Rhododendron – danger

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                The whole cab ride to the studio was silent. Sitting at the far ends of the backseat, neither Daehyun nor Jongup had uttered a word. Not even when they were at home earlier, until Jongup saw his brother getting ready to go out. He remembered Daehyun had lessons today, but he didn’t know whether Daehyun was going or not. When he asked about the ankle, Daehyun brushed him off, saying that he was fine in a cold tone.

                But Jongup wasn’t the blind one. He could see that Daehyun was still limping, even though it got better than the day before. Therefore, he forced his brother to take a cab with him, ignoring all the protests he got.

                When they arrived at the studio, Jongup quickly payed the fare and got off the cab to go to the other side. When he reached there, Daehyun had already pushed the door open and was unfolding his cane. He grabbed Daehyun’s arm to offer some help, but his hand was swatted away after Daehyun had finally stood on his feet.

                Jongup sighed heavily. He just watched his brother closed the car door and started tapping his way towards the studio entrance.

                “I’m going to college now, but I’ll pick you up right after you finish your lessons,” he said and waited for Daehyun’s reply, but none came. The older man just kept walking straight instead.

                “Hyung, do you hear me?” he asked with a louder voice.

                Daehyun stopped right in front of the door and searched for the handle. Before pushing it open, he slightly turned his head to the side. “I’m blind, not deaf,” he told his younger brother and entered the studio.

                Jongup rolled his eyes at that. His brother was obviously still holding a grudge over their fight yesterday and he didn’t know why. He was just saying the truth and the truth could hurt sometimes. That’s why he didn’t feel the need to apologize. He would only wait for his brother to get over it.

                After one last glance to the studio, Jongup finally made his way to the nearest bus stop.

 

 

                “Morning, Daehyun,” Seungyeon, the studio receptionist, greeted when he was clocking in at the counter.

                “Morning, noona” Daehyun smiled at her.

                “How’s your ankle?”

                “It’s getting better.”

                “Glad to hear that.” She nodded to herself before looking at her computer. “You know, you got two more students registered for your lesson yesterday.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah, they came here yesterday when the studio was almost closed. I didn’t tell you because I don’t want to disturb your day off.”

                “So, when will they start their first class?” Daehyun asked.

                “I told them they can start today. I added another session to your schedule with just the two of them, since the other sessions are already full. But I can cancel it for today if you’re not ready.”

                “Oh, no, that’s okay. I may just give them simple introduction for a start.”

                Seungyeon nodded her head at that. “Alright, then. I’ll print out their personal details for you.”

                “Alright. Thanks.”

                While waiting for it to be done, Daehyun went to have a seat in the waiting area. He brought out his phone to text Jongup, telling him that he would have to work an extra hour for today because of the new students.

                After taking the braille papers from Seungyeon, Daehyun took the elevator to go upstairs since he didn’t want the healing sprain to worsen. He was heading towards the room for piano lessons after stepping out of the elevator when his phone vibrated in his hold.

                He heard his phone telling him that the caller was ‘Yongguk hyung’. So, Daehyun readied himself by taking a deep breath and picked up the call.

                “Hey, hyung.”

                “Hey… Why do you sound so sad?”

                Daehyun totally wasn’t prepared for such question. Halting his steps in the hallway, he leaned his side against the wall. “Nah, it’s probably because I got to work after a day off.”

                “You’re already working again today?” Yongguk sounded surprised at other end of the line.

                “Yeah, I can almost walk normally now.”

                “Your class doesn’t start yet, right?”

                “No, but I’m already at the studio.”

                Yongguk hummed before letting out a sigh. “I was worried. You didn’t answer my calls or my texts last night.”

                Daehyun had already expected Yongguk would bring up that matter. Truthfully, he didn’t answer the man on purpose because he knew, he would break down right after he heard Yongguk’s voice. He was so emotional yesterday and he didn’t want Yongguk to be bothered by it. Thankfully, he was calmed enough today to finally accept Yongguk’s call.

                “Oh, yeah. I felt so tired last night, I went to bed earlier. I’m sorry, hyung,” he lied.

                “Yeah, Jongup told me the same thing when I texted him last night.”

                “You did?” Daehyun asked, slightly surprised, but at the same time, he was somehow glad that Jongup didn’t lash out at Yongguk too.

                “Of course. I needed to know if you were doing fine.”

                “Yeah… I’m sorry for making you worry…”

                “That’s okay.” Yongguk brushed it off, easily believing everything his mate had said. “I just miss you, that’s all.”

                Daehyun’s face immediately warmed up, as well as his fast beating heart. “I miss you too…” he shyly muttered a reply.

                “So… Can we have lunch together?”

                Daehyun pressed his lips together as he considered about it. Clearly, Jongup gave him a hint that he shouldn’t be meeting with Yongguk by making him a lunchbox. He had a thought that maybe, if he goes along with Jongup’s will for the time being, the younger man would eventually give in and approve his relationship with Yongguk.

                “Um… Actually, I just knew that I got new students today, and I plan to use the lunch hour to make some preparations for their first class,” Daehyun felt so bad for refusing even though he really wanted to meet the older man. “Besides, Jongup had already made me a lunchbox,” he added.

                “Oh. Okay… Um… What if we meet each other later? After you finish all your classes?”

                Daehyun really wished he could say yes, but he had to bite his tongue from voicing it out. “I don’t think we can. Jongup’s gonna pick me up right after I finish my class. I’ll have to ask him first,” he said, frustration clear in his voice.

                “Oh, that’s fine. You can ask him first and then tell me if he says yes or no, alright?”

                Yongguk sounded like he was seriously looking forward to get a yes and Daehyun couldn’t bear to tell him he already know that it would be a no. “Sure,” he lied again.

 

 

                The door to the piano room was left open after the previous class had ended. As usual, Daehyun would gather and arrange all the music sheets used based on their difficulties, even though he had already memorized most of them.

                A moment later, someone gave a knock on the door, making him turn towards it. “Yes?”

                “Hello, we’re the new students.” A young man’s voice sounded at the door.

                “Oh, yeah.” Daehyun smiled before feeling around the top of the upright piano in search for their printed personal details. “Your names please?”

                “I’m Kim Yukwon.”

                “Mine is Pyo Jihoon.” Another man with a deeper voice made himself known.

                Daehyun traced his finger on the braille dots and found the same names. “Alright, come in,” he told them while he was still skimming through the papers. From there, he knew that they were around his age.

                Putting the papers aside, Daehyun heard their footsteps entering. They closed the door with a click, but Daehyun also heard another click after that and he recognized it as the sound of the door locking.

                “Oh, you don’t really have to lock the door,” he said.

                “I don’t like getting disturbed when I’m learning,” Pyo replied, shrugging his shoulders.

                Yukwon didn’t care. He went straight to the window instead. Looking outside of the tinted glass, he just observed the wide alley in between the buildings. “The window is huge, but all you can see outside is a brick wall.”

                “Ah, yes…” Daehyun could only smile at that.

                Yukwon turned around at Daehyun’s awkward tone and took a moment to realize his mistake. “Oh, sorry I forgot that you’re…”

                “That’s okay.” Daehyun sent a reassuring smile in Yukwon’s direction. Standing up from his stool, he moved to stand next to the teacher’s piano with his side leaning against it. “You can choose your piano and take a seat.”

                After listening to his students settling down in their spots, in which he assumed the ones closest to him, Daehyun proceeded to introduce himself. “As both of you may already know, my name is Jung Daehyun, 22 and only started working here about five months ago. It’s nice meeting you guys.”

                “Nice meeting you too, Daehyun-ssi,” both Yukwon and Pyo replied.

                “So, have either of you played piano before?” Daehyun asked for a starter.

                “I was a guitarist in a band before. I know just a tiny bit about pianos,” Yukwon said.

                “That’s cool. What about you, Jihoon?”

                “I haven’t. I never know how to play piano,” Pyo answered.

                “So, you got zero knowledge about it?”

                Pyo nodded while shrugging his shoulders. “Pretty much, except I know there are black and white keys.”

                Daehyun chuckled. “That’s alright. We can always start from scratch.” He tried to encourage them, just like what he would do to his other students every time before he starts the class.

                “Actually, I’m quite surprised to know your age. I mean, most of my students are still going to school,” Daehyun told them. “So, may I ask you, what makes you interested to join this class?”

                “You,” Pyo gave an immediate answer and Yukwon was stifling his laughter because of it.

                Daehyun furrowed his brows. Thinking that he had heard it wrong, he just smiled at them before asking again. “I’m sorry, what?”

                Pyo released a long sigh before standing up and slowly making his way to the piano teacher. “I tried to forget your nice body, your pretty face, your pink juicy lips, but I just can’t.” He stopped right next to Daehyun. “All of us can’t.” He glanced at Yukwon, who was nodding in agreement. “So we searched for you and here we are.” He turned to look at the sightless man again before taking another step closer.

                Daehyun could sense the man’s presence near him, so he started to back away. “What are you talking about? Have we met before?” he asked nervously, his reverse was halted when the back of his legs bumped into the stool.

                Pyo snorted with laughter. “Of course. You’d remember my face if you aren’t blind,” he smirked as his hand went to touch Daehyun’s cheek.

                Daehyun jerked away with surprise. “Don’t touch me! Or… or I’ll scream!”

                Both Pyo and Yukwon burst out laughing. The loud mocking laughter was making Daehyun’s blood run cold. He remembered them. He could recognize them by their evil laughter. They were the thugs from before.

                “Isn’t every room in here soundproofed?” Pyo raised his brow at the other man, still snickering at Daehyun.

                “I don’t know, man. I wonder if his savior will appear again if he really do that,” Yukwon sneered.

                "I doubt it. I bet this room doesn't just block the noise, but out scents too."

                That moment, Daehyun was sure that he was in a huge trouble. He tried to be prepared for any possibilities, but his mind was going blank. So without waiting any longer, he quickly turned around and tried to run to the door. At the same time, the laughter quietened down.

                Daehyun had his hand on the wall as his guide, since he couldn’t waste the time finding his walking stick. He hastened his steps as much as he could with his unhealed ankle, the sharp pain was totally ignored. Stumbling here and there, he could finally feel the doorframe. He thought that he could make it, but he was wrong when his arm was harshly pulled back, bringing him away from the door.

                “Where do you think you’re going?” Pyo snarled at him.

                “Let me go!” Daehyun strived to free himself from the mad man, but he only managed to be grabbed even tighter, now on both of his arms.

                Still, he continued to struggle in Pyo’s hold. He was striking him everywhere on his body that was within his reach. The groan emitted from the man had become his motivation to keep on fighting.

                Pyo’s tolerance was depleting and it completely ended when his jaw was elbowed by Daehyun. “, calm the down!”

                In the blink of an eye, Daehyun was hurled onto the floor in the middle of the room, causing his sunglasses to fly away from his face. He cried in pain when his body crashed with the hard tiles.

                Yukwon, who was being a silent observer for the whole time, roared with laughter. He was still unmoving from his sport as he shook his head while clapping his hands like a seal. “I can’t believe a human did that to you!”

                “Shut up!” Pyo glared at the latter. “I’m ing pissed right now,” he grunted before stretching and rubbing his sore jaw.

                Daehyun wouldn’t give up that easily. Gathering all the strength left in his body, he pushed himself up on the floor. From being on all fours, he attempted to stand on his feet, only to fall back onto his knees with a loud groan. His sprained ankle seemed to worsen, so bad that he couldn’t put even the slightest pressure on it.

                So, he crawled. Just moving straight ahead without knowing where he was actually going to. He had lost his orientation after he was snatched away from the wall, which was the only guide he had. Now, he had to find it again, only by crawling on the floor with his hand stretched out to the front once in a while and he would swing it around, hoping for it to finally touch something he could make as an indicator.

                “How long are you going to just sit there and watch?” Pyo told Yukwon off for not doing a single thing from the start.

                Yukwon didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he quietly watched how Daehyun had succeeded in finding the wall and was currently trying to locate the door, which was only a few inches away from his reach.

                Yukwon rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’m only waiting for the cue,” he said. Right after that, his phone dinged. It only took a second for him to read the message and he was finally making a move.

                Sliding off the backpack from his shoulders, he opened it before taking out a duct tape and ropes. He made a pass to Pyo by throwing the tape to him. After closing his backpack and shouldered it again, he went to Daehyun with the ropes in his hands.

 

 

                Jongup arrived at the studio with Suwoong. He had asked for a ride on Suwoong’s motorbike, just because he wanted to be there on time. He even skipped his club activity, when actually, he could have attended it and still be able to reach the studio at the same time his brother would finish teaching. However, he didn’t quite believe that Daehyun had to work another hour, thinking that his brother was just making it up and use the time to meet Yongguk instead. That’s why he still went to the studio at the usual time Daehyun would finish the classes.

                Getting off the bike, Jongup removed his helmet and stood at the side. He waited for Suwoong to do the same, but the other man only lifted the face shield and started to look around the place. Jongup frowned at Suwoong’s weird act.

                “Aren’t you going in?” he asked. “I thought you’re going to play with your band?”

                Finally, Suwoong turned to him before letting out a nervous laughter. “Of course I’m going in.”

                Jongup’s frown deepened at Suwoong’s brooding look on his face after the helmet was taken off. “You alright?”

                “Y-Yeah…” Suwoong got off his motorbike, but then he continued to check out the surroundings. He knew that he was acting strange right now, but he really didn’t expect to smell a group of weredragons nearby. None of the scents belonged to his clan members, so his only guess was the Massifs. But since he didn’t see any of them around and he couldn't pinpoint where exactly their scents were coming from, he chose to ignore it.

                After locking his motorbike, he fixed the strap of his guitar case on his shoulder and followed Jongup into the studio. They stopped by the counter to greet the receptionist.

                “Hey, Seungyeon noona,” Jongup called her.

                Seungyeon raised her head and smiled at the sight of the frequent faces. “Oh, hey, Jongup, Suwoong.”

                “Is Daehyun hyung still teaching right now?” Jongup asked.

                “Yeah, he got two new students. Didn’t he tell you?”

                Jongup narrowed his eyes at her. “Did he tell you to say that to me, or you’re saying the truth?”

                Seungyeon rolled her eyes. “Why would I lie to you? They came here earlier. You can go see for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

                Jongup shrugged his shoulders. He was about to step away from the counter when there were stomping footsteps coming down the stairs. Both he and Swuoong sent a quizzical look at each to other before going to take a look in the hallway.

                They were completely stunned to see someone being carried over a man’s shoulder with bound hands and feet. Even though Jongup couldn’t see the face, he could certainly recognize the person as his brother.

                “Hyung!?” Jongup yelled. His eyes wide as he stared at the man carrying his brother further down the hallway. He was sure they could hear him. Daehyun started to thrash harder on the man’s shoulder without making any sound, giving Jongup the idea that the man had kept his brother’s mouth shut.

                Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound at the end of the hallway. It was the back door, which had been broken by someone from outside. The man with Daehyun on his shoulder reached the back door in a flash and there was actually another man in front of him.

                “What the hell was that?!” Seungyeon came to Suwoong’s side after hearing the booming noise. She could only gasp after witnessing it with her own eyes.

                “Hey! Let my brother go!” Jongup had already started running after the men, the helmet he was holding was thrown somewhere along the way.

                Suwoong hastily removed the guitar case from his shoulder and leaned it against the wall. He followed Jongup right after that. But by the time they stepped out of the back door, the men were already getting into an old black car. It began to speed through the empty alleyways before any of them could stop the men.

                “It’s them!”

                Jongup turned with a confused look to Suwoong. “Who?!”

                “It’s the thugs!”

                Jongup’s eyes widened in realization. He could feel himself panicking. His brother was being taken away from him and he couldn’t imagine what would happen to Daehyun if he didn’t do anything to stop the thugs right now. So, he continued to chase them.

                “Jongup, wait!” Suwoong shouted when Jongup dashed away from him just like that, but the said man wasn’t listening.

                “!” he cursed under his breath before hurrying back to the studio’s front entrance and picking up Jongup’s helmet on the way. Upon reaching the shocked girl, he had to stop for a moment.

                “Noona, please don’t call the police yet. It’s a personal issue. I hope you understand. Don’t worry about the compensation. You’ll get the money in no time. You can pass the words to your boss. And please look after my guitar for a while,” he hastily told her and resumed the run after receiving a meek nod as a reply.

                Taking out his phone, Suwoong tried to call Yongguk before shoving it back inside his pocket since he was using a wireless hands-free. Putting on his helmet again, he got onto his motorbike and sped up towards the alley after igniting the switch.

                He found Jongup seconds later, still running as fast as he could even though the car was nowhere to be seen anymore. At the same time, Yongguk picked up his call, but he couldn’t say anything to him yet since he was shouting for Jongup’s name.

                Suwoong slowed down his bike after reaching Jongup. “Quick! Get on!”

                “The hell are you saying?” Yongguk asked through the phone call.

                “Not you, Yongguk hyung,” Suwoong retorted and halted his bike when Jongup had stopped running.

                “I lost them! They got Daehyun hyung! What should I do?!” Jongup wheezed as he talked to Suwoong, moreover in his panicked state.

                “We can still find your brother! Just get on!” Suwoong yelled, beginning to panic as well because of Jongup. But he managed to keep calm because he knew he could definitely track the Massifs down based on their scents.

                Unable to think of anything better, Jongup decided to listen to his friend. Taking the helmet held out to him, he jumped onto the back of the bike. Suwoong immediately accelerated down the alleys again.

                “What’s happening?!” Yongguk asked again, this time sounding more agitated than before.

                Suwoong didn’t waste any more time and directly told the young alpha in a loud, troubled voice. “The Massif clan has taken Daehyun hyung with them!”

 

 

                “What?!” Yongguk shouted through his phone in utter shock. He kept the phone on his ear as he continued to listen to Suwoong for the details. At the same time, he quickly got up from his chair before rushing out of his office.

                By now, he was sure all of his clan members in the gym could sense his panic. They had turned to look at him in wonder and he immediately linked with them.

                “Guys, I need your help.”

                Yongguk tried to keep a calm expression as he went to tell one of the trainer to look after the gym since he needed to leave with his cousins. The reason he gave was because they got an emergency family matter to deal with.

                “Follow me,” Yongguk ordered the clan members through the link and all of them trailed after him as he made his way out of the gym.

                “What’s the matter?” Himchan asked in concern.

                “The Massifs. They’re abducting Daehyun,” Yongguk told them, the agitation was clear in both of his face and voice.

                “What?! In this daylight?” Himchan found it to be unbelievable.

                Yongguk was too focus in listening to Suwoong on his phone that he didn’t have time to respond to Himchan. Stopping by his car, he told all of them to get in. Even if it was faster for them to run on their legs, they really shouldn’t be seen running in inhuman speed across the town in the middle of the day.

                Himchan went to sit at the front passenger seat, whereas Minsu, Youngjae and Sungjoon sat at the back. Yongguk started the car and began driving on the road, didn’t even bother to put on the seatbelt.

                “Can anyone of you at the back call Wojun hyung and ask him for help?” Yongguk asked and Minsu quickly carried out the order since he was the oldest of the three.

                “How are we supposed to find them?” Himchan wondered.

                “Suwoong is following them right now.” Yongguk gave his phone to the latter.

                Himchan looked at the caller ID and noticed that Suwoong was still connected. So, he put it on loud speaker. “Hello, Suwoong? You still there? Where are we heading to?”

 

 

                “I think they’re going to the dark side of the mountain. Maybe they’re staying at the same place from before,” Suwoong informed through the phone

                “, they’re fast!” Jongup cussed from the backseat, where he couldn’t really hear Suwoong’s conversation because of the high winds as they rode the bike at full speed. He was also too focused on the car they were pursuing that he never wondered how Suwoong could find it in less than a minute.

                Their chasing was dragged on for a while and now, they were racing on the long narrow road towards the mountain, which was surrounded by the woods. There were not much cars passing by, giving Suwoong the chance to catch up with the men. He managed to do it for a few times, but they were almost rammed with the car.

                When the road was completely absence of people, the Massifs swerved to the roadside and pulled over. Every single one of them scrambled out of the car, two from the front seats, and another two from the back with one of them carrying Daehyun in his arms. The man threw Daehyun over his shoulder again before running off into the woods, followed by the other three of his clan members.

                Suwoong braked abruptly right behind the car, the tires skidding because of the sudden move. Jongup had already jumped off the bike even before it could come to a halt. Taking off his helmet, he dropped it onto the ground along with his backpack before following the men’s track in a rush.

                “Jongup!” Suwoong shouted after removing his helmet. He didn’t have the time to put his bike on stand and just let it fall on the ground before running after his friend.

                Using all his might, Jongup tried to run faster, but the men were getting further into the woods. He didn’t care how much his feet were hurting right now because he had already been given the second chance to get his brother back. He couldn’t forgive himself if he failed again.

                However, he was gradually losing track of them. His lungs were desperate for air, his knees were loosening, but he kept on running, now with tears b his eyes. His brother was the only family he had and his heart clenched painfully at the thought of losing him forever.

                The men were almost disappearing from his range of sight. They had gone far into the woods, which was darker with more tall trees. But before Jongup could totally lose track of them, he saw something strange. He was not quite sure since they were too far away, but something was definitely happening over there.

                As he was staring at his front with narrowed eyes, Jongup was startled by the sound of running footsteps approaching him from behind. He quickly turned around, only to be even more surprised at the sight of Yongguk and his cousins passing by him in the speed of lightning. They didn’t seem to notice him since they were at quite a distance from him.

                Jongup’s feet slowly came to a halt after he was overtaken by them. He pondered if they were really a fast runner, or he was just that slow. He followed them with his eyes and for the umpteenth time of the day, he saw something that left him open-mouthed.

                Their bodies were oddly distorted into weird angles, before doubling in sizes. Their clothes were all ripped because of that and finally, they were becoming something else. Something big, inhuman, peculiar and monstrous. Something that looked like dragons.

                Youngjae was the furthest at the back among them and the last one to change. Jongup fixed his eyes on the man during the whole transformation. He noticed that Youngjae was a little different compared to the others, in which he didn’t have any wings. Other than that, Youngjae’s beautiful silvery gray dragon form had left him gawking at his beauty.

                “Hey! Jongup!” Suwoong, who had reunited with the rest of the clan members in the middle of the run, decided to stop following them when he noticed his friend. Changing his direction, he went to Jongup instead. He had the idea that the human saw his clan shifted because he wasn’t looking so good.

                “Hey…” Suwoong tried to get Jongup’s attention after reaching his side.

                Slowly, Jongup turned to him, still breathless after the chase. “D-Do you see what I see?” he asked before looking back at the dragon-like creatures. “Am I really seeing what I’m seeing?”

                “I think you should take a rest and clear your mind.” Suwoong placed a hand on Jongup’s back and led him to the nearest tree.

                “But did you see that?!” Jongup turned to Suwoong again with bulging eyes.

                “Yes, yes. I know. I can do the same thing,” Suwoong willingly confessed. There was no point in hiding anymore when the human had seen them shapeshifting with his own bare eyes.

                “What…?” Jongup breathed out, confused and disbelieving.

                “I’ll explain it to you later, but you need to calm down first.” Suwoong stated firmly with his hands resting on his hips.

                Jongup dropped his back against the tree trunk, whipped his head towards Suwoong seconds later. “Wait, what about my brother?”

                Suwoong turned to look in the direction his clan members had ran off to. They were nowhere to be seen anymore, but he could still detect their scents from where he was standing. Turning back to Jongup, he sent the most reassuring look as he stared right into his eyes. “He’ll be okay. Believe me, Yongguk hyung is going to save him again.”

                “No, I can’t just stay here! I need to get my brother back!” Jongup insisted desperately.

                Suwoong sighed. He really didn’t have time to deal with this. “Alright, fine. You can come, but stay out of our ways, okay?” he reminded as he started to take off his clothes.

                Jongup just nodded slowly, keeping his gaze on the latter as the clothes were removed one by one, even until there was nothing left on Suwoong’s body.

                “Try to run as fast as you can, but I’ll make sure not to lose sight of you,” Suwoong told him before going ahead in a sprint.

                Jongup followed right away. Once again, he was astounded to see his own friend turning into a huge bronze dragon.

 

 

               Yongguk’s clan was drawing closer to the Massifs with him in the lead. Receiving Suwoong’s phone call had already made him furious, but seeing Daehyun in restraints while being carelessly carried by those rogues with his own eyes made his blood boiled with rage.

               That was really his mate, stomach bouncing painfully over Pyo’s shoulder bone, mouth taped and limbs tied up. His precious mate should have never been treated like that. So, he would show the Massifs the consequences of their doings.

                With a loud roar, Yongguk charged at them on all fours in his dragon form and aimed his attack on a smoky white dragon, bringing him down to the ground. Another dragon, ashy gray in colour, advanced towards him after that. He was attacked first, but quickly turned the tables. Biting his opponent’s neck, he managed to make the mountain dragon groaned in pain before leaving him on the ground to take down the other Massifs.

                Himchan pounced onto the smoky white dragon before he could get up. He remembered that the name of the Massif’s member was Jaehyo. His charming looks might be head turners, but he was just as evil as the rest of his clan members. Being in his metal gray dragon form, Himchan kept on wrestling with that guy, while the other dragon was being taken care of Youngjae.

                He might be an omega, even an ocean dragon that is, but Youngjae was not weak, either under the sea or on the land. The ashy dragon he was fighting with was called Taeil, whose dragon form might be the smallest in his clan, since he was also the shortest member in his human form. But he was definitely not weak either. He was not going to give in so easily to Youngjae.

                Yongguk carried on his attack on the other three dragons, who came out of nowhere from the woods. They were the ones in blood red, mossy green, and stone blue scales, whom he recognized as Minhyuk, Yukwon and Kyung respectively. He kept of beating and striking them, just to clear his own path leading to his mate. Sungjoon, Minsu and Suwoong did their parts in taking control of those dragons, so that their young alpha wouldn’t be held back by anything.

                Pyo glanced behind, realizing that the rest of his clan were already knocked down. His alpha then, shouted to him, telling him to pass on the human. He did as he was told before shifting into his dragon form.

                Yongguk could see the amber coloured dragon was about to lunge at him. He turned his head around briefly and saw Wonjun’s emerald green dragon form tailing after him. So he linked with him, telling the beta to cover him. Wonjun obeyed him right away, pouncing on Pyo before the guy could strike the young alpha.

                Now, Jiho was the only one left to be taken down. Yongguk kept on following him further into the forest, his eyes fixed on his mate, who was held in Jiho’s filthy arms. When he was only an inch behind the other alpha, Yongguk changed his form into a human and grabbed the back of Jiho’s collar.

                Yongguk went to Jiho’s front after the abrupt stop, seizing Daehyun from the Massif’s leader before kicking him on the stomach. Jiho was sent flying onto the ground. The strong force made him clutch his stomach in pain.

                Yongguk went to a huge tree and gently sat Daehyun down under it. He pulled the tape off his mouth first.

                “Help! Help me! Someone help!” Daehyun started to yell right after that.

                Yongguk quickly cupped Daehyun’s face. “Hey, Daehyun! Hey! It’s me! It’s Yongguk!”

                Daehyun stopped shouting as soon as he recognized the voice. “Yongguk hyung…?” he asked through panting breaths.

                “Yeah, it’s really me.” Yongguk pecked Daehyun’s cheek to convince his mate and proceeded to untie the ropes around his wrists and ankles when Daehyun was not struggling anymore.

                Just after he was done, Yongguk was struck from the side, which knocked him onto the ground. But he managed to swiftly roll onto his knees right away.

                “Hyung?!” Daehyun was shocked by the loud whacking sound, as well as the loss of Yongguk’s touch.

                “Stay there, Daehyun!” Yongguk told his mate as he was glaring at Jiho standing a few meters away before him.

                The Massif’s alpha was fuming with anger by now. A second later, he was already shifting into his black dragon form as he launched himself towards the other alpha.

                Yongguk quickly stood on his feet and shifted into his dragon form again, which was also black in colour. His difference from Jiho was that his scales were slightly shinier compared to Jiho’s dull ones.

                Jiho attempted to bite his neck, but Yongguk blocked his attack by his wing. He used the chance to sink his fangs into the hard skin of the other dragon before flinging him aside.

                Jiho was quick to regain his balance. Instead of making another lunge at Yongguk, he chose to start an attack by blowing fire at him.

                Yongguk groaned at the burning pain aimed at his body. He ran to the side to avoid it and after Jiho was out of breath, it was his turn to fire at him. He kept breathing out the flames while charging towards his opponent. When his fire faded out, he tackled Jiho onto the ground, only to be shoved away.

                Yongguk was thrown towards Daehyun, but he was fast to claw at the ground before he could crash with his mate.

                Daehyun had been so scared ever since he was hearing the growling and bone snapping sounds. He was constantly gasping in utter shock because all the sounds he heard were almost inhuman. Then, there were air whooshing and scorching heat. When he could sense something was coming to him in a fast speed, he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged his legs tightly.

                Daehyun could hear it stopped right before him. But then, the back of his hands touched something. It felt smooth and scaly against his skin, causing him to jerk away from it.

                Unaware of Daehyun’s reaction, Yongguk got up from the ground. He had enough of fighting the other dragon and just wanted to end it quickly. So, after drawing in a huge amount of air into his lungs, Yongguk began breathing fire at Jiho. His target was locked on the rogue weredragon no matter where he tried to dodge. Yongguk’s firing was nonstop, until Jiho finally gave up and ran away from there.

                Yongguk stopped his attack and started panting. He shifted back into his human form before rushing to Daehyun. But before he could reach his mate, he got yelled at again.

               “No! Don’t come any closer!” Daehyun warned, kicking out his feet at the ground to back away, but to no avail because of the huge tree pressing against his back.

               “Daehyun… It’s me Yongguk!” He tried to step forward.

               “No no no get away from me!”

               Daehyun’s severely terrified expression was really making Yongguk feel the need to take him into his arms. But when he was the one intimidating his own mate, there was nothing he could do about it. “Daehyun, calm down! I won’t hurt you!”

               “No!” Daehyun shrieked, hands pressed over his ears.  “Jongup! I want Jongup!

               “I’ll take you to him! Just calm down!” Yongguk never had the intention to yell at his mate, but he was losing his patience. Somehow, he felt angry. Not at his mate, but himself. Angry because he failed to keep Daehyun’s trust on him.

               “Jongup! Jongup!” Daehyun kept on screaming until the other clan members finally made it to their young alpha, bringing along another human with them.

               Brushing past Yongguk, Jongup directly ran to his brother. “Hyung! I’m here! I’m here!” He kneeled in front of Daehyun before pulling him into a tight embrace.

                Daehyun immediately recognized his brother and gripped his shirt. He was breathing heavily after everything that happened. Leaning on Jongup’s chest, he let his head dropped into the crook of Jongup’s neck and tried to calm himself down.

                Yongguk stiffened in his spot. He kept staring at how his mate was seeking comfort in someone else rather than him. He knew they were brothers, but he would be okay if only Daehyun didn’t push him away earlier. It was enough to break his heart. The throbbing pain itself made him wonder if it was a rejection that he received from his mate.