. This time, though, only the leaders were present.

As usual, Kangta and Boa were huddled over a stack of files, but Joonmyeon noticed the presence of two strangers. One of them was, and this is where Joonmyeon’s day started to get weird, a cat.

The girl was tall (or at least she seemed tall, standing next to her companion), with black, fluffy cat ears on top of her head and a long tail that swished in the air. The other was smaller, with yellow eyes and greenish skin. It wasn’t glaringly obvious, and Joonmyeon almost deemed her one of those elves that didn’t hide their real appearance until she blinked sideways and Joonmyeon in a sharp breath because, as far as he knew, dragons were extinct.

Instead of commenting, he simply sat at his usual spot, next to an equally confused looking Qia. The witch seemed deep in thought, but she raised her eyes when he sat down and even offered one of her easygoing smiles that calmed everyone in a three-mile radius.

“Good, you’re all here,” said Kangta, not looking the last bit glad, “I realize this is sudden, but there are important matters at hand. These are Phoenix and Isabella, two Council agents that were sent here to brief you on what’s going on.”

The cat girl then took a step forward and nodded her head towards Kangta, her tail wrapping around her waist, “Good morning, my name is Phoenix, this is my colleague Isabella and we are here because the Council is concerned that there might be a war coming.”

Though she remained impassive, Joonmyeon noticed that her eyes were anxiously taking in the reaction from all the representatives in the room. There was the expected shock, except for Kangta and BoA, who surely already knew why the meeting was taking place.

“Approximately five years ago, the body of a hiker was found at the bottom of the Alps,” she began, “the limbs had been found scattered around the torso, but the head was never found. The police believed it had been the work of a bear, but Switzerland’s inner circle reported that the marks left behind were far too sharp.” She grabbed one of the files in front of BoA and pulled out a picture, “Judging by the size of the bites, we think it was a shifter."

She passed the picture around, and Joonmyeon wasn’t sure if he wanted to see it, considering how all of his companions were hissing away. By the time it got to him and Yifan, he could barely keep his breakfast in. It was too gruesome to describe.

“However,” Phoenix continued, “the case was written off as an animal attack so we couldn’t continue digging in. Two months later, a family in China went missing from their home and, once again, the case went cold after a while. This time, their circle thinks it was a cannibal, because the job had been so messy.”

Once more, she took a picture from a folder and gave it to Yunho, who gave it one look and passed it to Jungsoo. This photo showed a wrecked living room, the furniture flipped and the cushions torn apart. There was also a big stain in the middle, enough blood to make them believe that someone had bled to death there.

[Missing paragraph]

Joonmyeon didn't notice the curious glances the cat girl - Phoenix - was sending his and Yifan’s way before the latter did. He had been so enthralled in the tale the dragon girl was telling, it took three elbowings, carefully placed above his fourth rib, before his eyes traveled angrily to his side. Yifan didn't look up from his lap, but one of his fingers lifted meticulously to point towards the front. Joonmyeon followed the trail and noticed the pair of eyes trained on them. It surprised him how the young girl didn't falter, but continued to look at them like lab rats.

Joonmyeon nearly snorted; of course, she was curious. It was unheard of for a pack to have two alphas, and much less for them to be a part of their country's inner circle. It just so happened that he and Yifan grew up together, and never really gave much thought to the fact that they probably wouldn't be in the same pack, considering their status. Though, when the time came, and they were of age to leave their families, they decided to stick together, not caring about who would be in charge. Years later, they encountered Minseok and Chanyeol, two rogue betas barely scraping by in the streets of 1567 London, and then their pack started; Yifan had insisted in stepping down and letting Joonmyeon be their alpha, considering the younger far more fitting to lead than him. Most people didn't get it, though, how he could have so easily accepted another alpha's bite, forcing him to obey forever. More importantly, they could not understand how Joonmyeon let him live, risking to fall victim to Yifan' natural instinct to rule over everyone. The answer was simple: their friendship was more important than something as simple as leading was.

When their pack became known around the Underground community - twelve wolves, faster and stronger than most - nearly 80 years ago, the Council made an appointment to discuss opening an Inner Circle in Korea, with them participating as representatives of werewolves in the country. At first, Joonmyeon hadn't been very keen on the idea, but Sehun managed to convince him with his infamous puppy eyes. Under the condition, that Yifan had as much say in making decisions as he did, of course.

Still, she wasn't looking with disgust or confussion. It was a more careful approach, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, even if she tried to hide it. It surprised Joonmyeon. He snapped out of it when Kangta took over the meeting, his wolf side more prominent in times of crisis. It made the wolf inside of Joonmyeon want to fight. Maybe cuddle. He wasn't sure.

"I know that this is a lot to take in, especially so early in the morning," he began, giving Jinki a pointed look to start stifling his yawns, "but I expect all of you to do your best to inform your families of the situation."

Then he turned to look at him and Qia and oh no, it’s too early for this .

"What did they do now?" the witch asked with a trace of exasperation lacing her voice, but they were used to this by now.

"They set my car on fire," BoA chimed in, though she didn't seem particularly angry. If anything, she looked amused, "Soojung, Jinri, Jongin and Sehun, I mean. In fact, I'm surprised Kyuhyun and Taemin were nowhere to be seen."          

"You're surprised I know how to keep my people in line?" asked Jungsoo, looking a bit insulted but mostly proud, that he managed to tame the beast. Two seats away, Jinki beamed.

"Yes," she answered without remorse, and smiled at the look of shock in the elder's face. Taeyeon snorted in her seat next to him, and he turned to give her a cold look, but she brushed him off with a wave of her hand.

"We'll talk to them," Joonmyeon sighed, thinking that maybe, just maybe, if he stopped caring, things would be easier.

Kangta nodded, knowing just as well that talking would do no good to the situation.

"Isabella and Phoenix will be staying in the guest house, in case you have any ideas or theories," BoA informed them, and the girls nodded.

With that, Kangta waved them off, signaling the ending of the meeting, and Joonmyeon stood up from his seat with a heavy heart, the images of those poor mortals mauled to death still fresh in his mind.