Baekhyun thought that he had covered everything, he avoided telling Chanyeol the larger plan he knew Daehyun was setting in motion, he spoke with his friends and brought them into light about the situation, he had written letters for his mate to open when the time came that they could no longer walk beside each other. He had asked for Suho and Luhan to help him fill a couple bottles of his own blood for Chanyeol whenever the Alpha may need them, especially now that he was certain that he wouldn't see the end of the following week.

Baekhyun knew that it was simply a waiting game now that they all knew that Daehyun and Maddix had set up base in Parking Lane, they were gathering intel from Jessica and preparing themselves for a battle.

What everyone hadn't taken into consideration was the constant overlooked fact that Kyungsoo had linked his mind with Chanyeol's. If the experience in the café earlier in the week was anything to go by, it was obvious that it was only Chanyeol that was able to do anything with these capabilities seeing as how Baekhyun wasn't able to see into his mate's mind.  

In retaliation towards Baekhyun's plan, Chanyeol had claimed to both him and their friends that he was going to check on the Alphas that had taken over their duty so they could attend the ceremony, it was completely volunteering group of wolves who Chanyeol recognized from the day classes he attended before Baekhyun came to the school and they were shoved into a class together. He insisted on going alone since he needed to calm himself down.

There was a strong red goo boiling in the pit of his stomach which he has never experienced to such extent before; anger. It was growing the more he understood why Baekhyun didn't want him to know about Daehyun and his possible plans for them both, Chanyeol figured that his mate had gathered that he would rather release hell then let anything happen to him and by God was he going to (within reason.. hopefully). It frustrated him whenever he thought that Baekhyun would rather die than allow Chanyeol to attempt to keep him safe, even if the chances were slim he would have at least liken to try.

But seeing as how Baekhyun's plan had played out, Chanyeol realised how much love the vampire had for him. It wasn't an option Chanyeol would have considered since he hated the idea of his mate leaving him, but if it meant that Baekhyun would finally be at peace than so be it.

When he arrived at the forest the wolves all crowded around him, bowing their heads to show their respect to their Alpha.

Chanyeol merely waved his hand, the idea of the wolves respecting him was overwhelming. He wasn't the Park Chanyeol in Baekhyun's dreams, he couldn't be a king and he definitely couldn't lead people. He didn't have powers and he certainly didn't have the force of a highly trained military royal guard behind him either, he was alone forced into a battle where he would have to fight against a massive army in which his brother raised. He was surrounded by students who had no idea of the dangers awaiting them at the bottom of the hill, the pressure of their lives were hanging heavily upon his shoulders as well as the shoulders of the other protectors. Why his mother had decided to name the twelve of them 'the protectors' when they needed a lot more than that to defeat his brother, was beyond him. He didn't doubt that she was only hoping that they would be brought back to the time in their first lives where they gave up their creator name in order to pick up arms against those who wished to harm their people.

But things had changed since then, they couldn't do it alone.

Which is why Chanyeol found himself shedding a couple tears as he told the story he and the rest of the protectors had been faced with, the wolves surrounding him listened with intent. Their hearts broke as Chanyeol told them the story of two mates who were unable to express their love for each other as a curse was applied to them the moment they arrived on the planet. At first the wolves needed to comprehend the story, allow the words to register in their mind until they could come up with a reasonable conclusion- no matter how strange. Chanyeol wallowed in the silence, his fingers occasionally wiping against his cheek before he began another tale, one that Baekhyun was unwilling to speak of. Again, the other wolves listened to their Alpha, their emotions overwhelming them as they too could see why the vampire was so set on keeping it to himself.

"He doesn't want to tell you anything because he's afraid that you'll be the one placing yourself in danger, Baekhyun is willing to give up his life for you Chanyeol. You both came to the conclusion that you're mates and that's a lot in itself, he loves you and even though he can't say it he is desperately trying to show it." Stella, a beta wolf stated with a small smile on her lips. She had shifted into her human form, allowing Chanyeol to see her facial expressions as she listened to his story. She, just like everyone else, liked the pairing. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had a chemistry that they had never seen before, sure they had witnessed the Big Bad Wolf and his flings but it was clear when Baekhyun showed up things would be different. Seeing Chanyeol focused on one person rather than two or three at a time was shocking. Like tunneled vision Park Chanyeol - the school's Big Bad Wolf- was swept off his feet the moment Baekhyun walked into that canteen. The anger and frustration that was fueled in his advances was quickly extinguished at the mere existence of a newbie vampire who had raised his voice louder than that of the werewolf's until his words hit home.

"You all know that I have a darkness in me," Chanyeol continued, his voice hoarse from the amount of words he had spoken. "It used to feel like a pit of lava in my stomach constantly boiling until it nearly spills over the top. For some time I allowed it to brew, grow and strengthen, I always knew that one day it would overflow and I wouldn't be able to control it or myself. When I saw Baekhyun for the first time, that was when I lost control of my actions. Everything was pulling me to him, the both of us were in a trance that we couldn't escape until our friends ripped us from it. My anger has never returned to me after Baekhyun and I spoke, I feel as if once he's gone it will return ten times greater than before."

"We can speak freely," Stella reminded Chanyeol of his earlier demand and thus took another cautious step forward. "We all know the minimum power you possess without your anger however with it you are quite the force to be reckoned with, everyone throught so."

"Your enemies included," Derek -an Alpha wolf from the younger generation grinned, skipping up to Chanyeol with a blonde haired boy by his side. "everyone was talking about it! People were shocked when you actually began to address them with a lighter tone than before, it was really nice hyung!"

"And thank you for removing us hybrids from the witch category!" The blonde curly haired boy grinned, bouncing up and down on the heels of his feet. Chanyeol released a chuckle as he crouched down offering one hand to each of the boys.

"What are the both of you doing out here? Aren't you both a little young?"

"They insisted." Stella declared with a shake of her head, apparently these boys were quite persuasive in getting what they wanted. "But we haven't taken our eyes off them since."

"We're twelve years old hyung!" both of them cried, bright smiles on their lips as they both shared a chuckle. "And we want to kick alongside you!"

Chanyeol stared into their eyes realising how close they looked like in similarity, perhaps they were brothers or at least cousins? "I definitely have the perfect jobs for you if that's what you wish to do." he smiled as they squeezed his hand in excitement, oh yes. Park Chanyeol had a plan and it was going to be one of the most 'leaderish' things he could do, he was going to include everyone no matter how young or how old. Everyone would have an important role in his battle against his brother and hopefully he would be able to protect them as well as the love of his life.

"You know you won't be able to save everyone right?" Stella whispered, edging closer to the Alpha whose attention had fallen onto the ground. Derek and his friend were ushered away by some of the older werewolves, Chanyeol figured that they were the ones that had been tasked to watch over them. "People are going to die in a fight with Daehyun, I mean your brother -extremely complicated way of explaining that by the way. A simple, 'yeah he's my brother!' would have worked just as easily!"

"I'm not prepared for people to die for us," Chanyeol shook his head, standing up properly with his shoulders spread wide. "but I can't ignore reality. So instead of thinking of ways to exclude you and risk getting us all killed I'm going to accept the help of whoever is willing to offer it, it won't be an easy thing to accomplish and I don't doubt that we can get through this but, I have a plan."

"Thought of so quickly?" Aaron, one of the more comedic wolves chuckled. His grin made a small smile appear on Chanyeol's face, he had truly missed the boy's antics. The constant jokes the boy had in class would always be aided by Jongdae, the two of them feeding off the other's comedic actions. Chanyeol could recall how much his ribs hurt after spending a mere class with the two of them, if Sehun and Jongin annoyed the teachers with their bickering than Jongdae and Aaron frustrated them with their pranks. It was even worse when the four of them had gathered to do pranks, yet since the three of them were pulled away from him in favour of joining the protectors they hadn't seen much of each other.

"I've been thinking about it ever since Baekhyun's made a plan of his own." Chanyeol admitted, the wolves cocking their heads to the sides as they eagerly listened once again. "Being about to read his mind helped out a bit, so I can at least work around it."

"Have you considered the fact that Baekhyun may actually want to die?" Stella questioned even though her voice was hesitant. Chanyeol swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded his head.

"If my mate wants to die so that I can survive then so be it, it's his choice and as much as I would love to protect him I know that I can't stop him from something that he puts his mind towards, he's stubborn like that." Chanyeol let out a chuckle, a tear escaped through his eye before he recklessly swiped it away.

"You said that Baekhyun thinks that Daehyun had unlinked the both of you?" Colin, a quieter wolf wondered, his brow raised as he looked up at the taller one who had a little trouble recalling his name after having been gone from their class for some time. "Making your venom toxic to him, as well as unlinking you both from the curse that prevents the both of you from saying that you love each other, right?"

"Yes."

"There might be someone who can help with at least one of those problems," Colin grinned, confident enough to come up to the Alpha and place a hand on his shoulder. "I just need to steal you away from everyone first that is if you are willing to join me."

"We will go and spread the word to the vampires, we'll enter the night classes and give everyone the message. We'll tell them to keep it quiet and collect the names of those who are willing to fight, you won't be alone in this fight your majesty." Aaron declared with an overly dramatic bow, a coy grin on his face even after Stella collided her hand off his neck.

"Thank you," Chanyeol couldn't help but laugh, bowing back with just as much dramatic force as his friend had. "I appreciate your help guys." With that being said Chanyeol turned to Colin who held out his hand in a gesture leading back to the castle, the Alpha let out a small sigh before nodding his head. He continued to tell himself that he could do this, he wasn't as alone as he had previously thought and things may not end in complete bloodshed. For the first time in a long time Chanyeol felt like the darkness that had been surrounding him his entire life was slowly fading away to reveal the light.