Chapter 19 - Killing the beast 

"Tao's injured," Baekhyun wheezed into the phone, and Ara gasped, quickly running over to the sliding door leading to the garden, opening it. "I'm bringing him to you, tell Yunho to get ready." Baekhyun hung up after that, and Ara didn't need to tell Yunho what to do, the older male already spreading out his equipment on the coffee table. 

"How much do you know about stopping bleeding wounds?" Yunho suddenly asked, and Ara paled, putting away her phone. 

"I've watched like five episodes of Grey's Anatomy, if that's anything to go by." Her comment made Yunho snort, but there was still tension in the air. Ara wordlessly helped Yunho spread a blanket on the floor, both looking over at the sliding doors with startled expressions when Baekhyun barged in with Tao draped over his back.

"Careful," Yunho instructed, helping Baekhyun place a pale and sweaty Tao on the blanket. His shirt was ripped right under his chest, and Ara felt her heart drop, bile rising to at the sight of dark blood. Baekhyun gave Tao one final worried look before jogging backwards. 

"I need to go back, the thing is absolutely huge and we've actually managed to see it since the sun is still setting-"

"Please, be careful," Ara interrupted, quickly giving him a hug, because Baekhyun felt like family and Baekhyun was panting, scared, panicked, and Ara hated that the rest probably were in a similar condition. Baekhyun placed an arm around Ara's waist, squeezing it before pulling away and running out into the backyard and then further into the huge forest behind it. 

"Ara, a little help." Ara snapped out of her thoughts and quickly walked over to Yunho, crouching down next to him. "Squeeze this." Yunho removed his hands from Tao's abdomen and Ara quickly pressed her hands against the bloodied bandage, grimacing when Tao winced in pain. He was barely conscious, his eyes half lidded, incoherent mumbles leaving his lips. "Remove it now." Yunho pressed a thick, green cloth onto the wound and Tao howled, eyes going steel blue, his claws extending, slashing Ara's arm in the process. 

Ara cried out in pain and quickly pushed against Tao's arms, almost fruitlessly because Tao was using his werewolf strength and Ara was basically a toothpick next to him.

Yunho pressed his fingers against the green cloth and whispered something, light slowly circling the material, and Tao suddenly went limp. Ara was panting, and she sat back, clutching her bleeding arm with a small wince. There was a light tingle at the tips of her fingers, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

"What the hell did you do?" Yunho sighed, smirking as he also leaned against the coffee table. 

"It's a herbal salve, I put loads of it on the cloth and activated the magic with a few spells." Ara felt her arm throbbing in pain, but she couldn't help but stare in bewilderment at Tao's abdomen where the green cloth was still shining. "Knocked him out, but at least he won't be bleeding to death." The graveness of the situation returned, and both Ara and Yunho anxiously looked at each other. 

"Whatever this beast is, we have to either burn it or decapitate it," Yunho said, and Ara felt her heart hammering in her chest. She hadn't even seen the beast and she was scared.

Her fingers suddenly started tingling but Ara ignored it, her mind elsewhere, and it wasn't until a loud growl was heard from the forest outside the house that both Ara and Yunho jumped to their feet. 

"Is it here?" Ara whispered, and Yunho nodded, jaw set