Chapter 1
The Girl of Two Worlds"Two iced americanos please."
The girl behind the cashier nodded with a smile, typing quickly into the system, "Will that be all today?"
The customer nodded, handing her a credit card. Accepting it, she quickly swiped the card and asked the customer to sign before turning around to make the drinks. Morning usually weren't a busy time for a dog cafe but since it was a weekend today, customers seem to be piling in. As she poured the drink into the cups, a hand placed itself onto her shoulder and have it a firm squeeze. She turned around and was met with a smile from her cousin.
"Handling everything alright, Jooyeonnie?" he asked, reaching over her head to grab a few more cups.
Jooyeon nodded, placing the drinks onto the counter and giving the customer a sweet smile. She turned back to the male and made a face.
"Now you ask me? Where were you 15 minutes ago when I was busting my trying to make drinks and take orders at the same time?" she complained, narrowing her eyes playfully at the older boy.
He gave a laugh, tossing his head back and ruffled her black hair, "Sorry, I was setting out the food for the dogs."
"Weren't you suppposed to do that this morning, Jinyoung oppa?"
Jinyoung's expression froze before he lauged weakly, "I was busy?"
Jooyeon rolled her eyes at him. The both of them had been together ever since she could remember, which was about 10 years ago. Jinyoung has always been there for her. If it weren't for him, she would've still been lost and broken but thankfully, Jinyoung picked her up and put her back together in no time.
Ten years ago, Jooyeon was involved in a car accident that resulted in killing both her parents and taking her memories of them and everything that happened before she turned 10. It was tragic but Jooyeon didn't remember much of it. Everytime she brings it up, she could see the pain in Jinyoung's face. She was curious but she soon learned that maybe some things should be left unanswered for the sake of her and Jinyoung. She knew digging up her past meant putting him back into the place that he would rather forget. So, instead of prying, she settled with the fact that Jinyoung was all she needed. He took care of her when times were tough and made through it all. Not asking about what really happened seems to be the least she could do for him. However, that didn't mean that he didn't talk about the little things that happened between her and her parents. It was the happy memories that Jinyoung tells her that she was able to really feel the connection with her parents. It was the only thing that truly convinced her that at one point, she too had a loving family
---
Hidden between trees and located deep within the forest was a world that only a few knew about. Even then, those few people still hold on to the fact that it may just all be a myth that has been passed down through the generations. Were-creatures have been living in secrecy for centuries, avoiding any means of contact with humans. They believe that humans were weak and have no sense of unity, with greeds to run their minds. The were-species fend for themselves and nothing is more important to them than their pack, their family. Not a lot changed however, when a human was chosen as a mate for a were-wolf King. Some ideologies might have shifted and leaned towards coexisting with the humans but mostly, they remained the same due to the Council. They were the ones who were really in charge, the Royal family simply acting as a mask and occasionally a scrapegoat to them. Nonetheless, that did not mean that the Royal family holds no power. They were the top of the chart but it was the fact that the Council viewed that a human queen was not appropriate to rule. They would advise the King, leading him towards a good decision but most times, manipulating him without him even knowing it. He was known as the Foolish King who was too deeply in love with his queen that it blinded him from becoming a ruler at full potential. Or at least that's what the Council thought. They were determined to rid their world of the royal hierarchy, wiping each and everyone of royal blood.
And wiping they did.
The Council destroyed everything. They set fire to the palace, murdering innocent lives. No one that was invovled with the Royal family survived. Servants, children, women, all of them were killed. It was that incident that striked the truth in everyone's eyes. They saw what the Council was capable off and killing innocent lives were not something were-creatures will live by. Multiples groups rosed up to fight against the Council but none accomplished. The Council made an example of the survivors by executing them right in the middle of the town square. They made sure that nothing like this happened again and it didn't. Nobody bothered fighting back when they knew that they would be putting their lives on the line and asking for a death wish. This was a fight that nobody can win except for the Council. From then on, they ruled with fear, keeping the poor, poor and the rich, rich. What once was a peaceful world, the Council had turned it upside down. Cruelly, they punished their citizens even when the crimes that they had committed was not severe. Death was the one and the only punishment that the Council passed. Parents, brothers and sisters, friends and families, everyone at one point all lost someone important to them due to the Council. The only way to survive was to never get caught.
A tall lean young male raced down the streets, a bag clutched tight in one of his hands. Three guards were hot on his heels and he would rather shoot himself with a silver bullet than be caught. He hurled himself over a cart and landed on his two feet before breaking out into a run again.
Not today.
He turned the corner and muttered a curse when he saw two more guards appraching him from ahead. Changing his course, he headed straight for the wall. Holding the bag with his teeth, he kicked against the wall and launched himself upwards, hands shooting out to grab onto the ledge above his head. He grunted as lifted himself up, feet kicking against the rough surfaced wall. Once he somehow managed to get his foot onto the roof, he pushed himself up and walked away from the edge but not before looking back at the guards on the ground with a smug smirk.
"GET HIM!!" he heard one of them yelled.
Saluting at them, he walked off, hopping over rooftops one after another. Another figure soon joined in, falling into his steps naturally.
"Quite a show you put up there, hyung."
The said boy turned to look at his friend who joined him before rolling his eyes, "I was putting on a show? What about you, huh? Flipping over and . At this rate, you might as well join the circus."
The other boy gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his heart, "I'm wounded, hyung."
The older simply gave him a look before nodding ahead, "Let's go. They're waiting."
As if on que, they approached the edge of the town. The two broke into a run before each of their bodies shifted into a form of a wolf. They raced each other into the forest, weaving their ways through trees and fallen logs. In no time, they reached a small village somewhere deep into the forest. Slowing down, they approached the village and casually made their way to the centre of it where people were all gathered. Children gathered around them, especially the wolf that was covered in a mostly white and a hint of grey coating. His usual chilling blue eyes softened instantly when a little girl threw her arms around his big wolf head. He nuzzled against her, giving her a soft friendly growl. On the other hand, a wolf, coated in pure white fur gently dropped the bag before stepping away from the big crowd. He shifted back into his human self and rotated his head, feeling somewhat stiff.
"Mark." a voice called out for him.
Turning around, he was met with Jaebum, the alpha of his pack. The other male gave him a soft smile and cocked his eyebrows towards the bag on the floor.
"Nice work. Jackson said you put on quite a show." the alpha commented.
Mark sighed, eyebrows pinching together and glanced over towards where the crowd was. Instead of the white brown wolf standing in the middle of the crowd, a cheerful boy was laughing loudly with a little girl in his arms.
"Show my . Jackson's just bluffing like always."
Jaebum's lips hitched up into a smile and glanced over his shoulder to look at the crowd. He softened at the sight of his pack member and the little girl.
"You know, I think Jackson likes it here more than any of us." he mumbled.
Mark stared at his best friend from afar. What Jaebum said was true. Jackson was always the most excited when the pack was to visit this village. The young male was already excited about a lot of things but he seem to be the most content when he was here. It was because of the little girl in his arms, Yoo Ahyeon. She had made her way into Jackson's heart faster than any of the children here. She was as sweet as candy and apparently was always asking the elders when her precious Jackson oppa would visit the village. Jackson would be stupid not to fall heads over heels for that little girl.
"Of course. Ahyeon makes him feel like he's an older brother again." Mark whispered, recalling the hard times that his friend went through in the past.
Jackson was only 15 when it happened. His parents and little sister were taken away from him by the Council. They had claimed that the Wang had commited treason by sheltering a Royal Blood away from the Council. Jackson, having already joined a pack and was gone during when his parents apparently hid the Royal Blood was pardoned by the Council. It tore him apart when he couldn't do anything for his family but just stand still. They were taken away before his eyes and he couldn't even help them. Some nights, Jackson would still wake up with sweats dripping down his face, haunted by the memories of that day. He could still hear his little sister's scream in the back of his head. His sweet adorable little sister was murdered for something she didn't even do. His parents who were falsely accused were killed because the Council didn't want to take any risk. Everything happened because of the Council. He lost his family all because of the Council. His rage for them burned like fire and it was that rage that turned into determination to rebel against them. To hell with conforming to them.
Until this day, the pack had made it an official thing to steal from the Council and the Rich and give to the poor. Again, if the Council hadn't been starving the poor and torturing/ killing innocent people, the pack wouldn't have to pull such a Robin Hood move. Stealing seems to be the only thing they could do. If they were to legitimately start a rebellion, they were sure that many lives would be lost for nothing and the Council would still win. Each member of the pack had been affected some way or another and each holding the same rage that burned with Jackson.
Mark ran a hand through his hair and gave a sigh, "Let him enjoy himself. He could only see her so much."
---
Mark didn't know when the sun had gone down but when he woke up from his little nap, the village had already lit up their torches. He pushed himself up from the ground and dusted his pants. Walking back to the village, he could hear a distress voice yelling something about Yugyeom, the youngest out of the pack. Mark frowned, ears suddenly perking up. He hurried towards the sound of the voice and when he made it into the house that the yelling was coming from, his eyes rounded. On the ground was the second youngest member, Bam Bam. His face was buried into his hands as he was crouched down on the ground. Even without looking at his face, Mark could tell that he was crying. He could smell the saltiness of the tears that ran down the younger's face. Beside was Youngjae, also crouching on the ground with an arm around the other's shoulder. Jaebum stood with Jackson, both of them had their arms crossed.
"What happened?" Mark answered, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
Bam Bam sobbed, "It's my fault. It's my fault. He's gone because of me."
Mark frowned, eyes darting towards the boy on the ground and then back to the alpha, "What is he talking about?"
Jaebum turned towards him and with a deep frown on his face, he muttered,
"They've got him. The Council got Yugyeom."
Mark paled. It wasn't possible. No way. There was no way they could've gotten Yugyeom. The boy was the fastest out of all of them. He couldn't have got caught.
"It's my fault, hyung. It's because of me. If he hadn't jumped in front of me, he wouldn't have been caught." Bam Bam spoke through his tears. "It should've been me---"
"Don't be stupid, Bam." Jackson growled. "Yugyeom did it to save you. He knew what he was in for when he jumped in front of you."
The broken Bam Bam glanced up at the older, eyes puffy and red from crying, "I can't let him die. I'm not just going to just sit around and watch my best friend die."
Jackson froze, eyes locking with Bam Bam's. In that moment, he saw his youger self in him. So broken. So lost. So frustrated but at the same time, scared. Everyone in the house knew what was going to happen to Yugyeom but nobody said anything for the sake of Bam Bam. However, hearing it come out of Bam Bam's mouth felt too real and it was like a slap across each of their faces. Their youngest pack member was going to die. For what? For jumping in to take the bullet for his friend. For helping another, Yugyeom was going to get executed.
"Bam Bam." Youngjae whispered softly when he saw tears rolled down the younger's face.
"It's my fault. I have to take responsibility for it."
"How exactly are you going to do that, huh?" Jackson spat, the cheerful boy from earlier gone, "Give yourself up to the Council? You think that's going to help anyone? If anything, they're going to execute you along with Yugyeom--"
"Jackson." Jaebum snarled, eyes narrowed warningly at the other.
Jackson huffed, crossing his arms with a frown on his face. He didn't mean to loose it like that to the boy. It wasn't because he was blaming Bam Bam for it, if anything he was just trying to make him see that he'd be risking himself for nothing. Maybe there was another way to say that more...kindly but Jackson was sensitive to these type of topics. Mark sighed and walked over to his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder, a silent way to tell him to calm down.
"There has to be a way." Youngjae spoke up, giving Bam Bam's shoulder a squeeze.
"There is." a cheerful voice chirped out.
Everyone's head whipped towards the door and found Ahyeon standing there with a smile on her face. They didn't even hear her come in.
"Ahyeon, I thought you went home already." Jaebum smiled at the girl.
She nodded with a soft smile, "I did but mom told me to bring this to you."
She stuck her hands out and in her palms was a small purple pouch. Jaebum grabbed the pouch from her and emptied out what was inside it. A slightly translucent and opaque white gemstone fell out onto his palm. Before he could even open his mouth to ask what it was, Ahyeon spoke up.
"Mom heard what happened so she gave me this to give to you. It's a Moonstone," Ahyeon said. "Ask it anything and if it chooses to, it'll show you the solution."
Youngjae's eyebrows pinched together, "Hyung, I've read about it. I never thought it existed though but--"
"We could use it to help Yugyeom." Mark finished his sentence for him.
Jaebum looked up from the stone, eyes filled with disbelief. He stared at the girl in front of him before asking, "Will it work?"
"I've seen mom asked it before but I haven't seen it work. The elders here seem to believe it does. They said that it must be something that the person truly wants."
"And we're back to step 1." Jackson grumbled.
Ahyeon frowned at her favorite oppa, "If it doesn't show then you're going to have my word for it."
"Your word about what?" he asked.
"Rumor has it, there is yet but one last Royal Blood left. The elders say that she's our last hope. The one who will overthrow the Council and bring this world back to what it was before, but better. She's the rightful ruler, the heir to the throne. She's said to be the most powerful were-wolf yet to graze this century. If she's real, she can stop all this."
"Exactly, if she's real." Mark said, "We don't even know for sure if she exists."
"Look, I know it sounds fake and everything but it's the only thing you guys have." Ahyeon said.
"She's right." Jaebum spoke up.
"Wait, you're actually going along with this?" Jackson raised his eyebrows at the alpha.
"We have to do it. It's the only lead we've got." Bam Bam said, wiping at his tears stained face. "It's the only hope we can hold on to."
"How do we even find her?" Youngjae whispered, eyes searching the ground as if it has ansers to give him.
"A Protector. She has one with her. You should be able to sniff him out. He can't leave her side. " Ahyeon smiled, "Wherever he is, she's there."
Jackson shot the little girl a proud smile. For a 13 year old, she has quite the information on her.
"Let's go wolf hunting then."
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HEY GUYS! First official chapter yaaayyyy! Tbh I had fun writing this chapter more than I thought I would. There wasn't much on the oc and Jinyoung and how they're doing but that will kick in next chap for sure. If this chapter feels too short for you guys then im sorry! Ill try to make it longer if you want?? But if its a good length then ill keep it this way. ☺ ANY WHO I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY READING THIS CHAPTER. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS AND TELL ME HOW YOU GUYS LIKE IT thank youuuuu☺☺☺
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