He was in the forest, lying on the cool ground, on the forest floor carpeted with fallen leave. Someone's hands were in his fur, and he could feel wet tears. He could smell the presence of so many others – Jimin, Hoseok, Aanchal, Yoongi, Namjoon, and Su Ji.

Su Ji. She was ok... In that instant, Jin was glad he had not harmed her. He wasn't sure how he would have been able to live with himself if he had done so... if he was going to be allowed to live at all, that is.

"Jin..." Jimin's face was pressed against his neck, his soft voice begging Jin to open his eyes.

What had Jin done well that he could refuse such a request? It would only set his brother's heart at ease – he was already crying with relief that he was still alive, and Jin hated to be the cause of Jimin's tears.

The Protector saw him open his eyes to look at his brother.

"He's awake," he said in his smooth voice, and knelt beside Jimin, at Jin's side.

"Jin, can you hear me?"

Jin shut his eyes. No no no, he did not want to hear anything... just leave him be, he was too tired for anything...

"Jin, we're not going to hurt you... we're going to help you, ok?"

When he was locked up behind those bars, that was to help him... were they going to do that, too? Well, he would deserve it...

But wait.... what was this? From somewhere, there was a feeling of someone trying to calm him, silently trying to tell him that he would be all right... where was it coming from?

The white wolf looked at him unblinkingly. Of course... it must come from him... his father had told him once that wolves could communicate amongst each other without words, but Jin had never been able to experience it before. It was a very strange feeling... but it was calming, for some reason.

"Jin," said the Protector's smooth voice, surprisingly soft for someone who supposedly wanted to kill him. "I need you to do something... we need to take you out of here, you understand? I need you to phase. Can you do that?"

Why would he need to phase? Where were they taking him? Jin felt Jimin's hands in his fur, caressing him, trying to calm him.

"Yes, Jin," he whispered. "Please phase."

Jin could hear the unspoken meaning behind Jimin's words. We have to listen to them from now on, and maybe they will go easier on us. We have nothing to lose at this point, so we might as well listen to them.

Jimin was right. They really did have nothing to lose.

Shuddering slightly due to his exhaustion, Jin summoned up the mental strength and gradually felt his body shrink, and Jimin's hands were no longer on fur but on skin.

Jimin took off his coat and put it around Jin, murmuring soothing words softly to the frightened boy.

Namjoon turned to Yoongi. "You too, you better phase. Can't have a wolf in my car, can I? What will the driver think?"

Hoseok nodded, still looking shocked. "I think enough people have had this sort of surprise, thank you very much. Not that it's bad or something," he added hastily. "It's just... very sudden..."

Su Ji laughed. "I'll say! It was sudden for me too – he actually bit me!"

Aanchal gasped and took one step away from Yoongi. "Why would he do that?"

"Relax," said Su Ji. "He bit me because, well, I'm his mate."

"His what?" asked Hoseok.

"His mate," Su Ji explained. "His other half."

"Like a soulmate?" Aanchal supplied.

Su Ji nodded. "Yes! Except wolves really do have something like a soulmate... ugh, it's complicated. But anyway-"

While Su Ji explained, Yoongi had crept off a little way with Namjoon's coat and phased.

"Do wolves genrally go around ?" Hoseok cut in, seeing Yoongi appear with Namjoon's large coat. "That's kinda weird..."

"Oh please," called Yoongi, having heard that."Do you think clothes will magically appear and disappear?"

Namjoon glanced at the still-trembling Jin. "Ok, enough talk and let's get going. You guys wait here, I'll bring the car over."

"How the hell does that idiot think we can all squeeze into his car?" Yoongi grumbled. "Unless of course, Hoseok and Aanchal don't-"

"We won't come yet," said Aanchal. "I honestly think... this is something private. Hobie and I will drop by sometime tomorrow, and you can tell us more about the wolves."

Hoseok nodded. "Yeah... I think we had better be going back. You two," he said, addressing Jimin and Jin. "I'm not sure what's going on right now, but you're going to be ok, I promise."

The brothers nodded, but they looked as though they didn't believe him.

Namjoon's Volvo came and stopped just outside the fringe of the forest. Aanchal and Hoseok quickly said goodbye, and everyone headed to the waiting car, Jimin and Jin clutching each other as though for support. They refused to look at Yoongi, and actually moved as far away from him as possible.

Gosh, this would be a tight squeeze, Su Ji thought. Yoongi got in first, then Su Ji, then Jimin, then Jin. Namjoon sat up front with the driver. Su Ji noticed how Jimin's jaw was clenched tight, and he leaned away from her, so that even in this tight space he wouldn't touch her.

Su Ji felt Yoongi's hand squeeze hers, and Jimin acting as though she were poisonous suddenly didn't bother her that much.

****

Once they had arrived at Namjoon's house, everyone got out quickly so the driver could leave. However, they hadn't taken more than three steps than Jin nearly collapsed, Jimin catching him just in time. Namjoon took hold of his other arm, and together, he and Jimin helped take the boy inside, taking small baby steps at a time.

Yoongi lingered behind them, Su Ji keeping him company. He looked wary, for some reason.

"What's wrong?" asked Su Ji, noticing his expression.

"Nothing," he replied. "I can't relax with Jin around, that's it."

"You can relax now, he honestly seems too exhausted to even walk," she pointed out.

"I know, but still," he muttered. "Don't leave my side for even one second tonight, ok?"

He was feeling guilty that Jin had neary attacked her, Su Ji realized. She slipped her hand in his. "I won't," she promised.

Namjoon led Jin and Jimin to his room, where Jin was put in bed and covered with blankets.

"Do you want to stay?" Namjoon asked Jimin, who nodded. "All right, you may stay – I think that will be better for your brother."

Namjoon threw Yoongi some of his clothes, who disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared in ten seconds, all dressed. After understanding Namjoon's pointed look, he steered Su Ji out of the room. "Namjoon wants to talk to Jin," he whispered.

"But will Jin talk?" she asked.

"Eventually, he might say a bit. You know how Namjoon's voice makes you do things."

Oh yes, Su Ji knew that very well. They sat on the couch, and it was only then that Su Ji realized how tired she actually was.

"You're hurt." Yoongi took her hands and turned them, palm upwards.

"It's just a scratch – it'll be gone in a few days."

He gently ran his finger along the little bits of undamaged skin on her palms, like he was solving a maze. "I'm so grateful that you only got hurt this much..."

It could have been so much worse... Jin had actually not hurt her directly, even when he had snapped at her ankles his teeth had not touched her – he had been pushing her down. But she shuddered to think of what woud have happened if Yoongi had not appeared when he had...

Like a movie, she saw Jin stand up straight once more, his cold eyes locking on her and his mouth twisting into an almost mocking smile – as though mocking her for being stupid enough to help him. She could see his body shake and lengthen, and could still feel the terror of having the black wolf – the black wolf who had attacked so many people – right before her, and this time ready to attack her.

But that wasn't the most shocking and scary thing to her – it was the fact that Jin had been the wolf all along. Not Jimin, not anyone else, but Jin... the sickly and motherly boy she had wanted to befriend.

Jimin's behavior, especially his anger when she had seen him leaving Mrs Choi's house, must have been because of the emotional strain and stress to have a brother like that. Despite knowing what Jin did was wrong, he never turned in his brother. With no father and only a mother who ill-treated Jin, all the bothers had were each other.

It must have been so tough for Jimin.

But the fact that she could have been badly hurt just a while ago was finally starting to sink in – until then, her body and mind had only been worried for Yoongi, and how he would react to the black wolf. Now that Jin was finally in safety, and Yoongi was fine, her mind and body was reminding her of what had nearly happened to her.

She felt Yoongi's arm across her shoulder tighten. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, I am-"

"No you aren't! And what a stupid question, too! Of course you aren't ok – you were really scared, weren't you?"

"Yeah..." she said slowly. "But in all honesty, I was more scared for you... I was scared that Jin might hurt you," she confessed, and added silently or that something would happen to Jin. "And now..."

"I know," he said softly, so close to her that his breath kissed her ear when he spoke. "I know... it's only now that your emotions are focusing on you, right?"

"I was so scared," she whispered, closing her eyes, as though trying to close her feelings. Sighing, she leaned her head against Yoongi's shoulder, leaning into him for comfort.

Yoongi's warm hand squeezed her arm reassuringly, telling her that he was right here. He pressed his lips against her temple, and smoothed the hair away from her face. "Everything is ok now," he said, and his voice made her melt, it was so warm. "Everything ended well, just like you said it would."

"I know, and for that, I'm grateful." She took Yoongi's hand and ran her fingers across the tips of his, their fingers finishing the dance they had not been able to complete that night.

They sat there in silence, enjoying each other's closeness, comfortable on Namjoon's springy couch. Who would have thought that they'd be together in Namjoon's house one day? And that Jin and Jimin would be in his room?

"It was really strange," Yoongi whispered, finally breaking the easy silence between them.

"What was?"

"In the forest... when I was running after Jin... he just stopped running after a while, and he fell to the ground. He was awake, but he acted as though he had passed out – and he actually wanted me to attack him... I could hear his thoughts... and you know something else? He was glad that he hadn't hurt you..."

That was funny, indeed. Jin had looked like he had really wanted to hurt her... yet he was glad that he had failed? Perhaps, he hadn't knowingly been attacking people... perhaps, like what had happened with Yoongi to Mr Choi, he hadn't really even realized what he was doing.

"Do you think he knew what he was doing?" she asked softly, her breath against Yoongi's neck.

"I don't think so," he replied. "Tonight though, he knew very well what he was doing, I think he planned it."

"Do you think it was to avenge... his father?"

Yoongi closed his eyes. "I think so. But in that case, he should have gone for me, not you. Su Ji, I'm so sorry... because of me, you were put in danger and-"

"Shh," she cut in. "It wasn't because of you. You aren't responsible for anyone else's actions – people act on their own."

"But if I hadn't-"

"It was an accident, and you never asked Jin to target me. It isn't your fault."

"It's impossible to win against you, you know that?" said Yoongi, smiling very slightly.

"I know," she laughed. "But it really isn't your fault, ok? I don't blame you for one second, and if you blame yourself agian, I'll throw you in a trashcan and kick it down a mountain!"

"You wouldn't even be able to fit me in one of those," he pointed.

"Oh yeah? I'll find a giant one just for you, and then you'll see"

Yooongi chuckled and tightened his arm around her shoulder, pressing her closer to him. Su Ji snuggled against him, closer and closer, until she realized that she was half-sitting on his lap. Yoongi pulled her even closer, so she was completely sitting on his lap and he wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her securely.

"Ah, my comfortable seat is back," she murmured, her head against his chest.

"More comfortable than the couch?"

"More comfortable than anything in the world," she replied. And it was true – here, against Yoongi's warm torso and h