Yeah uh don’t mess up my tempo
들어 봐 이건 충분히 (Listen, this will be enough)
I said don’t mess up my tempo
그녀의 맘을 훔칠 Beat uh (This beat will steal her heart). - EXO

♡ Chapter 7 ♡

When I was a little girl, before the submissive madness, before my pain, I remember smiling. I had friends, I had a family, nobody would hurt me, and I was free. Valenteux wasn’t home to any pack or clan, just a bunch of mythics and humans. We were happy.

Dad would take me to the park at night, once a month, admiring the cool breeze as the streetlights would glow the town like no other. The moon was up high, and he would sit me on the bench before leaving me. All alone.

Each and every time, I would slip off the bench and take a step forward, coddling my stuffed bunny as I hear a howl in the distance. My bottom lip would tremble, cries threatening to leave before a familiar brown bear would sit in front of me. At least I thought it was a bear, considering how big werewolves are.

I didn’t know who those big doe eyes, begging for me to come forward, belonged to till now. I remember growing more attached each time, comparing myself to the ‘bear’ who had nobody. I remember growing up, and thinking of ‘Mr. Bear’ as my imaginary friend when Dad would ‘leave’.

Him as an imaginary friend was a rather temporary idea, saying that he was me in another form. He’d been left alone, pushed away from his family. I’d know my mother was dead when I was 7. But he couldn’t tell me he was Mr. Bear till I was 12.

Every morning to school was a blast. I remember our neighbours at the time, my best friend. He was rather tan, a human, though his parents were vampires. I remember calling him my ‘boyfriend’ and he called me his ‘girlfriend’. We were merely 6 year olds, childish but inseparable. I say that, and remember every detail with him, yet I can’t remember his name. How embarrassing.

From birth till then, we’d always known each other. It was only when he told me about family problems that we parted ways, 7 years old. I guess his absence triggered something. I recalled him saying his mum and dad was playing hide-and-seek right now and so he had to leave with them. I recall the buckets of tears I stained his pink shirt with, devastated with him leaving me.

Things were different after that.

I remember the lilac-coloured flower Dad would grow in the garden, now wilted to a bitter nothingness. I knew what it was, a bad flower, but I stayed away from it every morning after his pep talk. He would promise me every day that he’d love me for who I was. He swore to protect me from anybody, even himself. I didn’t know what he meant at the time, but I wish he didn’t lie.

I wish I knew his thoughts when he hit me. Not the drunkard ones, the ones from his heart. I want to see the life flourish back into his eyes. I would do anything to see a glimpse of those eyes, even the doe eyes that bore a broken heart, begging to be pieced together again.

It makes me wonder…

♡ y/n’s pov ♡

I groaned, feeling the pins and needles settle in the skin of my stomach. I could feel the bandage tickle my skin, tempted to scratch, but I knew better than to open my wound. My cheeks warmed as I realised, I was shirtless. The thought of Jennie seeing me like this was embarrassing to say the least.

It was strange, knowing Jennie helped me. I mean sure, dad was ready to slash my throat if she hadn’t intervened, but I thought she hated me. She told me to stay away – now I’m lying in a queen bed in a huge room, in her house.

I could hear two voices outside, disturbing my peace as I curled underneath the blanket. It was obvious one was Jennies’ – nobody could sound as angelic while shouting their lungs off, I cringed at my thought.

“What do you mean she’s away?! I need her here!” Who’s away?

“I-I’m sorry, Lady J. The Queen has gone on a trip to England. She’s gone to visit the human royal family due to the new addition to the family.” Oh, the Queen.

“The marriage? I doubt that mother would leave me with here with the submissive.” I need to get out of here.

“She requested me to say, be friends with Miss Kang. She believes she would be of benefit to you.”

“Benefit? As long as she stays away from me and her father, and she gives me answers. Because she has a lot of explaining to do!”

Oh god, she’d pissed, I thought tentatively, side tracking to a plan of scape. I can’t live here, Jennie would kill me the second she sees me again. She’s already bothered by my presence – I don’t need to make it any worse before school starts again.

‘You dare think about running away? You stupid brat! Beggars can’t be choosers. You’ve been welcomed into a luxurious place with your mate and you dare say run away?’

S-stop… Leave me alone!

‘You really are a dumb , a mutt who deserves no pack. You need to learn that I’m a part of you, your wolf, and your damn soul. No matter what, I’ll always be there to haunt your mind.’

No… You can’t stay, you’d kill me.

‘Oh I wouldn’t ever go that far. I haven’t said anything because without you, there’s no me. Without me, there’s also no you. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life, you pathetic child.’

I can’t!

Oh yes you can. What’re you doing here anyways? I bet the Queen wants you here just so Jennie can have a punching bag. She probably saved you to use you instead.’

Before I knew it, the blanket was ripped away from my body, leaving me shivering as a gasp was heard. I was now aware of the fact that I was indeed topless with only a pair of skimpy shorts – which definitely weren’t mine – almost bare to whoever faintly shouted. “Lady J! Please come back!”

Don’t call her back!

Luckily I’d been curled in a ball, legs to my chest as I scoured for any heat. My arms hugged my knees tight, nails digging deep into the skin of my legs as though to rip the skin off. The same voice didn’t stop taunting, growing louder and louder in my ears till all I knew of was this very voice that guided me to life.

Was the voice right? Should I just leave the town and never look back? There was nobody to miss, and no one would miss me. I was selfish to stay – this very room was enough for me to thank the Queen for a lifetime. My life had no purpose anyways, it’s not like the Queen would want a scrawny child like me.

‘Yes… yes. You’re finally getting the idea. You know who you are now, don’t you?’

No… because I’m nobody.

The voice could be heard laughing – no, cackling in the back as though I’d spoken a joke.

I was, am, and always will be a joke though. And now-

Soft hands ran down the length of my leg, curling round my fingers till they were gently pried away. A small whimper left my lips, giving in to the cold hands that must belong to a warm heart. I knew it, I could feel it. My hands were pulled away singlehandedly, yet remained to hide my front. I jolted from another cold hand on my shoulder.

♡ no pov ♡

The maid stood shocked, unsure to believe what she was seeing. She’d always known her ‘Lady J’ as a cold Princess, both figuratively and literally. Nobody but the Queen could crack down Jennie Kim, only for a blizzard to freeze over seconds later. She would silently feel sympathetic towards whoever her mate was, if she ever has one.

Never had she ever seen the Princess treat somebody with such utmost care, managing to keep her strong staunch as her guard is never down. It was a peculiar sight to take in – a mystery, all because of a small submissive wolf.

Jennie held no care for the maid in the room, gently pinning the werewolf down on the bed while tracing over the deep nail marks on her skin. She was livid of the submissive who she believed had no right to hurt herself after the aid she’d given. She thought it was tactless.

The thought of y/ns’ wound only raged Jennie further, though it simmered when she knew there would be no lasting scar. She wasn’t sure why she felt dismayed though, in belief that the only scar on the werewolf’s’ body should be a bite mark oh her own fangs.

Did she think of the submissive as a blood bank? Jennie wasn’t sure yet, faltered by the struggle y/n gave out. She made sure to be careful of her chest, knowing she was bare and prone to further injury.

She didn’t need that. She would go crazy at the sight or smell of y/n bleeding.

“Should I call the doctor back, Lady J?” The maid asked, unsure and worried of the way y/n was acting back to Jennie. She was soon answered by Jennie snapping her head back with slightly red eyes. “Don’t you dare! He’s seen enough of her already!”

The maid shakily nodded, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. She didn’t want to be the cause of her Princess’ fury.

Inside, Jennie looked back towards the werewolf. She was tempted to play with her, instead she was sick of the submissive pushing back against her – even though her attempts would remain futile each time.

“Stop it, y/n. I didn’t help so you could hurt yourself again.” Jennie continued to fire the fuel, unknowingly pushing y/n away from her each time – it’s not like they were close anyways. “If it were up to me, I’d make sure I’d never see you again in my life but my mother’s taken a liking to you. I don’t know what she sees in a mutt like you though.”

Jennie knew what the word mutt meant, a slur used upon werewolves who were of no pack or family. They were loners in the dangerous world of mythics, unable to defend themselves and seen as immediate threats. Nobody would help, they were mutts after all, a disgrace to the wolf class.

y/n knew the instant Jennie said mutt, Jennie would never take a liking to a werewolf like her. She gave a chance in the hospital, but perhaps it was a sign. She thought at that moment that Jennie was to never be anything in her eyes.

“I have rules though, and the first is you never go back to that house again. That man is no father of yours. Understood?” The silence deafened the room, y/n struggling to talk from the bubbling emotions. It was an odd rule to her, but it showed that Jennie had a pinch of care for her in her heart. Unless Jennie was trying to ruin her, by leaving her with nobody but her broken self.

She wasn’t broken yet, y/n was strong, but it would be hard to piece her back together again. She would never be the same.

“I asked you something y/n, answer me back! Do you understand?”

In the softest voice, Jennie heard the wolf in a voice so tamed, she wasn’t sure what to think.

“I-I understand.”

And so the days went by… Well, technically two filled with mayhem.

Jennie tormented her maids and guards for the arrival of her mother and y/n ran whenever she felt the slightest shudder run down her spine. She knew only a cold-hearted girl like Jennie could make her warm skin shiver like no other. She was afraid after Jennie ‘restrained’ her that day.

The maids were getting sick of Jennie calling them – even in their sleep – Jennie would call, dead in night, asking for her mother, to which the maids say ‘no’. It would piss her off, but she knew why they said no. The maids found slight amusement when y/n would rush past them, afraid for her life. After hearing what happened that day, they were keen to know what would grow between them.

The guards on the other hand were broad men that were either confused or aggravated by the way y/n ran around the house. They would fear danger was nearby, till they hear the sound of Jennies’ thundering footsteps through the hallways. It was a dangerous ploy to them, as eventually it’ll turn to ‘a boy who cried wolf’. One day they won’t rush to help y/n if they see her running, simply because it’s become the norm.

But soon it was to be Monday, and y/n wasn’t ready for it.

♡ y/n’s pov ♡

It was approximately 5am, and I hadn’t slept a wink. I know sleep is important, especially for werewolves, but I was too afraid to go back to school. School meant Chanyeol, and Chanyeol meant humiliation, and humiliation meant torture and I really didn’t need it, especially when Jennie would be present as well.

You know that sick feeling you get in the middle of the night when you’re filled with nerves? And you go to the bathroom and wash your face off, but it does absolutely nothing? I’m pretty sure that’s me, because drips of sweat have rolled down my cheek into the sheets and I haven’t stopped rolling around yet. Or were they tears? I’m being paranoid.

The idea of being humiliated in front of Jennie is nauseating. But it’s bound to happen anyways. There’s a small hope she’ll save me though. Ah never mind, I’m starting to doubt that idea now.

Before I knew it I was parting with Jennie at the front gate. She was leaving in her luxurious car that I so envied, while I walked. She was expecting her friends to greet her when she entered the building, while I was scared to step foot. We were total opposites that lived together, a duality.

By the time I’d gotten to school, my heart was beating too fast. The werewolves could hear it, the way blood pumped each thumping beat. The vampires could hear it too – their bloodlust almost overtaking as they could hear the blood running through the very veins in my neck.

I didn’t like attention – I never did, I always brought about the wrong kind, especially in school. But this was different, it was from annoyance or bloodlust. Perhaps they weren’t hearing my frenzy heart, but smelling the scratch that continued to heal along the span of my stomach. I was glad to remember my healing was enough to rid of any scar, but that didn’t mean nobody could smell the incense of blood around me.

“What is that horrid smell?!” I freeze, dreading this very moment.

I feel my bag pulled from the back till I fall, knowing a crowd of students have gathered already. My heart beats like the drums in a rock song – nonstop. They don’t hesitate to build up to a pace, leading the band that is my body. It already shakes and my eyes blur from the dizziness, familiar with the repetitive song.

“Ah, y/n… I should’ve known.” He chuckles, no doubt recalling our conversation last week. His eyes glow briefly before his face hardens, easily grabbing me by the collar. “Now if I remember, I told you to stay away. It seems you’re more of a dumb than I thought.” I scowl, but he finds humour in it. This usual routine bored me, but the irony of being much closer to Jennie – it gave a sense of adrenaline.

The song had a new tempo, and she was the new beat.

“You’re ridiculous, Chanyeol.” I sneer, pushing him with my words. It seems I’d done so too much as he drops me to my feet, pushing me till I crash back onto lockers. I’m lucky enough to have my bag on, but I still felt it on my chest. The bandage felt tighter, constricting my chest from every rising breath I took.

“Am I? Says the one who walks into school as though I wouldn’t make you regret it.” I already did, but I have nothing to lose ‘cept this worthless life. I don’t say it though, because I know I’m already in enough trouble.

“Leave her be, Chanyeol.”

Suddenly the crowd parts like the Red Sea, the graceful Jennie Kim strutting through – though the sly leer she gives as Chanyeol looks back proves she’s anything but. Students murmur amongst themselves, gossip after gossip, wondering how the Princess would treat the Submissive. Jennie may be a Princess out there, but she was a goddess in here.

She gave me a new tempo, but could I keep up with the rhythm?

I wasn’t sure myself – considering the hard glare she burns on the back of Chanyeols’ head as he smirks at me once again. Her eyes briefly glow red, a scowl now present as she tilts her head slightly – just like when she first saw, with a glint of something in her eyes,

A second later I was on my back, lying in front of Jennie. Chanyeol had thrown me from the wall to her, like a peace offering – or a piece of trash. The drums start to overpower my head, the cymbals crashing like the high tide along the cliff. It was chaotic, erratic, but she numbed my brain as she leans closer to me.

She was upside down, but so close once again. I could see the small mole underneath her eyebrow, faded from the light concealer she must’ve used. She doesn’t need that stuff, I thought briefly, unsure where I was leading. I could see the chocolate brown eyes often masked by red, her fiery heart always taking over in wavering motions.

That’s when I knew, she’d be the beat to mess up my tempo. Even if I begged, she wouldn’t stop – and I’d fall harder than ever.

lol im late.... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!! i hope everybody had a lovely year and is ready to move on and strive to excellence this year and cachieve their own goals. very delayed, i know... but i got a new computer and i needed to buy microsoft word again TnT. it's okay tho, because i can continue with the next chapter now and it'll come out soon... bye bbys <3