"So you're N's Beta?" Hongbin asked.

'Ken', as he was called, shook his head, chuckling a little. "Actually, it's a little complicated," he said. "I'm actually an Omega."

Hongbin's eyes grew wide. "An Omega?"

Ken nodded, then clapped his hands and turned to them all where they sat in a circle on some rocks. "Well, now that you all know me, I think it should be fair that i know you, don't you think?"

Hongbin stood up. "I-I'm Hongbin, Lee Hongbin," he said. "That's Jung Taekwoon, his alias is Leo. Then that's Kim Wonsik, a druid in training, and Han Sanghyuk, a hunter."

Ken pursed his lips slightly. "Giving out your real names at once, huh?" he said. "You guys sure are new to this."

"Will you take us to see N?" Wonsik cut in.

Ken turned his eyes on him. "Of course," he said. "That's the reason I came here."

They all perked up at that. "You came for that?"

Ken nodded. "To be completely honest, N's been searching for Rhea's son for a while now," he admitted. "We didn't have much to go on, so finding you took some time. But luckily, you called out for us, so I was able to find you instantly."

Sanghyuk quickly leaned in to Wonsik. "Who's Rhea?"

"Hongbin's mother," Wonsik whispered back. "Her alias was Rhea."

Ken then stood up, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "Well, we should get going."

"Get going where?" Taekwoon asked.

"Didn't you guys want to meet N?" Ken asked, looking around. "If you did, then we should get going before it gets dark. You don't want the hellhounds to come after you, do you?"

Everyone's mouths dropped. "Y-you know about the hellhounds?" Hongbin stuttered.

Ken gave him a sad smile. "Unfortunately, we do."

Ken surprised them with how considerate he was of the humans and the oncoming cold.

"We should move fast," he told them. "Otherwise you guys will get stuck out here in the cold."

He led them through the woods quickly. To their surprise, not too far from where they had been taking that breather near the river, was an abandoned cottage.

Ken led them right to it. "You must excuse the accommodations," he said, "but it was the best we could find on such short notice since we left our territory."

He pushed open the door to an astonishingly warm cabin, for being an abandoned one. Candles and lights were placed everywhere, and a heater set up. The cottage also had an old school fireplace, in which a fire was currently running, casting a nice warm glow in the place, giving it a feeling of home.

Down the stairs then walked down a man with a book in his hand, dressed casually in a white sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of dark denims along with sneakers. He looked up when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"You're back," he said happily. "Did you find them?"

Ken nodded. "I found them." He then stepped aside to let the teens through.

The man smiled at Hongbin. "We meet at last," he said.

Hongbin narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Who do you think?" the man asked. "I am N."

The man called N quickly ushered them inside, sitting them down on the sofas.

"There are warm blankets if anybody needs," he offered. "Ken! Bring some hot chocolate for our guests!"

"What we were already drinking?" Ken asked.

"Yeah, just heat it up and serve it. There's more than enough for everybody," N said, turning back to the four and offering a big smile.

Hongbin took the time to study the man who was supposed to be one of the most dangerous Alphas in the country.

He was probably a couple of years older than Ken, although he didn't look it. He had a baby face with a wide smile and tanned skin. His dark brown hair fell down over his forehead. His small eyes curved into an eye smile. He wasn't built much, rather he was incredibly slender. He reminded Hongbin of a ballet dancer he once saw when he was young.

This guy was an Alpha who was almost on the level of his mother? He looked kind of fragile to Hongbin at first glance.

"Good thing you guys got here before dark," N said to them. "I bet it must have been pretty cold for you humans, right?" he directed the question to Wonsik and Sanghyuk as Ken brought out glasses filled with hot chocolate.

Before they could answer, he rubbed his palms together. "Well, shall we introduce ourselves?" he asked. "My alias is N, but my real name is Cha Hakyeon."

"N!" Ken immediately hissed at him. "Why did you tell them that?"

"It's alright, Jaehwan-ah," N assured him. "It's alright if they know, besides, they might trust us more."

"But-"

"No buts," N said sternly.

Ken sighed. "Well, might as well tell you my name too." He turned to the four. "Lee Jaehwan." He held out his hand and shook all four offered hands.

"Um, N-" Hongbin began to say when Hakyeon cut him off.

"Call me Hakyeon, Hongbin," the elder said. "I prefer to be called my real name by those who know it."

Hongbin drew back. "Y-you know me?"

"Of course I know you," Hakyeon exclaimed. "You're Seo Jaehee's son, aren't you?"

Hongbin stood up. "How do you know my mother's real name?" he questioned. "Were you that close with her?"

Hakyeon simply smiled and gestured for him to sit down. "How about we discuss the matter at hand first, and I tell you everything later?"

Hongbin wanted to question him further, but when he looked into Hakyeon's eyes, he felt a sense of slight fear. Those deep eyes told him that he did not want this particular person to be irritated, so he gulped down what he was going to say and sat back on the sofa.

Taekwoon coughed to break the silence. "I'm Jung Taekwoon, my alias is Leo," he spoke up. "Beside me is Kim Wonsik, a druid-"

"-in training," Wonsik supplied.

"-and beside him is Han Sanghyuk, a hunter."

Hakyeon's eyes went over them, his gaze lingering for a moment longer on Sanghyuk before he turned back to them as a whole. "So let's get down to business, huh?" he asked, rubbing his palms gleefully. "I get it you four have something to talk about with me?"

Hongbin nodded. "Yeah, we wanted to ask you-" He then paused and looked around as Ken also came into the room. "Wait a moment, where's the pack?"

Ken looked down at once and Hakyeon's smile turned sad, his eyes casting a silver glow before turning back to brown. "You're looking at it."

Hongbin's eyes widened. "You two make up the most dangerous pack in the country?"

Hakyeon shook his head. "No, we couldn't do that on our own," he explained. His voice turned heavy as he said his next words.

"Our pack was slaughtered by the hellhounds. We are all that's left of it."