Jongdae could barely look at the man that was in the bed. Sehun was in a miserable state: his back was heavily disfigured by bruises and angry, red welts, there were cuts all over the expanse of previously smooth skin and they were bleeding, making Sehun’s back look like a red sea.

Luhan, who had been called by Seungwan as soon as the punishment had ended and a frantic Jongdae, along with Hongki, Kibum and Jonghyun who rushed to take care of the man, looked troubled, his expression serious and worried, as he inspected and treated Sehun’s back, applying ointment after ointment, cream after cream, on the battered back, fingers gentle and caring.

“What do you think, Luhan?” he asked nervously, worrying his bottom lip on his teeth, to the point that it was becoming painful.

“Well, the prognosis is not very good. He suffered a great beating this time, Hyungseung, aside from the multiple lacerations that were dealt to his back, managed to hit him on areas above some vital organs that are probably bruised as well. I’ve seen this kind of punishment being dealt a few times but none like this. Sehun will be permanently scared and this is going to take a while healing. Lots of antibiotic medicine and a lot of rest and fluids is what he is going to be hooked on the next few weeks. I’ll then decide the amount of painkillers I give him when he wakes up and I access the amount of pain that he is in, which I believe that it’s going to be a lot.”

Jongdae grimaced; he knew that those would be Luhan’s words but it didn’t mean that he was happy about them because he wasn’t, not in the least. He had been friends with Sehun ever since he was a little boy and the younger, along with his family, had been Jongdae’s salvation when he was younger, stopping him from becoming a beating bag and giving him the love he needed; naturally, Jongdae cared a lot about Sehun, after all it was someone who he considered a best friend, a brother, a platonic soulmate of sorts, and he never wished to something like this to happen to him.

As Jongdae thought further about this brutal attack on Sehun, the lesser sense it made to him, or at least, in his perspective: why, all of a sudden, had Sehun turned into a target and why, it couldn’t be solely because Sooyoun had found him meddling on something and, if it was indeed that, why had she made it into a public event? Either Sehun had really found the jackpot or he had made something else to anger Sooyoun: he did say had been followed this afternoon.

He was starting to feel dizzy with the amounts of questions that keep on appearing, frustration as well since the answers were so little, it was a two men team trying to solve things out and, although Jongin and his brothers help, it was difficult for them to be very active in the investigations and snooping around: if they were caught it could mean death for them as well for himself and Sehun for treason, which was not a fate he wished to tempt.

His thoughts were dissolved as Sehun, unconsciously, whimpered out loud when Luhan must’ve touched a particularly sensitive part on his back. Jongdae averted his eyes from the sight of his very injured friend and Hongki, who didn’t show much of affection towards others, actually grabbed his shoulder tightly, squeezing it comfortingly, understanding the situation better than anyone: he knew far too well how it felt to, directly or indirectly, suffer from the punishments inflicted by the Council.

“You know that he is going to be okay, don’t you?” asked Hongki softly. “I am not going to lie and say that he’s going to wake up in a few moments like nothing happen; he’s most likely to wake up with an excruciating amount of pain and that will last for several days until the swelling doesn’t go down and the wound won’t start to scab but he’ll be fine.”

“He will be scarred though…” added Kibum from the other side of the room, a bitter smile painting his lips as his hand immediately traveled to the scar on his brow, courtesy of a lashing gone terribly wrong to the point that the man almost had gone blind, while Jonghyun threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to his own body, trying to provide some love to the taller male and reassure him, knowing that the younger felt a little self-conscious over it.

“But Sehun is strong.” Interrupted Seungwan from her place at the bedside table, not even bothering to look over at them, eyes staring at the still form on the bed instead. “Sehun is stronger than we think and, although he may be a little self-conscious at the beginning, he will understand that the marks don’t define him as a man or as a wolf and that understanding, that perspective where he opts for not judging, not even himself, will be the key to his success, to his recovery and for his victory over a Council who tried to overpower him, oppress him and denigrate his image by acting which such brutality that even would shock the most barbaric being out there.”

Seungwan let her fingers trail softly over Sehun’s hair, weaving through the silky locks and tranquilize the man as the pain made itself be noticed even in his unconscious state, making him whimper again. As the whimpers died a little, only faint sounds escaping his throat, she turned her head to regard the males occupying the hut.

“We all know that this punishment was nothing more than a façade, planned and executed by the Council, to explicitly hurt Sehun. I don’t believe for a second that he was offensive to Sooyoun, whatever reason that led her to do this had nothing to do with Sehun’s manners: he is much too polite to do such a thing, this was something that was a personal vendetta of hers for unknown motives. However, we do know that anything and everything, as petty as it may sounds, serves as a purpose to deliver said vendetta against people. Also, she was clever enough to manipulate Soo Man into doing this precisely when Kris or Junmyeon aren’t here, so she can do whatever the heck she wants without being stopped; when Kris returns from the pilgrimage, it will be too late to do nothing more than to reprehend them; plus, he also did it while Minseok was away so that the second in command won’t act on Kris’ behalf and stop this pretend game. This was far too serious, it always is but never like this.”

“I concur.” Replied Jonghyun, a hand rubbing gentle circles on his mate skin. “It was far too violent and aggressive. I am a little afraid to see what they are going to do next!”

“They have become more pushing when it comes to what they want and that is worrisome; I mean what if it reaches a point where Kris cannot contain them we are doomed! They are going to turn this community into a dictatorship and then it’s everyone for himself.” Admitted Kibum, looking very out of character by looking so vulnerable.

Hongki snorted, making everyone look at him.

“That only happens if we allow it to happen, if people start refusing to do what they want, to follow orders, we can have a riot big enough to subvert them.”

“It’s not that simply Hongki.”explained Luhan. “First of all the amount of people that are traditionalists and who follow everything they say blindly is still very great; they would never turn their backs on the Council and favor Kris: they don’t even like Kris for being so young and insisting on alliances with other packs instead of simply bulldozing through them like raging bulls. Only youngsters like us, whose parents were a little open minded, and who are open minded themselves look at Kris like a true leader and someone who is, finally, the best person to remain in charge of our pack! Also, the Council, to our dismay, is not above using low tricks to make us do what they want; how many times did they use Kibum to get to Jonghyun and vice versa? Why do you think that Minseok is sent on so many missions? Why was Kyungsoo assigned as a priest? Why do you think I wasn’t allowed to mate outside the pack? It’s all their doing!”

Talking about Luhan’s almost mating was something that it was still a delicate topic despite having happened about five years ago from the present time. It had been before Kris’ leadership when a neighbor pack had come to their territory for some negotiations and Luhan had been head over heels over a beta of their pack, a small girl named Youngsun; both pack had allowed them to begin the process of courting, something that was very common between wolves, especially if the wolves in question belonged to different packs, however, in the end, his pack abruptly denied his mating request and sent the visiting pack away. Luhan had been devastated and it took a great while for him to step out of the state of pure depression that he had felt into; the sight of Youngsun being escorted forcefully over the limits of their territory while screaming for him was something that Luhan would doubtfully forget and the echoes of her screams still resounded in his mind along with his own. He didn’t hear anything from her until half a year later when Minseok, after returning from a mission, relayed that Youngsun had succumbed to septicemia; he hadn’t really disclosure the ways in which Luhan appreciated.

Everyone knew that Luhan was not the same man that he was; a big part of his sunny disposition vanishing from the moment Youngsun was forced out of his life and only now he seemed to be on the way out of the dark place he was and, little by little, resembling a fraction of the person he had been.

While they didn’t like the haunted look on Luhan’s face as the man remembered all those things, they to acknowledge that it was true: only a small percentage of people was feeling displeased with the Council’s actions and that percentage was not nearly enough to change anything, their power among the ranks was not enough and it showed, Sehun was proof of it as it was the innumerous other people that had suffered the same punishment or worse.

“This has to be stopped, though!” rebutted Hongki, his eyes looking like flames even in the darkened hut. “We cannot allow ourselves to accept this treatment. What if one day the price that we have to pay is our own lives?”

The comment was met with silence; no one knew what to say. Hongki was, in fact, a little rebellious and a revolutionary man, but he had some point in the words he had just spoken. What if, indeed, someday their lives were taken just because the Council had some grudge against them?

“I am not worried.” came Seungwan’s voice, sounding very calm and collected, making every head turn to her. “In the midst of chaos, some will rise and show us the answer, bring us help to conquer what is ours and to get us rid of all our enemies.”

There was something about the way she spoke, something sure and positive, that made Jongdae choke up and his eyes water a little; the faith and the belief on the woman were remarkable and he only wished he could have them too, especially now that Sehun was hurt and he needed help.

Jongdae had tried to speak to Sehun this afternoon but the taller had been full of things to tell him and hadn’t allow him to speak and relay the news that he had discovered who Jongin had saw in his vision and who was supposedly to be killed tomorrow evening, on the night of the full moon.

Had this not happened to Sehun, Jongdae was sure that, between himself and the taller, a plan could be developed and help provided but, as he was now alone, he couldn’t fathom what to do and how to proceed; although he was not weak and his high intelligence, Sehun had always been better at thinking rationally and coming up with ideas to solve things; plus, he was also stronger than him and much more intimidating.

“Jongdae,” came Seungwan’s voice, making him look over at her. “you should go and talk to Kyungsoo.”

“Kyungsoo?” he asked, confused as why Seungwan had said that.

“Yes, he probably does not know about Sehun and, as a friend of his, I really think that he should be informed; he would like to know if his friends were hurt.”

Jongdae must have been in a dumb day, which happened once in a blue moon for the smart man, because he didn’t understand why Seungwan was insisting or the pointed looks she was sending him.

Seungwan sighed slightly when Jongdae kept on looking at her, standing still on his spot, as if he had been paralyzed.

“Let’s be honest here, Sehun isn’t going to wake anytime soon and only Luhan is really needed in here since he is monitoring Hun’s health. I really think that you should warn Kyungsoo about what happened, not only because Sehun is his friend but also because, as we know, Kyungsoo is often the target on these foul things the Council does. In addition to that, I believe that you have a more particular matter do discuss with him regarding tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? What’s so important about tomorrow?” asked Jonghyun a little confused at the apparently strange and very one-sided conversation.

“Tomorrow it’s the full moon.” Replied Kibum as confused as everyone, although he masked it quite well, giving only an elegant questioning air.

That was when Jongdae understood what Seungwan was trying to say to him and, frankly, it petrified him. Jongdae had wanted to tell Sehun that he had found the person that Jongin had seen in his vision; however, he hadn’t told anyone that that person was Kyungsoo. He had discovered it when he bypassed the priest today on the streets and saw the dangling bracelet on the other’s wrist, exactly like the way Jongin had described it.

How could Seungwan know about that? Was she really referring to that or was he reading more to it than necessary? What did she know about this subject? Had Sehun disclosure something with her? The questions were accumulating and Jongdae was on the verge of a mental breakdown but, instead of dwelling too much on that, he prefer to shake them off him for the moment and deal with more impending missions such as prevent Jongin’s visions from happening. After that he would question Seungwan all he wanted and answer some of his questions: they were innumerous but he would be absolutely happy just with seeing some of them, few even, answered.

With a firm nod in her direction, he asked all of the people inside the hut to take care of Sehun while he would go and warn Kyungsoo, not even adding much more to the subject in case he would blurt more than he should.

No one said anything to him, opting for nodding in his direction, since there was nothing more to discuss since Seungwan had diverted the topic that they had been arguing about previously and it made no sense to return to it at the moment with Jongdae leaving and Sehun in the poor state he was in.

The beta left the hut, running towards the temple and praying that he would find Kyungsoo there, a sense of direction, after Seungwan’s push, guiding his actions; he hadn’t been able to do much to help Sehun but he could certainly try and help Kyungsoo and, while he really thought that Sehun was far more indicated to be doing this, since he was far better at handling problems than himself, who panicked over everything and was sort of emotional when he wasn’t supposed to be, he was going to give his best: it was time to put on his cape and be a hero.

Jongdae did find Kyungsoo at the temple; the omega was praying when he burst inside the temple, running and making a huge commotion, scaring the life out of Kyungsoo.

“Jongdae?” asked Kyungsoo, surprised to see the other in there, especially so late in the afternoon; the sun was setting and it was barely illuminated out there.

Jongdae was not really sure as what he should be saying or doing; how could he ever explain to Kyungsoo that someone, an Oracle none the less, had seen his death. Kyungsoo wouldn’t believe him and, in the best case scenario, he would be scared and freaked out by the situation.

However, Jongdae knew he had to do something; how could he not? His friend could possibly die tomorrow and, although Jongin said it was uncertain, since future changed a lot, he didn’t want to test the theory and actually allow him to die. But… how would he do this.

Kyungsoo seemed alarmed at his paleness and inability to express himself; he hadn’t uttered a word so far and approached him, helping him to sit on a wooden bench near the altar, usually reserved for injured or elderly wolves, while patting him in the back, calling his name repeatedly and trying to get him to answer.

Jongdae bit his lip and thought what Sehun would do in the situation: he clearly depended on the younger male for about anything and everything, he might be smart but Sehun had far more social skills than him and Mother Earth, he really needed his best friend right now.

“Jongdae, please answer: is everything okay?” asked Kyungsoo, getting a little desperate by now at the other blank stare.

“No. No, it’s not!” answered the beta with an anguished expression on his face, eyes moving to look directly onto Kyungsoo.

“Can I help? What do you want me to do? How can I help?” asked the priest, being completely kind and caring, as he usually was.

“Sehun got hurt…” he began uncertainly, opting for the deliver the lesser of the evils first: Sehun was hurt but he was alive, Kyungsoo might not be!

“Oh no!” exclaimed the priest horrified and worried all at once while his hand moved to rub circles onto Jongdae’s back. “Is Luhan taking care of him? It’s not too serious it? Well, Sehun is a healthy, young wolf so his immune system must be very good and he will be healthy in no time!” comforted Kyungsoo with a tight smile on his lips, trying to reassure Jongdae even though he was worried over the news delivered to him: he is close with Sehun after all.

“…and I think your life is in danger!” finished Jongdae with a low whisper, still audible enough for Kyungsoo to listen and to froze at the words, standing still for a few seconds.

“What do you mean?” asked the omega, confusion lacing his voice, along with a tad bit of fear.

“I think that someone is after you with the intents of killing you.”

“Hold on, Jongdae; what is this? I don’t get why are you saying that or why would you even say something like that! This isn’t funny! If this is another joke that Tao deemed funny and convinced you to do it for him then tell him that it isn’t funny!” replied the other male, sounding upset, clearly not understanding the seriousness of the situation or even the that he wasn’t joking, that he would never joke over something like this, but he didn’t have the time to feel offended.

“It’s not a joke!” he argued in a low voice, minding that at any moment, someone could hear their conversation and their situation worsen. “Do you think that I would joke about something like this Kyungsoo? You know me, I would never! Sehun and I were meant to tell you this far sooner but we had trouble finding you and Sehun got injured, which made things far more difficult than any of us would imagine!”

“Jongdae, you aren’t making any sense! Are you feeling alright?” asked Kyungsoo.

The omega convinced that this was all incoherent babble from Jongdae, probably due to a not so good dream or sunstroke caused by working in the fields for a long time; the words coming out from Jongdae made no sense whatsoever and Kyungsoo wasn’t taking the other serious which frustrated Jongdae to no end.

“Listen to me!” he snapped, growling a little, the sound coming from the back of his throat and surprising Kyungsoo. “I’m feeling perfectly fine and I am aware of what I’m saying!”

Kyungsoo’s hand retracted from his back and he crouched himself next to Jongdae, looking over at the man with furrowed eyebrows, a look on his face that was clearly asking the other to explain.

“I…” began Jongdae, losing, for a split second, his bravado; after all, this was the trickiest part now that the secret was out. “Sehun and I found that your life might be in danger; someone is plotting to murder you.”

“And how exactly you know that?” asked the omega with raised eyebrows. “I am not trying to discredit your words but you need to understand that you are not making sense and it’s a very hard thing to believe in.”

“It’s hard to explain…”

“Start from the beginning!” replied the other with a beatific smile on his lips, a hand coming again to run through Jongdae’s back when he noticed that the other was slightly shaking. “I’ll help: you said that Sehun was hurt; how did he get hurt?”

“The Council!” replied the beta. “They came up with some story about how Sehun was disrespectful toward Sooyoun and he was publicly punished with some whip lashes across his back.”

Kyungsoo gasped audibly, loudly even, completely appalled at the thought of polite and gentle Sehun to be treated this badly, publicly humiliated by a group of people who pursued people like hound dogs when things didn’t go their way.

“Luhan is treating him right now and Seungwan told me to warn you about and I decided to talk to you about the other thing. I know it sounds weird but, Kyungsoo, you have got to believe me and I don’t have much time to try and save you.”

“How exactly is my life endangered? I know it’s not the easiest being the pack’s priest, especially with this Council, but it’s rather safe, Jongdae!”

“No, it’s not!

“Pray tell, how do you know that?”

Jongdae was met with another dilemma: he wanted to save Kyungsoo, with a fierce desperation that only those who knew time was ticking away and they would be the ones to solve it felt, but there was a promise between Sehun and the three brothers, him as well due to obvious reasons, where their secret was not to be revealed. However, how could Jongdae explain the situation without mentioned them?

In a bold move, Jongdae decided to tell the other exactly how he had got the information, without naming anyone, therefore their identity would be preserved just in case and it would add a logic to his declaration.

“The truth was that an Oracle wolf said that a man with a bracelet with a pendant, said pendant being two stones: a rose quartz and an emerald, would be killed in the night of the full moon. I know you have a bracelet like that; I saw it today. It’s you!”

Kyungsoo looked taken aback; Jongdae could see his fingers tracing the small hidden bracelet gently and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it had been a gift from Minseok. The words ‘Oracle wolf’ were ringing in his ears and it left a tingle of discomfort and fear running through his spine.

“There aren’t any Oracle wolves around Jongdae, there are extinct!”

“No, they are not! Please, you have to believe me!”

“You’re not making sense…”

Kyungsoo wasn’t going to believe him; Jongdae was starting to realize that pretty quickly that Kyungsoo was not going to believe him no matter what he would say; after all, it was just too much of a strange story, with a huge, strange plot, and a dangerous and strange character. However, and regardless all of that, knew that he had to play the last card he had: his ace, which was something that he had pondered over and was now being forced to use, even though he didn’t want to.

“I’m really sorry Jongdae but I think you should go home, or maybe to Sehun, since he is injured, and sleep it off because I think the shock is affecting you…”

“If I could prove my words, would you promise to do as I say without making too many questions?” he asked suddenly, knowing very well that he was taking a big risk; if Kyungsoo said yes, there would be no other way around, he would’ve go and venture into the forest and try to find Jongin, which would probably displease the trio of wolves but could save his friend and that was only if Kyungsoo took things well and didn’t run back to report back to the Council and leave him and Sehun in a very big mess.

Kyungsoo paused in his words to look at the other male; there was tenseness in his eyes and a real fear in them that took him quite aback. He regarded the other carefully, trying to find a sign that this was a joke or that the other was ill but the fact was that there was none of those signs on the other’s face, and that made Kyungsoo question, for the first time, the possibility of them being truth.

“Yes.” He said at last with a little nod, not seeing the need to add something more to the sentence.

“Ok. Ok!” mumbled Jongdae, more to himself than to the omega, suspected Kyungsoo, standing up nervously and wiping the palms of his hands to the fabric of his pants. “Then meet me at the back of the temple after midnight.”

“What?” asked a shocked Kyungsoo, not expecting the request from the other.

“No questions, Kyungsoo! You promised!” snapped Jongdae, completely out of character.

Kyungsoo looked at the other, completely shocked at the outburst; he half expected Jongdae to apologize but the other simply pointed his finger at him and repeated the request before running out of the temple.

It was way past of midnight and Kyungsoo, as per requested by Jongdae, was waiting for said beta at the back of the temple, seriously contemplating going back inside, since the man was nowhere in sight.

“He was tricking me…I should go back inside!” he mumbled to himself in a low whisper, hoping not to draw the attention of any alpha running the perimeter of their village.

“No, you shouldn’t.” he heard behind him, making him turn to see Jongdae coming in his direction. “I’m sorry I took so long, I had to check the alpha’s routes in order to be able to get us outside the village without any problem.”

“We are going outside?” asked Kyungsoo with wide eyes.

“Yes, we are!” replied Jongdae starting moving towards the northern part of the village: the forbidden area, double checking every corner and stopping at every sound, making his steps silent and light as he went, with a dazed Kyungsoo in tow.

Kyungsoo didn’t dare to make a sound: first of all, it was very forbidden for him to be anywhere near the perimeters of the village and he wasn’t really sure that Jongdae was allowed to either; secondly, there was a determination on Jongdae’s part that had him going quiet and simply accepting the other’s commands that came sparingly and in little whispers such as ‘turn here’, ‘be careful where you step’, ‘stop, I’m hearing something’ or even ‘hurry up!’.

The beta led him up into the northern part with a lot of stealth and precision, which did impressed Kyungsoo, who really wasn’t used to see Jongdae behaving like that, and, at the same time, filled him with a sense of dread and thrill; this was the first time in some years, that Kyungsoo was leaving the village in the middle of the night and the feeling was exhilarating and it made him feel free.

Leaving the village wasn’t difficult, Jongdae had really done his job and assured himself that everything was precisely defined and clear for them to leave. The small amount of words traded between them let Kyungsoo know that the only person who knew that Jongdae was not in his hut, like he was supposed to, was Seungwan and even she didn’t know all the details, according to Jongdae.

“I just told her that I needed to leave the village for a few hours; she got me covered. You’re okay since you live in the temple.”

After surpassing safely the perimeters of the village, Jongdae and Kyungsoo walked a good amount of time up to the river, crossing it, which Kyungsoo hated slightly, since he didn’t fair too well with cold water. When they reached the other margin, Jongdae helped him out of the river and looked over for something, looking slightly lost for a second, before finding what he wanted, starting his march again, with Kyungsoo almost stumbling out trying to follow the man.

They hadn’t walked much when something came darting from the forest, stopping in front of them; Kyungsoo fell back on the floor with the shock, managing to contain a small scream at the surprising visit.

The thing in front of him was a gigantic wolf, bigger than any wolf that Kyungsoo had ever seen, that had a light color to his fur, which approached them. His eyes, big, enormous eyes, glinted in a multitude of colors, making Kyungsoo scramble back. What was this? What was this thing?

He screamed out loud when a second wolf ,his eyes glowing also in a beautiful array of colors and little smaller than the first one but no less impressive, came out of the woods, in a slow steady pace, with someone, a young male, with a beautiful caramel tinted skin, next to him, walking in their direction,

Kyungsoo looked over to Jongdae and the male didn’t look surprised at the trio in front of them; if anything, the other looked quite relieved to see them. The wolves morphed into their human form, clearly sensing no danger, which calmed Kyungsoo a little, knowing that they weren’t going to attacked them, and Jongdae took the incentive to walk forward, near them.

“Jongdae!” greeted the caramel skinned male, with warm eyes, extending an arm toward his friend.

“Jongin!” greeted the beta looking, for the first time in the entire evening, relaxed and completely at ease.

Kyungsoo blanched at the familiarity between then. How on Earth did Jongdae know these men?

Jongdae whispered a few words to Jongin and to the two other males around them, hands moving fast and mouth, no doubt, moving even faster, if the high pitches he could hear were any indication, transmitting some kind of message that had all of them turning to look at him. Kyungsoo shrunk back in fear; he trusted Jongdae, he knew the other was not going to lead him into a dangerous situation but these men scared him.

The caramel colored skin male approached him with slow, small steps: soft but sure, and crouched in front of him, gentle smile and gentle eyes peering at the frightened face in front of him.

“Hi Kyungsoo, I’m Jongin.”

And then his eyes turned the most vibrant shade of green Kyungsoo’s had ever seen. Kyungsoo looked up and met, straight on, the eyes of the man in front of him: the eyes of an Oracle.

A/N: Another chapter done! Now, everyone knows that Sehun was unfairly beaten down and that Jongdae, finding who was the person being assassinated, tried to prevent the killing by telling Kyungsoo what was happening and updating him on the facts. Kyungsoo, was naturally suspicious but Jongdae cover that up! Did you think that Jongdae did the right thing? And what about Kyungsoo's distrust? Sehun is out for the count at this point and yet there is still much more to come! Tell me all your thoughts on a comment, on private message and subscribe and upvote!
As always, I hope that you are all safe and sound, very healthy and being loved by inumerous people, loving them just as much and being HAPPY!
Have an amazing week.
Lots of love,
<3