It was like all the air had been out of the room. Jongdae was shaking violently underneath you. No one could speak, displaying shocked eyes and dropped jaws. 

Perhaps sensing a bad situation as Jondae’s current state, Chanyeol jumped up out his chair and tried to reach for you, but Jongdae tightened his grip to an almost painful level around your waist and let out a sound you could only describe as a roar.

“How did Eun Na do this?” Jongdae asked, his forehead resting on your shoulder in an attempt to stable himself. Worry washed through you as you rubbed your hand up and down his arm, trying to calm him. “HOW!”

“I can’t know all the specifics,” Soomi answered carefully. “But a spell like this would require a piece of the individual to perform the curse. Like hair.”

Jongdae’s breathing was getting shallower by the second. You could feel each burst of air escaping his lungs on your back. It was hot and angry, danger underlining breath. “Her hair? That used her hair to curse her?”

“That’s the only thing I can think of that she’d be able to get ahold of,” Soomi replied. “Although, from what Junmyeon said, (y/n)’s been here for a while, so I’m not sure how she could have gotten it.”

“They were friends,” Ji Yeon explained. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she kept some around or stole it from her apartment. Just in case.”

“Um, hyung?” Baekhyun turned to the alpha. “He doesn’t look good.”

Moving his gaze over to your direction, Junmyeon approached the two of you at a slower pace than Chanyeol, hands held out like he was trying to calm down a wild animal. “Jongdae, listen to me. You are on the verge of turning. I see you fighting it. At this point, you’re not going to win. You’re emotions are too rampant. If you phase right here, you are going to hurt (y/n). Let her go and run this off.”

Jongdae’s entire body was vibrating now. A continuous growl reverberated out of his chest. But, seeing reason through his yellow eyes, he listened and let you go. He practically shoved you off of him as he ran out the back door. An ear piercing howl cut through the air not a moment later and you could feel the pain and torment he was letting out through it.

Running to you, Ji Yeon pulled you into her chest, rubbing your back to try and sooth you. As wonderful as a gesture it was, you softly pushed her away. You hadn’t realized that some of the shaking was coming from you, but it was subsiding now as your brain started to work again.

“What exactly does it mean to be marked?” you asked quietly, knowing full well even the mates could hear a pin drop in the silence of the room. With Jongdae’s reaction, you knew it was even more significant that you’d previously thought.

Ji Yeon looked to the other girls before taking a step back. One by one, the pulled the collars of their shirts over their shoulder. Each one of them had a scar located on the now exposed skin in the shape of a crescent moon. It wasn’t clean like a cut or burn. The edges were jagged, ripped… like a bite.

You cringed away from the sight. Baekhyun kissed the scar on Hae In’s shoulder, looking so proud.

“Being marked is the most important thing that can happen between mates,” Kimberly explained, releasing her shirt and covering up the moon once again. “It strengthens the bond between the two of you.”

“The urge to mark your mate to keep others away is strong,” Yixing added. “Overwhelmingly so. The emotions that come with not having your mate marked, especially with unmated wolves around, are erratic and at times uncontrollable. The mark tells others to stay away, like a warning about who that mate belongs to.”

“Jongin and Kimberly only lasted a week after he told her,” Sehun snickered.

“Shut up,” Jongin snapped. Kimberly looked like she was about to jump across the table at the youngest member.

You should have expected something like this. Marked doesn’t exactly leave room for the imagination. But being bitten? To the point of being marred for life?

You shook your head, digging your fingers into your hair, “This sounds like a cult.”

“She’s not wrong,” Hae In shrugged when some of the others widened their eyes.

“It’s not a cult thing,” Ming insisted, somewhat hurt by your comment. “It’s just in their nature. It comes with being a mate. And it really doesn’t hurt.”

You frowned. “How is him biting my shoulder not supposed to hurt?”

“I think it’s best that Jongdae explain the rest to you after he calms down,” Ji Yeon cut in. “Some details are more… personal.”

“In the meantime,” Junmyeon, “Soomi, do you think you can find a way to break the curse?”

The witch sighed, not looking very hopefully at the idea. “I can try. I’ll have to contact a mother first. Like I said earlier, that coven had to break our laws to perform this spell. My options might be limited.”

“A mother?” you questioned.

Soomi gave you a soft, sympathetic smile. “Someone who is higher up in the world of witches. Our system is a matriarchy. We have mothers, crones, coven heads. Mothers are those who are older and have spent their lives studying one type of magic in order to guide the younger generations. I think I should contact Mother Calla. She might be the most knowledgeable on breaking curses.”

“What did she specialize in?” You wondered if she too studied dark magic. Wouldn’t that be the best place to start?

“Defensive magic,” she replied. “Protection. However, with that comes knowing about different curses and how to break them. Even if she doesn’t have an answer, she should know a sister who does.”

Soomi kept referring to the witches as female – sisters and mothers – but you could have sworn there were boys there the night of the bonfire as well. “Are all witches girls?”

Her lips fell and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “No. There are male witches as well.”

“It’s a sensitive subject,” Junmyeon intervened. “Some believe that leadership roles should be expanded to all those who are gifted with magic, while others want to remain traditional and keep the female witches in charge. Some have even proposed not teaching male witches anything about magic.”

“Even in this day and age, a son being born into a witch family is taken as a disappointment,” Soomi added.

“That’s…,” you weren’t even sure how to respond.

“Tradition is a hard thing to change,” she sighed. Standing up, she put the envelope back in the wooden box and closed the lid. “Junmyeon, do you mind if I take this? Mother Calla will need to see it firsthand.”

“Go right ahead,” he nodded. “I doubt any of us want it staying here.”

“I’ll be back in a few days.” Soomi headed for the door and then stopped. “Oh, the wolfsbane–”

“I’ll clean it up,” Ji Yeon volunteered.

Eventually, everyone cleared the room. Minseok and Chanyeol volunteered to go find Jongdae and make sure he was okay and had calmed down enough to come home. Your room that you now shared with your mate seemed too isolated and gloomy with only your presence occupying it, but what else could you do? So, you sat on the bed with your back up against the headboard as your mind tried not to dwell on the current turn of events.

No one came to disturb you or try to tell you everything would be alright. You’d been cursed to die – by the person who you used to share all your secrets and wishes with, no less. Was she really that desperate for her plan to work? And what exactly was her reasoning? Was it revenge? Pure spite?

You couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard you worked your brain. You didn’t know enough about Eun Na to pin down a theory. Enough of the truth, anyway.

A shuffling sound broke you out of your thoughts. Jongdae opened the door and entered the bedroom in a fresh change of clothes. You weren’t sure where he got them, but one of the boys must have had it handy for him. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were red. Before you could stand up to go him, he reached you first, dropping to his knees and wrapping you up in his embrace.

“I’m sorry for scaring you,” he whispered into your lap.

“I’m alright,” you reassured him, returning the hug with force and rubbing his back.

Sighing, Jongdae got up beside you on the bed, pulling you into his lap in the process and resting your legs on either side of him. He pushed a lock of hair out of your face, placing it behind your ear affectionately. “I really could have hurt you, (y/n). I just – that wasn’t what I was expecting when the curse arrived. To have that taken away… I just lost control.”

“Hey, look at me.” You cupped his jaw with both hands, forcing him to make eye contact with you. “You wouldn’t have hurt me.”

“My precious mate,” he murmured, closing his eyes and turning his face so he could kiss the palm of your hand. “Keeping you unmarked for so long has been driving me crazy. But you asked to take it slow.” He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. This is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” you reprimanded. “Besides, now this gives me a little bit of time to come to terms with the idea of you having to bite me.”

Jongdae growled, but you weren’t sure if it was out of irritation or something more… sensual. His facial expression was changing, melting away the sorrow that had been there a mere few seconds before. “I wouldn’t just out right bite you, babe. I’d be… distracting you while it happened.”

You gulped. “D-distracting me?”

A smirk grew on his lips. As nice as it was that his mood was lightening, your heart was beginning to speed up in your chest. His hands trailed down until they were resting on your thighs. “M-hm. I’d occupy your attention. You’d never even know it was happening.”

Your palms were getting clammy. That predatory look was showing in his eyes, the kind you knew all too well. His run in wolf form must have burnt off most of the aggression, with the other emotions left in its place.

Agonizingly slow, Jongdae leaned in, barely brushing his lips over yours. You hated it when he did that, purposefully teasing you so you’d be the one to jump in first. And this moment, you took the bait.

You dived into the kiss, lifting yourself up on your knees just a bit as your fingers twined into his hair. Jongdae’s hands left your thighs, one resting on the curve of your , hooking you in closer to him, while the other held you steady by your back.

His lips took the dominance easily, guiding yours open to allow his tongue inside. You moaned into the kiss, only egging Jongdae on more. His hips pressed in yours as his broke the kiss and started his way down your jaw. The hand on your back had s its way up your shirt, teasingly pulling at your bra. You fisted a handful of his shirt as he took a little snip at your neck.

Maybe it was because of what had happened earlier in the kitchen or because you were lost in the moment, but your fear of what might come next had subsided greatly. You were sure it’d come back in force once your mind was back to normal, but right now, all you wanted was Jongdae. Perhaps your own instincts were taking over.

His possessive growl was doing something to you inside. You started tugging at his shirt, wanting it off. Jongdae obliged, removing it with a swiftness you hadn’t seen before. He was back at your neck, attacking it with sloppy kisses as your fingers explored his chest. Against your skin, you felt something extend. Teeth. You gasped.

In a flashed, Jongdae had pushed you off of him. His fist slammed against the headboard. “Damn it!”

You reached out tentatively, making contact with his shoulders. His head was now hanging between his legs as his arms rested on his knees.

“Jongdae?”

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” he mumbled, still not looking up.

You crawled over to him, wrapping your legs and arms around him from the side like a koala, kissing his shoulder. “So, I’m guessing that’s the kind of distraction you’d be giving me?”

He actually chuckled, lifting his head and placing a kiss on your forehead. “That was just a taste. I’d hold myself back from marking you until the end when we’re able to. Right now, I just wasn’t thinking about anything but finally having you.”

“Oh.” You loosened your grip on him, taking your arms back as your cheeks heated up.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Jongdae practically tackled you as he felt you pull away from him. You were now pinned to the sheets underneath him. He ran his knuckles over your cheek. “You blush so easily.”

“Jongdae….” You squirmed under him, only because his closeness was getting your heart rate up again. Stupid body and its betrayal.

He was resting between your legs as he lowered himself down to kiss you. “God, you’re so tempting.”

“We’ve got time,” you huffed down. Breathing was becoming hard and it wasn’t due to his weight on you. Damn it, he was corrupting you. The worst part of it was you were liking it. “Maybe we could… try things out? Work on your self-control?”

Jongdae chuckled. “Are you suggesting practice rounds?”

You hit him square on the chest. “You are such a jerk.”

He shifted the two of you so he was now lying down facing you, your limbs entangled. Using his free hand that wasn’t holding you to him, he brought your face to his, giving you a very light kiss on the lips. “You know, I don’t think I’ve said it in a while. I love you.”

Grinning, you tapped the spot you’d hit him at with your index finger, melting inside from his declaration. “I love you, too.”