This was really odd, but Jinki knew that the first thing he had to do was to make Jonghyun feel safe before he got him to talk.

“I know you won’t. Come, I’ll take you somewhere safe”

“I want Minho”

Who the heck was Minho now, and why was Jonghyun acting as though he was a child? It must be the shock and fear of what he had seen. Feeling good that he had somehow been able to persuade Jonghyun into coming along with him, Jinki used his mind communication to let the others know that there was no point in waiting for their stakeout. Since he couldn’t take Jonghyun in his current state, Jinki called Taemin and Kibum to come and help him calm Jonghyun down.

Jonghyun had no idea who the person next to him was, although judging by the way he was dressed, it was clear that he was an official of some sort. How had he found him so quickly and why was he being so nice? Jonghyun was sure that Jinki wouldn’t treat him this kindly once he got to know the truth. This time, Jonghyun had regained control much earlier than he usually did, and finally understood what he was capable of. Each time the full moon had hidden behind a cloud, Jonghyun had regained control and was able to see what he had done. Filled with horror but unable to stop or control the beast within him, he had seen everything. The tears in his victim’s eyes he pleaded for his life, the way his blood shot out of his neck when his jugular was ripped open. It was truly horrific, and there was no way he could stop, as long as there was a full moon.

*Flashback*

It had been a lovely day as always, and his friends had planned to stay and camp overnight in the forest. Filled with enthusiasm, Jonghyun spent hours packing enough food for the barbecue, along with a tent and a sleeping bag. Surrounded by his friends, and eating roasted corn on the cob under the stars was something that made him incredibly happy. Unable to sleep, Jonghyun looked over at Minho who was sleeping like a contented baby and felt a twinge of jealousy. Deciding to take a quick walk to tire himself, Jonghyun wandered off far beyond their campsite, into the middle of the forest. Already quite tired, Jonghyun tried to find his way back but ended up getting even more lost. Hearing the sounds of bushes rustling near him, Jonghyun looked around expecting to see one of his friends. Instead, what sprang out was a person who seemed incredibly feral. With long nails on his hands and feet, with blood dripping from his mouth, this person was just horrifying.

As he sprang, Jonghyun tried to run away from the spot but was grabbed and flung across the area. As Jonghyun scooted backwards and backed up against a tree, the feral man walked towards him with a sense of purpose. Wincing and tasting blood in his mouth as he was slapped across the face, Jonghyun shivered in fear as the feral one opened his mouth and bit his arm. Feeling his head start to spin with the unbearable pain, Jonghyun started mentally saying his prayers as he knew this was his end.

As the blood started to leave his body, from his injury, Jonghyun braced himself for the next strike to come. Feeling himself lose consciousness, he just prayed for this creature not to find his friends, before everything went blank.

*End of Flashback*

Jolted back into reality, Jonghyun knew he had to get away from Jinki before he hurt him as well. Somehow, no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t able to move his feet, even an inch.

Jinki, knowing that Jonghyun would try to escape, had performed a binding spell on him, which made him stand rooted to the spot. Once those two arrived, Taemin would be able to charm Jonghyun into revealing what he had seen. If not, at the least, he would calm down.

Taemin and Kibum were stunned to find Jinki standing with someone who looked worse for the wear. His face was filled with terror as he struggled to move. Stretching his hand to touch the squirming man’s shoulder, Taemin felt him relax.

“Jonghyun, they are my most trusted members, Taemin and Kibum. Rest assured that they will do everything they can to protect you”

Instead of moving away, Jonghyun found himself feeling strangely comforted when the slender looking man, Taemin, touched him. Why was he feeling this way? Somehow, the way the other man looked at him was making him feel very strange. It seemed as though he was trying to read him.

“Jinki, he isn’t who you think he is. I can read him”

“Oh, be quiet, Kibum. Anyone can see that he’s in a state of trauma”

A little annoyed that Jinki wasn’t trusting his judgment, Kibum slowed down so he was walking behind them. Jonghyun’s aura was just confusing, to say the least. Using his powers. Kibum tried to figure out all the conflicting emotions floating around Jonghyun. Terror, confusion, mirth, pride, sadness. If he didn’t know any better, Kibum would certainly guess that Jonghyun had a split personality. However, he could sense the danger that lay beneath Jonghyun’s seemingly shy and terrified exterior. All he could do was hope that Jinki would soon come out of his ‘trance’ and understand the actual danger of protecting this man.

“Kibum, if you don’t want to trust him, just take Taemin and meet me at our headquarters”

Unable to shake off the feeling that something horrible was about to happen soon, Kibum pulled Taemin’s arm and started walking at a slower pace, so they’d be on hand when Jinki needed help.

Jinki on the other hand removed the binding spell he had placed on Jonghyun, now that he was calm enough to understand the situation.

“Come with me, Jonghyun. You can trust me, I promise”

Knowing that he had no other choice, Jonghyun slowly started to follow Jinki, hoping that nothing more would happen. Somehow, Jinki kept thinking he was innocent and kept trying to persuade him to tell him what he had seen. How would Jonghyun be able to tell Jinki about the horror that had happened to him? There was no way he would understand.

Glad that Jonghyun was finally beginning to see the light, Jinki smiled at him kindly, willing him to open up. The dark sky was beginning to become clearer, and the lovely moon was beginning to peek out from behind the clouds.

“Look, the full moon looks so lovely today. I don’t even need to use any of my powers to see the way as the paths are all illuminated”

Jonghyun was starting to feel his body changing, and the last person he wished to injure was Jinki, who had been kind to him.

“Jinki, run”

“What do you mean?”

“Run, damn it. Just run far away”

As Jonghyun screamed in pain, Jinki finally saw what Kibum had been trying to warn him about. He could see Jonghyun squirming on the ground in agony, as his limbs started to change form and shape. Thick, coarse hair started covering every part of him, as sharp nails sprung out of his fingers. Somehow, Jonghyun had turned into a werewolf, and by his lack of control, it was obvious that it hadn’t been very long since he got bitten. As the werewolf sprang towards him, Jinki focused on trying to stun him and render him unconscious, which proved to be extremely difficult due to the sheer power he had to use. Although Jinki tried his best to move out of the way, he ended up getting scratched by the werewolf. Quickly applying a healing spell on himself, an annoyed Jinki decided to use all the power he needed, in order to stop this immensely powerful wolf. As he continued to dodge the attacks, Jinki prepared a ball of fire that was large enough to knock the wolf unconscious, but not harm the person underneath. It had the desired effect, as the wolf almost flew backwards, hitting its head on a rock.

Jinki walked towards the unconscious wolf and looked at the sky, where the sun was about to rise. With the moon fully gone, Jonghyun was beginning to revert back to his true form. The claws on his arms and legs started to retract back into his body, and the thick matted hair started to disappear. Within a few minutes, Jonghyun had completely transformed back to his normal self. Since it was only the two of them now, Jinki felt it would be safe to heal Jonghyun and take him aside from everyone else. It was essential to find out how this had happened, and if he was truly the culprit.

As Jonghyun awoke, smelling something burning, he sat up with a fright only to realize that his clothes smelled of smoke. Looking around with an expression of terror for the man who had tried to help him, Jonghyun was rewarded with a wave of relief when he saw Jinki leaning against a tree nearby.

“Jinki, are you alright? I hope I didn’t hurt you”

“No, but you tried to. Tell me the truth, please. Was it you who had committed all the recent murders?”

“I think it was. Each time, I’d wake up covered in blood, with either flesh or blood in my mouth. I have no idea what happens to me, but it always ends in disaster every full moon night. Please help me, I beg of you”

It was strange for Jinki to find such an oblivious werewolf who had still not mastered the art of control, but he was duty-bound to put him in prison. Although he wanted to help him, he knew that he couldn’t let such a murderer roam free. However, he couldn’t help feeling sorry for the man.

“Has anything out of the ordinary happened to you before these incidents?”

Furrowing his brows in concentration as he listened to Jonghyun tell him about the time he was bitten. As per the timeline of the murders, it appeared as though Jonghyun had only committed the last two. Their main culprit was someone else. The one who had turned Jonghyun into one of his kind. All he could do now was pretend that Jonghyun was still a witness and take him to their headquarters by land, without using any magic. In the meantime, he would ask his team to continue on the trail and find the original culprit, while he taught Jonghyun how to control the beast within him. Although the best person for this was Kibum, Jinki really didn’t want to risk anyone else finding out the truth. For some strange reason that even he couldn’t understand, Jinki wanted to protect Jonghyun from prison.

Jonghyun felt rather touched that Jinki was willing to listen to him, rather than making up his mind based on what he had seen. Being given a chance like this wasn’t something he was used to, and if his secret got out, he knew he wouldn’t have any friends. When Jinki suggested teaching him control, Jonghyun jumped right on board, knowing this would keep everyone safe.

“You should receive formal training for this, but I can teach you the basics as we go along”

Some sort of protective instinct made Jinki want to stick his neck out and help Jonghyun, but in this case, it felt like there was more to it than he thought. Always a champion for the underdog, it was Jonghyun’s story that had moved him beyond belief. Someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time had now been cursed for the rest of his life.