The Hunter and The Rabbit

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It was nearly soundless but she heard the rustling though Joohyun never failed to jump. Wind rushed in, chilling the cozy dorm with late evening air that whistled through the window as it slid open. It shut with a click and Joohyun held her breath, counting the silent steps from behind until hands landed on her shoulders and smoothed across her collar in a hold. 

“Hi.”

Joohyun shuddered from the chill yet to leave the room, from the warm touch of a cheek pressed against her own, and the smoothness of the voice that slipped into her ears. Her pen stopped working on the notes she was scrawling in her journal, textbook cracked and laptop open to a study playlist. She was trying to get as much as she could get done before the night. There was an exam coming up that she needed to be well prepared for and a master’s thesis she needed to finish outlining. She didn’t expect Seungwan to drop by. 

“Hi,” she said back. She heard lips part in a smile. “What if Sooyoung was here?” Because it wasn’t normal for humans to scale the side of dorms and sneak in through the windows. 

“She wasn’t. I checked.”

By checked, she meant she smelled for her. Joohyun once asked Seungwan what her roommate smelt like. Because Joohyun was only human and she could only smell the shampoo and light perfume Sooyoung liked to squirt on the insides of her wrists from time to time. Seungwan could smell more than that, the fragrance deeper than skin, a scent unique to every individual. 

“I’m still working.”

The arms around her neck loosened and the springs of her bed creaked as Seungwan sat down on the edge. Joohyun got a good look at her then. She was in jeans and a long sleeved shirt—a poor attempt at blending into the dropping temperatures outside. She didn’t feel cold the way Joohyun did and sometimes she was too lazy to be bothered with putting on acts. Especially when it came to Joohyun. 

“I know, I…” she bit her lip, pretty teeth pricking into fleshy pink. 

Her canines were a little too large to be natural but not alarmingly so. They always made Joohyun remember the old Grimm’s Tale accompanied by the urge to say cheesy things like, “My, what big teeth you have!” But Seungwan wouldn’t eat her. At least not in the way the story implied. 

“I wanted to see you,” she bashfully admitted. 

Joohyun didn’t want to smile but it snagged on her lip anyway. “You’re going to see me in a few hours.”

A pout puffed out her bottom lip. “I couldn’t wait that long.” 

“I thought time didn’t matter to wolves.”

Seungwan scrunched her nose. She said those words herself. She wasn’t immortal but she told Joohyun that time moved differently for werewolves. Slower. Longer. The days, weeks, months, years just began to blend after a while.

Joohyun watched as Seungwan struggled to form a snarky come back. 

“I’m teasing you.”

Seungwan stuck out her tongue. Joohyun laughed and cocked her head, signaling for her to come over. Her request was easily obeyed. Reaching out a hand, she let Seungwan take it and lead her in closer until she was between her knees, pout on her lips perfectly suited for the giant pup that she was.

“Closer?” Joohyun urged. Seungwan bent down and Joohyun met her in the middle, letting their lips touch. She sighed at her softness and breathed in the cinnamon and pine scent of her skin. “Wait for me a little longer?” 

Seungwan whined and sank into Joohyun’s lap, face dropping down to kiss her neck. “I could wait here.”

“We had—“ her eyes fluttered shut, head falling to one side as Seungwan nuzzled into the sensitive spot behind her ear and lightly. “—an agreement.” 

An agreement that Joohyun would go with her if she let her finish her work without interruption. She would’ve gone with her regardless of the work being done or not but setting boundaries always helped them keep from this very thing that was happening now. 

“Sorry.” Seungwan found her way to Joohyun’s ear that she kissed. “The pillow at home still smelled like you.” She moved her lips to Joohyun’s temple. “And it made me impatient.”

“That’s no excuse.” Lips brandished her forehead in another kiss and Joohyun craned her neck back to catch moonlit eyes. The color in them flashed and the sight of it made Joohyun a little more breathless than she already was. “Seungwan,” she tried but lips smothered hers. Palms burned against her face as Seungwan cupped it and Joohyun’s fingers balled against her hips. “Mmm, you have to go.”

She pulled away slowly but not far enough away to keep her lips from brushing when she husked out a breathy, “Fine.”

“Thank you.” Joohyun sighed in relief and sat back in attempts to break some of the building tension. She always commended herself on her steely resolve but Seungwan had a way of dismantling it. 

A finger tapped her nose. “Don’t be late.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Seungwan pushed in for another kiss. Joohyun could taste her impatience and she nearly took back her words, told Seungwan to stay and forget about her studies. But she had to be strong. “I’ll see you later.” 

Joohyun accepted one last peck and shivered when the wind came back as Seungwan climbed out the window and disappeared into the night.

Letting out a breath, she turned back to her textbook, mind clouded with sharp canines, puppy pouts, and desperate kisses. 

She wondered if she would survive the night. 

-/-/-/-

Joohyun was of the practical sort. So learning that the girl in one of her classes who started as just a classmate turned into a project partner turned into a crush and eventually, girlfriend was a werewolf wasn’t the easiest thing to swallow. 

Not to mention she wasn’t supposed to find out.

“Not this soon!” Is what Seungwan said. Because eventually, she was going to tell her. But the cat—or dog—was out of the bag. 

Joohyun remembered being confused but maybe it did make sense. Seungwan liked to nuzzle into her neck and sometimes her soft pawing at her turned to light clawing against her back that Joohyun didn’t mind at all. She liked feeling Seungwan’s nails gently scratching into her shoulders when she was particularly into their makeout sessions. And maybe once or twice she heard the girl growl when Joohyun pressed her deep into a mattress.

Looking back, they were all signs but it was the eyes that did it. One night. While she was in Seungwan’s lap—a common occurrence—interrupting the girl who was in the middle of trying to make them something to eat. It was one of the first few times Joohyun had been over to Seungwan’s place and her best friend wasn’t around to shoot glances and smirks at them as they disappeared into the bedroom, homemade dinner plans forgotten. 

They were only kissing. Nothing unusual. What was unusual were the glowing blue eyes that were staring back up at her. 

At first, she thought nothing of it. Maybe it was a trick of the light. Maybe Joohyun was just seeing things. Maybe she was just so madly into this woman that she quite literally saw the sky and beyond in her eyes. However, Seungwan blinked and Joohyun knew better than to think her brain was malfunctioning. Seungwan’s eyes really were blue, the electric color, oozing like molten lava over the normal deep, chocolate browns that she was used to. 

”What’s wrong?” asked Seungwan.

All Joohyun had to say was, “Your eyes—”

And Seungwan freaked out, pushing Joohyun off her lap so easily it was like she hardly had to put in any effort to do so. 

“You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“See what?”

“See that! See my—“ she snarled in frustration, the sound more animalistic than any noise a human could make. 

Seungwan turned away from her, pacing the room with nervous hands running through her hair. 

Joohyun had seen Seungwan nervous many times. Before tests, the night Joohyun asked her to be hers, that one time Joohyun’s parents were in town and they had dinner with them and Seungwan was sure that she’d screw it up. But none of those moments were like this. She had never seen Seungwan shake so badly and she had never seen her almost on the verge of a breakdown. 

“Seungwan,” she called out but her voice fell on deaf ears.

Seungwan continued to walk back and forth, muttering under her breath to herself about mistakes and everything being over and that everything was ruined.

Joohyun didn’t like those words and so she went for her. All she wanted was to get her to calm down. She didn’t think she did anything wrong when she reached out for her shoulder. 

“Don’t touch me!” Seungwan growled and that’s when Joohyun saw the fangs. All four canines spiked and her eyes were even bluer than before. 

Joohyun drew back and Seungwan caught herself. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I’m sorry, I—”

Cowering, she hid in a corner, knees pulled up to her chest. 

Joohyun let her be. 

It took nearly an hour before she spoke up. She had moved to sit on the bed, back against the wall and legs crossed in front of her where she wrung her wrists nervously with her hands. 

“I’m not like you,” said Seungwan. “I’m not human. Not really.”

Joohyun stared back at her from where she was sitting on the desk chair. Only the lamp was on and the light barely reached across the room, shading part of Seungwan in the shadows. Something inside of her told her she should be scared. After the things she saw, she knew there was more to Seungwan than she thought. By the way she acted, she knew Seungwan wasn't totally lying to her. Yet at the same time, Joohyun had known Seungwan for a long time now and not once had she hurt her. She had only cared for her and no matter what she was she didn’t think once that suddenly she would turn on her. 

“What are you?”

A werewolf wasn’t what she expected. In fact, she didn’t even believe her at first. It was just too...crazy. Really? Maybe she was dreaming and all that happened were just figments of her imagination. But Seungwan did that thing again with her eyes and she bore her teeth so Joohyun could really get a look. 

And when she reached out, cupping Seungwan’s face in her hand and was able to sink into the wildness that she saw swirling in those blue rivers, Joohyun didn’t question it anymore.

Just like that, the world wasn’t so black and white anymore. 

-/-/-/-

The night was cold. Joohyun pulled the lapels of her coat tighter as she stepped out of the cab in front of Seungwan’s building. Hurrying inside, she boarded the elevator and hit the button for the third floor. She was nervous. Had always been when it came to Joohyun and wolf things. 

“What if they don’t like me?” she remembered asking in the beginning. When she first met Seungwan’s best friend and roommate. She would no longer be the girl from uni but the mysterious girlfriend finally revealed. 

Joohyun had read books and seen the movies. She was human and Seungwan was not. She was weak and vulnerable with a shorter lifespan. Seungwan was the opposite though none would think so. Despite her work hard and play hard attitude and her diligence to her studies, Seungwan seemed...normal. But she and—

"Your pack?”

”My pack!” 

Since the secret was out, Seungwan was much more relaxed. And the way she spoke about the other wolves was endearing. Joohyun hated that she had hidden those parts from her for so long. She hated that any of the others had to for fear of what would happen to them. They weren’t monsters. Someone like Seungwan could never be. It wasn’t fair and maybe that’s what made Joohyun love her even harder. 

“It’s made up of a few families,” Seungwan explained. “We all live in the city. That was the alpha’s decision.”

“So there really is an alpha?” She thought a lot of that was ignorant humans trying to make sense of things they didn’t know or understand. 

“He’s different than most. A lot different from the rural packs.” Seungwan said that bit with the hint of a growl. Joohyun was curious to know about these other types of packs but she would save those questions for later. “He takes in strays and helps place them with other wolves—helps find them jobs and how to blend in better than they were on their own. It’s protection.”

“What about your family?”

“The pack is my family. Seulgi is my littermate.”

“Your what?”

“Like a best friend. We were paired together. We look out for each other.”

Joohyun learned a lot that night. She learned a lot more things as the days and weeks went on. Like she learned that the alpha’s mate was a human and so he was open to letting one of his own find a partner in one. And though Joohyun promised to keep their secret and that she swore to protect Seungwan just the same, blessing wasn’t given without knowing the consequences of breaking that promise. Consequences like death. 

It was the tensest dinner she had sat through. She could hardly remember the taste of the food the alpha’s mate had prepared or the lovely home they invited her into because she was so nervous. They were kind, however. Progressive the way Seungwan said. It didn’t change the fact that she couldn’t relax until the night was up and Seungwan was kissing her all over the face, thanking her for being so brave and understanding and amazing. The alpha didn’t approve of many but Joohyun he did.

That was a long time ago but Joohyun was still nervous when it came to things that concerned Seungwan’s pack. 

The door opened before she could knock. Seungwan took up the doorframe, her smile pulling lopsided and dimpled. She had thrown a leather jacket with furry lapels over her black, long-sleeved shirt and her shoulder-length hair was tossed like she’d been running her hands through it. 

“You’re late.”

Joohyun checked her wristwatch. “You said eight.”

“It’s a minute over.”

Joohyun hit her lightly on the shoulder and Seungwan laughed, grabbing her by the wrist with a tug. Joohyun gasped as she fell into her, chest lighting up in heat that was echoed in the dust of pink that spread on Seungwan’s cheeks. 

“I’m kidding.” She touched the end of Joohyun’s nose with a swift that made her squeal. Joohyun pushed at her, trying to get away but Seungwan was strong and she found herself crushed against her. “Sorry.” She kissed her. “I know you hate that.”

Her nose scrunched. “It's gross.” 

“You let dogs do it.”

“You’re not a dog,” she countered. Seungwan’s eyebrows lifted and Joohyun rolled her eyes. “Technicalities aside.” 

Chuckling she let their lips meld back together. The world around them slipped away and Joohyun forgot that they were doing this in the middle of the hall of an apartment building for all to see. She just couldn’t seem to care when teeth nibbled and she tasted Seungwan against her tongue and her neverending warmth was running through her veins. 

“Maybe we can be a few minutes late,” Seungwan muttered against . 

Momentum moved Joohyun forward and she heard the door close somewhere behind her. Feeling the world tilt, she gained the upper hand, spinning them around. Air puffed from Seungwan’s lip as her back hit the door and Joohyun grinned at the surprise on her face. 

“I thought you said tonight was important,” she said. 

Eyes widened. “You pinned me!”

“Before you could.”

Seungwan floundered. “I wasn’t going to—“

Joohyun cut her off with a finger against . “You’re a bad liar.”

Seungwan huffed but it was short-lived when Joohyun smoothed her finger over her lip and against her cheek where the others joined, cupping her against her palm. 

Seungwan eased into her touch with a whine. “We shouldn’t be late.”

“Right. The alpha will be disappointed.”

Seungwan hummed as Joohyun pressed into her. “Maybe—maybe he’d understand.”

Joohyun laughed under her breath, face drawing close enough to Seungwan’s that she could feel her breath against her lips. “Abusing your power, aren’t you?”

“Just because he raised me—“ she tried to tilt up for a kiss but Joohyun slipped back just enough for her to miss. “—doesn’t mean I have favoritism.”

“You could blame it on the human.” Joohyun ran a finger down her chin and hooked it underneath. “We’re slow.”

She snorted. “Not the S word I would use to describe you.”

“Which would you?”

Seungwan lunged forward and Joohyun evaded her once again.

“Sly.” She glared. 

Joohyun smirked. “That’s all?”

“Seductress.”

“Hm?”

“But mostly—“ hands gripped her hips and crushed her forward drawing a gasp of a breath out of her. “—y.”

Joohyun’s heart fluttered. It was that moment lapse that allowed Seungwan to claim the kiss she was being denied. Liquid heat pooled through her at the prick of nails from hands that had slipped beneath her shirt. Everything was hot. She knew part of it had to do with Seungwan’s body temperature while the rest was her. 

Teeth bit gently into her neck and Joohyun moaned causing her hips to cant forward on reflex. With a low growl, Seungwan pulled back, head cracking against the door though it took all her willpower to do so. Joohyun knew it did because her eyes had already changed color the way they did when she was rising to the peak of intense emotion. She used to hide it from Joohyun, thinking it made her uncomfortable. Now she let her true nature show all of the time and Joohyun was always in awe when she saw glimpses of it bleed through her human side. 

“Enough, you temptress.”

Joohyun did her best to keep the breath out of her voice. “Who kissed who first?”

Seungwan glared. “You’re dangerous.”

“Says the predator.”

Teeth snapped at her nose and Seungwan pushed up with her shoulders, jostling Joohyun off her. “Tease,” she muttered walking away. 

Straightening her clothes out, Joohyun surveyed the room while Seungwan went around, turning out the lights. She noticed something was missing. “Where’s Seulgi?”

“She went ahead. Do you think I would’ve let that—“ her hand motioned back toward the door—“happen if she was here? She’d be able to smell us from the other room.”

“Smell us?”

Seungwan’s face ignited in red. “Don’t make me explain.”

It took a couple of seconds but Joohyun caught on. Aside from the fact that wolves could smell arousal being slightly humiliating, she was amused at how embarrassed the thought made Seungwan. 

“It’s not funny.”

“Maybe a little.”

her teeth in annoyance, Seungwan picked up a set of keys. “Let's go.”

Locking the door, they headed out. 

“You never told me what tonight is.”

All Seungwan said before was that it was a family thing which meant a pack thing. Joohyun wasn’t sure how she fit into pack business but she was honored to be invited along. Most ordeals, Seungwan went alone. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her to be part of her other life but some things were strictly wolf things.

Seungwan never really explained why she couldn’t always join her. At first, she thought it was because she was human but learning that the alpha's mate was made her rethink. She figured it had to do with that she was just a girlfriend and until she was more than that, she wasn’t allowed a full initiation. At first, it didn’t bother her, but the longer they were together the more Joohyun felt like she was missing another half to the woman she was with. And she hated that. 

“It’s The First Hunt,” said Seungwan.

Joohyun’s brow creased. She never did like the idea of guns and killing animals for sport. “That sounds bloody.”

Seungwan laughed as they slipped into the car. Starting it up, she the heat, angling the vents Joohyun’s way who shivered in her coat.

“It used to be,” she explained. “The First Hunt is a ceremony. When pups reach thirteen and bear their first pelts, they are to go on their first hunt—shed their first blood. For rural packs, that’s a direct interpretation. For urban packs like mine, it’s different.”

“Different how?”

She flashed a toothy grin. “You’ll see.” 

-/-/-/-

It was a while before Seungwan pulled the car off the road and parked amongst a few others peppered across the dirt. They were far away from the city, surrounded by nothing but an expanse of greenery and trees that scaled up against the night sky.

Darkness was thick here with only the light of a silvery, white full moon and stars shining down on them. With no major roads or neighborhoods, it was quiet. Chirping crickets and the rustle of leaves were the only things that accompanied the crunch of their footsteps along with other sounds of night that Joohyun couldn’t name. 

It was nights like this when Seungwan would go out for runs with the others. Though the full moon didn’t have power over them the way the stories said, it was customary to honor its—”Two sides, light and dark. Like us”—by abandoning their skins and offering their pelts and howls up to it. 

On these nights, Joohyun would sit and wait for Seungwan’s return. She was always a little more alive on a full moon. Like the power of the celestials was vibrating in her bones. Her eyes would be their bluest of blue and her heart would beat wildly as she pressed herself chest to chest with Joohyun’s and they would devour the rest of the night against sheets until it was Joohyun who was howling to the skies.

“It’s so dark,” she said, her voice clashing with the stillness. 

Seungwan’s warmth came up on her side followed by a hand that slid into hers. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she assured. “I promise.”

“I’m not afraid.” She never was. Not with Seungwan. She knew the beating of her heart contradicted her words but it wasn’t out of fear for what could happen to her. It was anxiousness at being an outsider human entering the territory of wolves. 

Seungwan led them along a trail that had been stamped out by feet. Joohyun didn’t wonder where they were going. She trusted Seungwan and it wasn’t long before they broke into a small clearing where they were greeted by a group of others. 

They spread out across the clearing in many faces and names that Joohyun had never seen or knew. Young ones ran about, chasing after one another in sort of game while older ones talked and laughed amongst groups. A cluster of wolves around Seungwan’s age were cheering on two others who were racing up the trunks of trees and howling in laughter when one of them nearly slipped, putting him behind the girl who had reached the first large limb.

“Not your typical BBQ,” joked Seungwan.

Joohyun elbowed her earning a soft laugh. Seungwan was right. It wasn’t like something she’d been to or seen before. 

Surveying the rest of the crowd, she spotted the alpha easily. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and deep, black hair. Beside him was his mate, stunning and elegant just the same. They were each dressed in dark, forest green—he in a robe with golden embellishments along the collar and down the front and she in a tunic with the same beautiful designs. 

Joohyun recognized only a few other faces. Like Seulgi who stood with two other boys, each bare chest, who looked like their muscles were carved from marble. One played with a lighter in his hand, flicking on the flame over and over again while the other's eyes blazed the color of topaz. 

“That’s Taeyong and Minhyung,” said Seungwan. “They’re littermates. The four of us grew up together.”

Joohyun nodded and offered a smile to Seulgi who caught sight of them. The others followed her gaze though only one of them landed on Joohyun friendly. She couldn’t quite place what Taeyong’s stare meant and she turned away just as a tall, graceful swoop of a person dressed in a white nurses tunic walked by. It was Seohyun, the pack's physician. Joohyun met her once when Seungwan had accidentally gotten burned by a flame. It was one of two types of injuries that didn’t heal quickly and Seohyun took it very seriously.

“Joohyun,” Seohyun greeted. “I’m happy you could join us. It is a very special night.” 

“I’m glad I could come,” she answered genuinely. From being able to attend a pack ceremony she had already been overjoyed. Being there and seeing everyone, she couldn’t help but simmer in excitement to what else the night would bring. 

Offering her a warm smile, her attention turned to Seungwan. “Be careful tonight. I’ll have my station set up here at base if you need me.”

“I will. Thank you, Seohyun.”

With a pleased nod, Seohyun stepped away to join the alpha. Others dressed in the same dark green color had joined him. Each one had age lining their faces and streaked with gray in their hair. Joohyun figured they were the pack elders that Seungwan spoke of. They were the council that helped govern the pack along with the alpha. Each was well into their seventies, eighties, and nineties and possibly even hundreds though they didn’t look over forty or fifty. 

“What did she mean be careful?” asked Joohyun. 

“I’m one of the rabbits.” Seungwan couldn’t contain her smile that burst across her face or the gleam in her eyes. “In the old tradition, rabbits or other animals would be released,” she explained. “The pups would have to hunt them down and bring them back. We got rid of that practice. Instead of actual rabbits, a select few adolescent wolves serve as the prey. When we’re caught and defeated, first blood is shed and the hunt is over.”

Joohyun smirked. “Adolescent?”

She rolled her eyes. “Our timeline works differently than humans.”

Joohyun nodded. She knew that though she kept to herself how it made her uneasy. What would that mean for them in the future? When they grew older and only she showed the weathered signs of age while Seungwan did not. 

Glancing across the clearing, she found the alpha’s mate. They were well matched in their ages even though Seungwan told her that they had been together for many decades. She wondered how that was possible. She wondered if she and Seungwan for decades to even a century was possible. And if it was, how?

“Joohyun?”

She turned back around. Seungwan’s brow was creased in worry noting her uneasiness. She pushed on a smile. “Don’t get hurt.”

“I won’t.”

“Seungwan!” Seulgi called as she jogged over, the ends of her crimson robe fluttering behind her. In her hands, she held a folded robe in her hand. “Hey, Joohyun.”

“Are you a rabbit, too?” 

“Third year.” She was just as proud of it as Seungwan was. “You should hurry and change,” she said to her littermate. “We’re going to start soon.”

Nodding, Seungwan took the robe from her. 

“Whatever happens,” she said to Joohyun, “don’t be scared, okay?” 

She tightened her grip on Seungwan’s hand, keeping her from pulling away just yet. “Wait—”

“It’ll be okay,” she assured with a squeeze of the hand. “Seohyun will take you to one of the towers so you can watch.” 

Seungwan kissed her on the cheek and she watched as she walked away with Seulgi. The two boys welcomed her over with taps of fist on the shoulders and a ruffle of her hair. Seungwan elbowed one in the stomach and he laughed until it was cut off by her shirt tossed in his face.

“She’s going to be fine.”

Joohyun looked up at the voice to find Seohyun beside her again. She opened to speak but stopped when the elders broke away from their group causing everyone to fall silent. Joohyun looked out, searching for the sight of Seungwan but she couldn’t find her or Seulgi or a few of the other faces that were once amongst the crowd. 

Fanning out, the elders formed an arching line at the edge of the clearing with the alpha and his mate at the center. The rest of the pack moved to complete a full circle against the fringe of trees. Joohyun stood with Seohyun at the far end where she could see the alpha straight across the way. His silver eyes were like stars and Joohyun nearly coward when his powerful gaze landed on her for a moment before continuing across the circle to all in attendance. 

“By moonlight and by flame,” said the alpha, his deep voice echoing off the trees, “we begin The First Hunt.”

Two broke from the circle, stepping forward into the center with torches that they speared into the ground. Orange and yellow flickered as they lit them each and gray faces burst with color as the flames shined on the circle of bodies. There were so many that Joohyun hadn’t seen with it being so dark before. There had to be seven or eight families and an array of others who must’ve been the strays that had found safety and refuge in the city and with the pack. 

She could feel that others were looking at her. Eyes of all sorts of shades glancing her direction, curiously gazing upon the human joining their numbers. Never with Seungwan or Seulgi had she felt like an