Warning: Character Death

..CHAPTER EIGHT..

Jongin sat at the mouth of the cave with his back against the rough wall while a stormy expression laced his handsome features. He was clutching and unclutching his fist with his blazing eyes fixed on his mate, Oh Sehun. The most stubborn and hot headed werewolf, Jongin had the misfortune of encountering.

Once the intensity of Jongin’s glare increased, only then Sehun released a long suffering sigh before halting Jungkook in his mid-sentence in order to turn around and stare at Jongin. The two fully fledged werewolves were busy making plans of their return toward the Oh Clan, considering how Sehun had finally toned down his pride and wanted nothing better than to run back to his clan… protect his clan… protect his family…

“Taemin, I asked you to make Jongin come back to his senses,” Sehun grumbled under his breath, yet his eyes were locked with Jongin’s dark chocolate brown ones. “However, he is still glaring at me and I can feel it in his gaze how he is still hung over his stupid plan.”

“My plan is not stupid,” Jongin retorted fiercely. “I need to go back to my village; this is the only way to wave away the unnecessary attack, which the north clan would be unleashing on your clan.”

“And like I said earlier,” Sehun replied rather calmly. “NO! You are not going back to your village.”

“Sehun-” Jongin started angrily, disregarding the restraining hand of Taemin on his arm, but it was Jungkook’s smooth voice that cut off the bronzed skin boy.

“Jongin, the full moon is fast approaching,” Jungkook explained with utmost patience. “Meaning; you would be turning into your wolf-form for the first time. That would be the most powerful phase, you could experience… however, before and after the full moon, Jongin, you would most vulnerable. Sehun and I can’t return to village with you, seeing how the whole north clan would have arrived at village Hokmo by now and sending you all alone is not a sensible move.”

“Taemin would be with me,” Jongin replied while turning around to look at his elder brother imploringly. “Taemin would take me to mother in secret, and as soon as I have a talk with her, I would convince her to stop Dunken and his clan.”

“It’s not half a bad idea,” Taemin mused quietly, earning a grin from Jongin.

“Yes, because it’s more than half of a bad idea,” Sehun rolled his eyes excessively. “Jongin, as your mate, I cannot allow you to present yourself in the face of danger. Two nights from now, full moon would hang on the obsidian sky proud and whole… the moment of great power exhilaration for werewolves… on the other hand, as soon as full moon shifts, the werewolves are at their weakest spot, something all the hunters around the world are aware of.”

“The reason why the North Clan would attack Oh Clan right after full moon,” Jungkook declared to the still air around them. “Things are already complicated considering your first transformation Jongin, please try to understand.”

It was silent for a moment, in which Jongin contemplated both elder wolves’ words before he muttered a small defeated, “Okay fine as you wish.”

“It’s dangerous to roam the forest at this time of the night,” Sehun kept explaining for the benefit of his mate and his mate’s brother, Taemin. “We would leave for my Clan, at the crack of dawn. Even though it could take three to four weeks to travel there on foot, therefore, Jongin you would be travelling on my wolf-form’s back… if we run fast enough, we would be there in half a day.”

“Okay,” Jungkook said readily. “You can take Jongin with you while I would have to bring Taemin back to the outskirt of the village first, before following you toward Oh Clan.”

“Why would you even bring him here, anyways?” Sehun questioned in a whisper, throwing a discreet look at the Taemin, which was not amiss by the two brothers.

“Taemin and Jimin were insisting on meeting Jongin for days now,” Jungkook supplied with a well-rehearsed sigh. “It was not so hard disciplining the younger one, but Taemin was hell bent on seeing Jongin for the last time.”

“Are they talking about me?” Taemin whispered to his younger brother. Albeit the fact that Taemin didn’t possess extra sensitive ears like the werewolves yet the hush manner and the looks he was receiving, made everything crystal clear for him.

“Yeah, but nothing important,” Jongin assured with a nonchalant shrug, before he turned toward his mate. “If we are leaving at dawn, shouldn’t we catch a few winks, huh?”

“You go ahead,” Sehun waved his hands offhandedly. “I still got a few things to discuss with Jungkook.”

Not even bothering to nod, Jongin quickly got up while dragging his brother with him. They walked in the professionally dug in cavern. Jongin quickly snatched on Taemin’s hand before hurling the elder boy at the extreme end of the cave. The bronzed skin boy wildly gestured his hands around, making Taemin to frown in confusion.

“What?” Taemin shouted shrilly, eyebrows scrunched together.

‘I need to go home,’ Jongin mouthed at his brother, making Taemin’s eyes to widen as he pointed toward the mouth of cave, clearly indicating about what Sehun and Jungkook had said a few moments ago, but Jongin only shook his head.

‘We leave as soon as they fall asleep,’ Jongin again mouthed at Taemin, watching with satisfaction when the elder gulped loudly before nodding a little hesitantly. However, he knew… once Jongin got his mind settle on one thing, it was useless to convince him otherwise.

‘Sehun, would kill us,’ Taemin mouthed in reply, pretending to be at the bleak future ahead of them.

“Don’t worry, he loves me too much,” Jongin whispered with a smug smile, enjoying the horror etched across Taemin’s face.

O-o-o-o-O

“This was a bad idea,” Taemin groaned after exact one minute of already complained about the same thing. “Really bad idea, I tell you.”

“Saying the same thing a hundred thousand times won’t change the fact that we have been travelling toward our village for half a day now, Taemin,” Jongin rolled his eyes excessively.

The sun has risen over the horizon, shining brightly over the thick forest. The pair of siblings had set out as soon as Sehun and Jungkook had conked out last night. The brothers have been travelling for hours now, but by the looks of heavy forest trees around them, Jongin concluded they were still quite far away from their village. According to Taemin’s encounter with the travel, the elder explained how it had taken more than a day for him and Jungkook to travel on foot, just to reach Sehun and Jongin the other day… needless to say Jongin’s resolve has not shaken even then.

“Saying once would never get through that thick skull of yours, clearly,” Taemin huffed, sweeping away the droplets of sweat from his forehead. “And you do realize that if your mate travelled in his wolf-form, he would catch you in the half way, right?”

“Well, it’s worth a try,” Jongin grumbled back, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at his elder brother, who had been nothing but discouraging all this while. “If I am caught, then so be it… but if I can see mother one last time, it’s worth a shot.”

“But why?” The elder among the two seem confused. “After how she threw you out of her life, why would you want to go and meet her, anyways? Do you really believe she would listen to you and stop the North Clan? For all we know, she must be the one to request for the attack.”

“I know she won’t give a crap about my words,” Jongin retorted calmly. “I have something else to talk to her about… a few truths we need to clear between us…”

“Jongin, are you alright?” Taemin mumbled, noticing the tremor in his younger sibling’s voice. He landed his hand on Jongin’s shoulder, giving a squeeze of support once Jongin came to a sudden halt. Slowly raising his head, Jongin darted a look to his brother.

“The way she treats me… makes me doubt even if we are brothers by blood, you know,” Jongin whispered hoarsely. “What if we are half-brothers, Taemin?”

“What nonsense, Nini,” Taemin said angrily, swatting at Jongin’s unexpectedly buff arm. “If there is one thing I am sure of, it’s you and Jimin being my brothers… rest of my whole life could be a lie and I wouldn’t care less.”

Jongin threw a small smile at the elder, which almost conveyed how sad he felt at the moment. But before he could say much, Jongin felt his head spinning slightly, making his knees to jerk. Taemin reached him before he could fall down, but the small and close contact made the elder to cry out loud.

“Jongin, you are running a temperature again,” Taemin exclaimed softly, worry evident in his tone.

“I am fine,” Jongin said in reply, gaining his footing after the nausea passed away. “Let’s keep moving… I wanna reach home before sun down.”

“Hate to break it to you…” Taemin muttered, heaving Jongin’s arm over his shoulder. “But let’s hope we can reach home before tomorrow night… tonight we would be in this very forest, baby brother.”

Jongin cursed Taemin’s black tongue to moon and back, because true to his prediction, the night enclosed them in its darkness when they were still in the Forest. The dark spooky forest. Yet, the younger kept urging them to move even during the night, only grabbing an hour break twice in that time.

The dawn arrived, along with chirping of birds. A few wild animals peeked around, warily glancing at the two boys, who clearly looked dead on their feet. Yet, they kept moving, even no food, no water and no rest couldn’t hinder Jongin’s determination to reach his Village before Sehun catches him from behind.

It was when the sun stood at their heads that Jongin and Taemin exhaled in relief, looking at the thin outline of their village’s border. They staggered toward their destination with haste in their feet.

“You stay here, while I get a cloak to hide you from preying eyes,” Taemin had ordered before slipping under the two large wooden bars, leaving Jongin to sit beside the boundary, catching his breath. While the elder boy ran to get the cloak, Jongin forced down a pinch of grassy herb the weelf, grimacing at the cutting taste.

Once Taemin return, Jongin quickly cloaked himself in order to enter the premises of village that assumed Jongin was abducted by a wolf clan; a rumor spread by none other than Dunken himself. They