Numb.

That’s all Jessica and Krystal felt. Their bodies should have responded to the nurses trying to speak with them in the hospital, but they didn’t. Because they didn’t feel anything.

They were numb.

Aiden and Yuri are here, sitting next to them. They were holding their girlfriends hands, trying to comfort them. The twins didn’t notice.

Out of all the people in the world… Jaehyun?

Jaehyun. Their idiot brother. The boy who annoys them to no end. Their little baby brother.

The doctors were doing everything they can to help him, but they were fighting a downhill battle. He lost so much blood, and he was beginning to become unresponsive.

The twins stared at the same spot for hours, not noticing the movement going around them. Their minds were blank, their bodies were numb. They can’t even remember how they got to the hospital in the first place.

Yuri and Aiden felt broken. They couldn’t bear seeing the twins like this. They also couldn’t get the picture of Jaehyun’s mangled body out of their heads. The bloodied mess on the ground, hearing the faint heartbeat, claw marks covering his body. It was horrendous.

He was alive, thank god, but barley. Aiden couldn’t help but feel responsible, he took Jaehyun’s attack as a warning.

It was now late into the night. He had ordered the rest of the pack and Irene to go home while He and Yuri stayed with the Jung’s for moral support. The twins were still unresponsive. Mr and Mrs. Jung were busy talking to the doctors.

Sooner or later the twins fell asleep in Aiden and Yuri’s arms, tears staining their cheeks. It hurt the boys internally.

“Hi, boys” Mrs. Jung said softly, sitting down next to them. It was 3 in the morning, the waiting room was almost deserted.

“Hi” Yuri croaked

“How is he?” Aiden asked

Mrs. Jung let out a shaky breath. “They’re managing, but, it doesn’t look too great”

The boys felt tears prink their eyes. “We’re so-”

“Oh, honey, it’s not your fault” Mrs. Jung said, wiping the tears off Aiden and Yuri’s cheeks. “I am so grateful you found him. Who would have known what would have happened if you- if you hadn’t-”

Mrs. Jung placed a hand over , sobbing silently. Aiden who was closer, took the hand that wasn’t being used as a pillow by Krystal to rub Mrs. Jung’s back.

They didn’t know what to say. This was different from any other situation they’ve ever been in. when their parents were murdered, they didn’t have anyone to say “they’re going to make it” because they were already dead. They didn’t know if saying that Mrs. Jung would be comforting or setting her up for disappointment.

Aiden contemplated on saying “we know what it’s like to lose someone” but he thought that was selfish. So they opted to stay silent.

“Hey, kids” Mr. Jung said, walking up to the boys and his wife and sleeping daughters. “Why don’t you go home? Get some rest. We all really appreciate you boys being here, but I don’t want you wasting your time here when you could be sleeping”

The boys glanced down at the sleeping girls in their arms, then back up at Mr. Jung.

“With all due respect, Mr. Jung, we want to stay here. Not just for Jessica and Krystal, but for Jaehyun as well.” Yuri said

“Yeah and, I-I can’t help but feel… responsible…” Aiden said

“Sweetie, you had nothing to do with this” Mrs. Jung said, putting a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “This was a freak accident”

Looking at Mr and Mrs. Jung, Aiden and Yuri’s stomach filled with guilt. If only they knew…

“I’m still sorry” Aiden said quietly. “If there’s any way we can help…”

“We’ll be sure to let you know” Mr. Jung assured. “But for now, I want to get these girls home. I’ll drive you back to your place”

Jessica and Krystal laid in the back seat, a blank expression on their faces. Mr. Jung and the boys drove silently to their cabin. Mrs. Jung stayed with her son at the hospital.

“Is this around the area where you found him?” Mr. Jung asked as they to the road of the Blue Moon forest.

“No that was on the other side” Aiden said. “He was sort of near the lake, on an offshoot of a path”

“How did you find him?” Mr. Jung asked.

Aiden knew he couldn’t say ‘my psychic friend found him while looking for murderers’  so he opted to go with the excuse he always gives people.

“Our foster father likes to take us for hikes in the woods” he shrugged, feeling incredibly guilty. 

“Ah, I should thank him for deciding to take you kids out tonight” Mr. Jung drummed the steering wheel. “What’s his name?”

“Shim Changmin” 

“Got it” Mr. Jung stopped the car. The lights were still on at the house, no doubt the pack was up waiting for news.

Aiden and Yuri got out of the car, and looked at the twins, who were sitting there, unfazed.

Yuri cleared his throat nervously. “Um, we’re going to leave now, bye”

The twins still didn’t move. Yuri quickly kissed Jessica’s cheek before he and Aiden head out.

Aiden opened the front door and the pack, and Irene, stood up to greet the Alpha and Beta. Mr. Jung walked in behind.

“How is he?” Taeyeon asked. The boys shrugged half heartedly.

“He’s managing” Mr. Jung said, trying to keep jos voice from cracking. “I wanted to thank you all for finding my boy”

“Oh, I’m glad we did” Changmin said, stepping forward. “He gave is quite a scare. I wish him all the best”

Changmin held his hand out. “I’m Changmin”

Mr. Jung’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. “You’re Changmin?”

“Right, I am, sir” Changmin grinned.

“You’re a kid”

“I am actually twenty-six”

“How do you raise all these teenagers by yourself?”

“Oh, it’s quite simple. Slipping them alcohol helps” Changmin smirked. This made Mr. Jung’s eyes widen even more.

“Joking! I’m joking, man” Changmin assured, putting up his hands in surrender. “Sorry. Jokes are probably tasteless right now due to the circumstances”

“It’s alright. A laugh might be something I need right now”

“Then don’t talk to Aiden” Key piped up. “He tries to be funny and fails”

“Yeah, the only one who finds him funny is Krystal” Victoria added

“Oh crap, the twins!” Mr. Jung shook his head. “I forgot they were in the car. Thank you again for finding my son. It was nice meeting you”

“Bye” Changmin called after him, shutting the door.

“So did you find anything?” Aiden asked Irene.

Irene yawned. “I went back to the place where he was attacked. The only things that came to me were letters, but I have no idea what they mean”

Irene handed Aiden a piece of paper. She scribbled down the letters J, M, K, E, and S.

“Do these mean anything to you?” Irene asked

Aiden shook his head. “No, nothing”

Changmin sighed. “Alright kids. It’s currently 3:45 AM, and you have school in the morning”

The pack groaned.

“Can’t you let us skip, hyung? It’s too late to get to bed and someone needs to keep Irene company all day” Hyoyeon pleaded.

“Fine. Yeah, let’s do that” Changmin sighed. He walked up by Aiden while the others headed upstairs. “Are you okay?”

“I feel like ” Aiden admitted. “Is this my punishment for not listening to him?”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up” Changmin comforted. “It’s not your fault”

“Everyone keeps telling me that!” Aiden slammed his hands on the table angrily. “Everyone keeps saying ‘it’s not your fault, Aiden!’ ‘Don’t blame yourself for this, Aiden!’ well guess what? This is my fault. It’s my job to protect these people and make sure sickos like Kang and his cronies don’t kill people and I failed! Multiple times”

Aiden ran his hands through his hair furiously, heavily panting. Tears were forming in his eyes.

“Maybe Kai was right” Aiden said quietly. “Maybe a sixteen year old can’t be an Alpha”

“Kai doesn’t know ” Changmin said calmly. “I truly mean this when I say it, Aiden. This isn’t your fault”

“Yes it-”

“Aiden” Changmin said again. “This is some twisted bastards’s work. It has nothing to do with you, I promise”

Aiden started to cry, feeling helpless. He knew Changmin meant well, but his words didn’t help

“Let’s get you to bed” Changmin said, helping the guy up. “You’ve had a long day”

~~~~~

The twins sat in the seats next to their brother, hearing the machines beep continuously as the nurses and doctors rushed in and out of the room.

They didn’t know what time it was or what day, they were too out of it to understand. All they did was stare at the wall.

They didn’t even notice Yuri and Aiden were there until the guys tried to get them to drink something. Apparently, Aiden had even been trying to contact Krystal verbally and telepathically for an hour. 

“You have to drink” Aiden said softly

“No” Jessica croaked. Yuri was taken aback, he didn’t expect a reaction to come out of either of them.

“Please” Yuri asked. “Do it”

“I don’t want to” Krystal said this time.

“Krystal-” 

“No” she said firmly. The twins each looked at Yuri and Aiden, hatred in their eyes. “This is your fault” Krystal said

Aiden felt his mouth go dry. Krystal and Jessica looked so angry.

“Jung SooJung” Mrs. Jung scolded. “Do not blame these boys. They did nothing wrong”

“You know exactly what you did” Krystal said bitterly

Aiden and Yuri felt their hearts drop from their chest. Was this really happening?

“You’re toxic” Jessica croaked out, her voice cracking. Tears started to spill out of the twin’s eyes. They came out of Yuri and Aiden’s, too. “Everyone around you dies”

They’re saying this because they’re hurt, Aiden told Yuri. Only because they’re hurt 

“Girls” Mrs. Jung said, shocked that her daughters would say something like that. “That is a terrible thing to say”

The twins regretted those words as soon as they said them. They cupped their hands over their mouth glancing at each other and then looked back at Aiden and Yuri.

The boys got off their chairs. “We should go-”

“Aiden” Krystal croaked, “Yuri” Jessica said right after, reaching out. “We’re sorry-”

“I think it’s best if you stay here with your family” Yuri wiped the tear out of his eyes, trying to pass it as if it were nothing. “We’ll talk to you later”

“Aiden-”

“Goodbye Krystal, Jessica” the boys couldn’t look at them without feeling worse. “Bye, Mrs. Jung”

Yuri shut the door, both letting their tears spill freely. The twins cried on the other side, letting the sobs wrack their bodies. They felt like saying that to Aiden and Yuri. They wished that they could take it back, knowing that the guys actually had nothing to do with their brother’s attack. They were just upset and the boys happened to be in their line of fire.

They really ed up this time.

~~~~~

The quiet hospital set an eerie vibe, especially late at night. The only workers were half asleep, barely noticing a guy slipping through the doors into one of the rooms.

Aiden looked at Jaehyun’s body with dread. He felt this pit on his stomach that kept eating away at him, like some monster. He couldn’t keep it down.

Jaehyun looked so tiny, so fragile. His state was heartbreaking, and his vitals had seen better days. His heartbeat wasn’t the best, and Aiden could hear it faltering. All because of him…

Aiden swallowed thickly, set on what he was about to do. He looked through the window in Jaehyun’s room, staring at the crescent moon.

He called the moon goddess to give him strength, and to help him in his next move. In the mirror, he saw that his eyes began to glow gold.

He had only done this once before, when he was thirteen, and he found Jonghyun dying on the street.

Aiden took Jaehyun’s arm, the one that had the IV, and stared at the flesh. He felt his teeth curve into sharp canines he only feels once a month.

Jaehyun was in this state because of him, and he wanted to fix this. Not just for Jessica and Krystal, but for Jaehyun. The boy had so much to live for.

He bit down, letting his teeth sink into the younger boy’s flesh. He felt the metallic taste of blood fill his mouth, staining his teeth and lips and causing him to gag. There was so much medicine in his blood, it burned in Aiden’s mouth.

Jaehyun’s body started to convulse, letting the venom sink in. The machines attached to him started to make loud beeping noises.

Aiden wiped the blood off his face and ran. The nurses and doctors would be there any minute, and he didn’t want to be there for when they started to check on Jaehyun’s stats. Aiden knew he was going to be okay.

And perhaps, maybe adding another member to the pack wouldn’t be a bad thing.