Jonghyun stood transfixed to his spot as he saw Kibum drop to his knees and touch the corpse. As he chanted the foreign tongue, his eyes rolled back into his skull, which scared Jonghyun beyond belief. When the corpse sat up on its own, it was the last straw for him and made him take a step back, before being stopped by Taemin.

“Don’t move. He’s a necromancer, and this is normal”

Knowing that he didn’t have much time with the corpse, Kibum knew he had to act fast. With a gurgle, the corpse sat upright and waited to be questioned.

“Who did this?”

“A lycan”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“Only that he didn’t have the time to destroy me completely”

Before Kibum could ask anything more, the incantation stopped and the corpse fell back into the way it was. There was nothing more that he could find out. Since this was a powerful wolf, there was no way to find him unless he killed again. Looking at Jonghyun’s scared face, Kibum was struck by a brainwave. It wasn’t unheard of for wolves to have a link between each other, especially with the one who had turned them.

“Jinki, I have a way to find him”

“Do it, we can’t stall the operation any longer”

“We need to use Jonghyun”

Even though Jonghyun didn’t understand what exactly they wanted from him, he owed it to Jinki to help him in any way that he could. Stepping beside him and taking his hand, Jonghyun was prepared for anything they would throw his way.

“Jinki, tell me what you need”

“Do as Kibum says, and don’t worry. We are all here and will protect you. Trust me”

“I do”

Trying not to wince as Kibum put his cold hands on the side of his head, Jonghyun waited for his instructions.

“Go with Taemin and rest a while. I need you to be at your full strength”

Watching them walk away, Jinki turned to Kibum to find out what they could do next.

“Based on what I could sense, Jonghyun is a lot more powerful than we think. I really think we can use him to find out the real culprit. There’s bound to be some kind of link between them since I’m sure he was the one who bit Jonghyun. The timeline matches with the murders as well”

“I’m not sure, Kibum. It isn’t that I don’t trust you, but what if something goes wrong?”

“Do you care for him, Jinki? I haven’t seen you this doubtful in years”

“I’m beginning to”

“I swear to you that he will come to no harm”

Trusting Kibum implicitly, Jinki agreed to Kibum’s idea and asked Jonghyun to obey him, once he was fully rested.

Jonghyun, albeit confused, had already been warned by Taemin that Kibum was going to try to look into his mind. Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, he took his place in front of Kibum and waited for his instructions.

“Jonghyun, I need you to shift as much as you can, and then I’ll take over your mind, alright? You will still have access to your conscious thoughts, so don’t worry. I’ll tell you what to do next”

Summoning enough energy to ignore the pain, Jonghyun shifted his hands, legs, and eyes into the elongated limbs and claws that he had. As he felt Kibum’s hands on his face once more, he concentrated on the sound of his voice before he felt a sharp, fleeting pain in his head. Holding his head, Jonghyun sank to his knees with a soft shout.

“Don’t shut me out, Jonghyun. You’re struggling. Just trust me, okay? Let’s try it again”

Kibum was stunned by the block he received when he had tried to enter Jonghyun’s mind. Trying again, this time he was able to get into his mind.

“Jonghyun, can you hear me?”

This was a very different experience for Jonghyun, and he didn’t even believe in something called mind control, all these years. In fact, he hadn’t even believed in magic. Focusing on Kibum’s voice in his mind, he replied.

“Yes, I can”

“I need you to remember the day you were turned, and show me who did it”

Jonghyun focused on the face of the creature that had attacked him and was surprised that he remembered everything vividly, almost as if it had just happened a few moments ago.

“I’m going to try something, okay?”

Kibum used his power to induce Jonghyun’s inner lycan, and see through the eyes of the beast. It was a gamble, but if it worked, it would help all of them. Controlling the mind of the beast, Kibum sent forth a command to see if he could find the culprit. Strangely enough, his idea worked and he was able to pinpoint the wolf’s exact location. Jonghyun really did possess the power of an Alpha, which was how he was able to shift so much during the day. It was probably all of his magic that had helped him survive the attack and gave him enough power to control the others. Shuddering as he thought of what Jonghyun could become, with all this power at his disposal, Kibum repressed the beast and finished his spell.

Jonghyun couldn’t remember what had happened after Kibum announced that he would be trying something out. At that time, he couldn't even see anything, and it felt as though he was in a dark room, suffocating with all of his senses taken away. Finally regaining full control of himself, Jonghyun opened his eyes to see Jinki looking at him, worry and concern on his face.

“Jonghyun, are you alright?”

Jinki couldn’t control his emotions as he watched Jonghyun writhe in pain as Kibum took control. Although part of him wanted to use his magic to protect Jonghyun, Jinki knew where his duties lay. Why did it hurt him so much, when he saw Jonghyun in pain?

Now that Kibum had found out where their real culprit was, they couldn’t waste any time dawdling or resting. Now that he saw his face, they knew exactly who it was. The culprit they were looking for, had escaped from prison a few years ago and had gone into hiding. For some reason, he had felt emboldened to start his murder spree again, confident that he wouldn’t get caught. It was just a matter of a few hours before he was safely transported back to the prison he belonged in. Using their magic, Jinki and Kibum transported all four of them to where he was, which was coincidentally the forest where they had found Jonghyun.

Following Kibum who had seen exactly where the murderer was hiding out, they chose their strategy cleverly. They planned to surround him so he’d have nowhere to escape to. However, what no one knew was that the lycan had already heard them approaching, and had chosen his target.

Such fools, to think they could capture him. Didn’t they know by now, what exactly he was capable of? They needed to be taught a lesson, that he wasn’t as stupid or gullible as they’d expected. The young, inexperienced looking one heading towards him would be the best target of them all. With his fair skin, the lycan was sure he would make a tasty morsel and slowly started to stalk him from the bushes. A bite to the jugular would render any form of struggle futile, and it was just a matter of time before he pounced on him.

Taemin spent his time looking around and then just escaping from an insect near him. Jumping backwards in his haste to get away, he found himself looking right into a pair of red eyes. The one whom they had been looking for, was right in front of him, but before he could shout any kind of warning, the lycan pounced on him and covered his mouth. Focusing on his magic, Taemin used his sweat as a catalyst and unleashed a bit of his power, dousing the lycan totally and thus making him let go of him. Looking at the lycan square in the eyes, Taemin opened his mouth and let out a wail that seemed almost unearthly, which caused him to fall on his knees, holding his ears in pain. The higher the frequency was, the more damage it did to one’s ears, and Taemin grinned as he saw the damage he was causing. Hearing his shrill voice, Jinki and Kibum had soon joined him, bringing Jonghyun with them.

Looking at the lycan, who by now had started to bleed a little, Jinki felt a bit of pity but was glad that Jonghyun hadn’t been affected. Looking at the lycan, square in the eyes, Jinki got into his stance.

“You are under arrest for all the murders you’ve committed. This time, you’ll be put in a cell you can never escape from”

“You’ll have to catch me first”

Shifting as much as he could, the lycan sprang right towards Jinki with his fangs bared, only to be stopped by Jonghyun. Somehow managing to guess what the lycan was planning, Jonghyun was ready to fight him to the death if he had to, but would not let him touch even a hair on Jinki’s head. Quickly shifting as far as he could, yet ignoring the pain, Jonghyun sprang and started to slash across the lycan’s torso. Though the smell of blood had started to affect him, Jonghyun remained totally in control of his objective to protect Jinki.

Jinki stood transfixed to his spot, not knowing what to do. He had never seen Jonghyun exhibit this amount of rage and was at a loss on what to do next. Somehow he managed to pull Jonghyun off the struggling lycan and hold him back. It was just a few moments until the prison guards arrived to collect their prisoner.

“You will be escorted to prison by these ten armed guards, and this time you will surely rot there”

“You’ve saved the humans from me, but who is going to save you from the lycan beside you? I’m just upset that I won’t be around to see you die”

Paying no heed to the sly smile that curved the prisoner’s mouth, Jinki ordered for him to be taken away immediately. Since it was already dusk, they decided that it would be best for the four of them to spend the night in the forest itself. Now that Jonghyun had learned control, there would be no issues caused by the full moon, which put them all at rest. As they lay down, Kibum with Taemin, and Jinki with Jonghyun, they used their magic to create a barrier of safety before they started to drift into sleep.

Jinki noticed that Jonghyun kept tossing and turning, as though there was something bothering him.

“Jonghyun, what’s wrong? Do you need me to use my magic to calm you down?”

“Jinki, my head. It feels like it’s going to burst”

Before Jinki could even think of what to do, Jonghyun fell to the ground, screaming in pain and holding his head. As Jinki tried to use his magic, Jonghyun started convulsing, and stood up, breaking through the magical barrier. It felt like low motion, but Jinki was really helpless, just watching Jonghyun transform entirely into his wolf form. The colour of the sky had changed, and the beautiful white moon had turned blood red. Feeling a cold sweat form at the back of his neck, Jinki recalled studying this phenomenon at the academy. The blood moon, which only appeared every hundred years, affected only the werewolves. Their powers were magnified, and their inner beast took full control and went into a rampage.

“Jonghyun, can you hear me? Please snap out of it”

The last part of Jonghyun to change was his eyes, and Jinki knew that this was what the lycan had been talking about earlier. As Jonghyun roared before charging towards him, Jinki came to his senses and threw a firebolt, that Jonghyun just batted away easily. Mentally communicating to Kibum that he needed help, Jinki tried hard to get Jonghyun back.

“Jonghyun, I know you’re there. Please focus on my voice”

What he received in return was a swipe to the face, which stung like crazy. Holding his bleeding cheek, Jinki thanked his lucky stars when Kibum and Taemin started to face Jonghyun. With Kibum trying to control the wolf, Taemin instantly used his powers to heal Jinki.

Jonghyun was struggling to figure out what was happening to him. It felt as though he was watching a movie where a wolf was hurting Jinki. Was this him? Was he doing all this? Each time he tried to gain control, he just couldn’t. This seemed to be like how things were before when he had committed that murder when he was unable to control his actions. For some reason, his wolf was only targeting Jinki and even seemed impervious to Taemin’s powers. Why was the wolf so strong, and how could he save the person he had grown to love?

Taemin was bewildered by how his powers didn’t seem to work at all. Even when he used the highest pitch he could, Jonghyun had only slowed his approach but didn’t react at all like the other lycan. Hastily being pushed out of the way by Kibum, Taemin stood next to Jinki, focusing on the water in his body, and getting into his stance.

Kibum had managed to change himself into Jinki’s form in order to distract Jonghyun while he called up spirits to keep the lycan busy. At this moment, it was vital for Jinki to remain hidden as he was the main target. No matter what he tried, nothing seemed to work. As a last resort, Kibum created a shield around him and tried to take over Jonghyun’s mind, just like earlier. Focusing on his strength, Kibum somehow managed to enter Jonghyun’s mind, but only saw the colour red all around him. There was no way to bring Jonghyun out of the trance he was in. All they could do now was to hope that the blood moon faded as soon as possible. Until then, all they could focus on was to try to make Jonghyun so exhausted that Kibum could try to control him again.

Jonghyun could slowly start to hear the events around him, but there was one voice that stayed in his mind. Jinki.

“Jonghyun, please listen to my voice. I had promised to protect you from others and now I promise to protect you from anything that scares you. I…..I love you. Please, come back to me”

Did Jinki just say that he loved him? Unable to believe his ears, Jonghyun fought himself. Clawing his own body, to stop himself from attacking Jinki, Jonghyun finally found release. Though he hadn’t been able to control the wolf all this while, he somehow managed to bear the pain it was causing him.

As Jinki continued speaking to Jonghyun in the hope of getting him back, he saw Jonghyun fall to the ground, motionless and in pain. Ignoring the warnings of those around him, Jinki approached Jonghyun and started to heal him, not caring if he healed the beast instead. As he let his healing loose, he saw the beast’s claws begin to retract, as Jonghyun slowly took control of his body. Within some time, Jonghyun had completely transformed back into his human form, even though the moon hadn’t changed back. Was this the true power of an Alpha?

Before he could let his mind wander, Jinki saw Jonghyun’s eyes flutter open, and laid his hand on Jonghyun’s cheek.

“I really thought I wouldn’t get you back”

“I’ll never leave you, Jinki. It was your voice that I heard. Only yours, and it gave me the strength I needed”

********************************************************************

Now that Jonghyun had joined the Academy, he was finally able to see Minho and tell him the truth of what had happened to him. Surprisingly, instead of screaming and running for the hills, Minho stood right by his side. Since Minho had been the one to get him to a hospital after the attack, it turned out that he wasn’t at all surprised. Jinki had even started to involve him in some cases where they needed a lycan, and he had been wholly accepted by everyone around him. Surprisingly, his senses had all become much keener, and he now had total control of his inner wolf. Jonghyun was horrified when he was told that he did possess some magic, but started training in the basic forms until his true power could reveal itself. All he could do was just wait, and hope it was something cool like Kibum’s powers, but he did find himself becoming more interested in his Telekinesis classes.

The best thing to happen to him was Jinki being made as his mentor, which gave them an excuse to spend all their time together. Could his life get any better, or was this all just a dream? As he felt Jinki slide his arm around him, Jonghyun lifted his face to be kissed, before counting his blessings.

“Jinki, I can’t even imagine my life without you by my side”

“I’ll always watch over you, Jonghyun”

“Really?”

“Always. I promise”