It’d been three days since your fight with Jongdae. You couldn’t exactly say the two of you made up; almost the opposite, really. He’d stay in the same room with you throughout the day, but you acted as if you were all alone, not answering him when he called out to you, making him relay messages through the other pack members. At night you still slept in the same bed, but you laid facing away from him as far on the other side of the bed you could get without falling off.

Was it petty? Absolutely. Did you care? Not in the slightest.

At one point Ji Yeon had tried to talk you into speaking to Jongdae again. You fiercely told her no and walked away, not feeling the need to explain yourself. At this point, you just wanted to be mad, irrational or not. You didn’t want everyone telling you to forgive Jongdae so he could stop walking around like a kicked puppy. He hadn’t smiled even once since you took off from the bedroom and that was concerning everyone else.

You’d be lying if you didn’t admit that a part of you missed him; missed his laugh, missed him holding you, but you wanted to get your point across and this was the only way you could think to do it. This feeling, though, was worse than before you ran out into the woods that one day.

It’d been a relatively quiet afternoon. You were reading a book in the backyard, leaning up against the house with the dead grass underneath you. Jongdae had made a sound to stop you from going outside, but you ignored it once again. He came out every few minutes to check to make sure you were still there and you hadn’t run away or been kidnapped.

Kimberly came out after a few hours and sat down next to you, staring out at field.

“Good book?” she inquired. 

You nodded wordlessly. 

“Good. Good.”

The only sound for the next minute or so was when you turned the page.

She sighed, taking the book out of your hands. All you could muster was an annoyed look, holding your hand out for her to give it back.

“Soomi’s back from visiting the mother,” she informed you.  “She wants to talk to all of us.”

You huffed. “Fine.”

Getting to your feet, you followed Kimberly back inside where everyone was once again around the table with Soomi at the head. Most of the boys were standing rather than settled in the chairs, most likely due to the anxiety you could feel emanating throughout the room. Jongdae perked up at your entrance, only to deflate once again when you chose the seat farthest from him. Kimberly sighed at your action, sitting down next to you.

Soomi frowned, but ignored what had happened. “Mother Calla finished analyzing the curse yesterday.”

Jongdae leaned towards her, his forearm resting on the table. “What did she say? Can it be broken?”

The look on Soomi’s face said the answer, but she replied anyway. “No. It’s not breakable. But it’s possibly preventable.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Baekhyun scoffed. “What’s the difference?”

“Breaking the spell would be erasing it completely,” she explained. “That’s not possible in this case. The spell is too powerful. However, we might be able to prevent the after effect of the curse. Meaning that it would still go through its process, but we could keep (y/n) from actually dying.”

Digging through her purse, Soomi pulled out a small vile that held a muddy liquid. “Mother Calla worked on this potion with Mother Willow.”

You bit back a snort. Was every Mother named after a plant?

“All (y/n) will have to do is drink the potion right before being marked,” she continued. “It should protect her from… well, dying.”

“Should?” you repeated skeptically.

“Is it not guaranteed?” Junmyeon asked.

Soomi shook her head. “The probability of it working is high, but magic isn’t science. We couldn’t exactly test it beforehand to make sure. The elixir has saved others in the past from powerful curses, but each one was a different case. There’s no hard and fast rules with these things.”

Jongdae ran a hand through his hair anxiously. “Then maybe we should give it time and then–”

“No.”

All eyes snapped towards you in surprise. All except Jongdae, who kept his gaze down at the table. Yixing was the first to speak.

“(y/n), think about it,” he pleaded in his soft voice. “Think about what this is doing to Jong-”

“I have thought about it,” you barked, your voice hitching in your throat. “And honestly, at this point, I would rather live and be unmarked than die. Okay? This is my life, so I’m saying no.”

Everyone wanted to protest, you could tell by their faces. They were all angry at you, probably thinking that you were selfish. But Jongdae nodded, taking the vial from Soomi and putting it in his pocket.

“Thank you, Soomi,” he whispered. “You’ve done more than what we could ask for.” Without waiting for a reply, he stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

The silence was smothering you. You could feel each of them judging you and that caused you to be unable to hold back the tear that fell down your cheek. Kimberly reached out and put her hand on your shoulder comfortingly as you wiped it away with a quiet sniff.

“Excuse me,” you murmured, jumping out of your chair and running out of the room. You kept going until you were out of the house, back on the front porch. Déjà vu hit you, still feeling like an idiot all this time later.

Leaning against one of the white wooden polls next to the stairs, you allowed a few more tears to fall before taking a deep breath and shoving it all back down deep inside. You had to stand by your decision. You wanted to live, right?

Then why did you feel like you were already dead?

The screen door slammed open, making you jump. Jongdae took several steps towards you, grabbing your wrist and pulling you down the stairs.

“What are you doing?” you growled, trying to free yourself. Stupid werewolf and his stupid super strength.

Jongdae didn’t answer you, simply pulling you along to the detached garage, through the door, and all but throwing you into the passenger’s side of his car.

“What the hell is going on?” you demanded. The answer you got was the door shutting in your face.

Jongdae hit the button to open up the garage door with a fist before jumping into the driver’s seat and taking off as soon as the way was clear.

You bombarded him with questions about what he was doing or why he suddenly felt the need to kidnap you, but you were simply met with silence. The confusion only grew once the city limits came into view. Sitting quietly with your arms crossed over your chest, you waited for whatever it was that Jongdae had planned. Part of you couldn’t believe that you were out of the house and back in town, no matter what the reason.

Jongdae parked the car in a public lot, shutting off the engine and coming around to open your door before you even had a chance to unbuckle your seat belt. He held out his hand for you to take and, taking you both by surprise, you did. You let him lace his fingers through yours as he led you down the sidewalk. He stopped outside the old historic theatre that still had its ticket booth on the outside.You’d only been here once or twice, mostly around Halloween when they played midnight showings of Rocky Horror. 

A decade or so ago, the students at the university had fought to get the theatre reopened as a historic landmark and be fully restored for use. Amazingly, they were able to raise the money and now the theatre shows about three or four different classic movies on a two week rotation.

Letting go of your hand, Jongdae approached the booth, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.

“Two tickets for The Princess Bride.”

The cashier behind the rounded glass nodded and finished out the transaction, sliding Jongdae his card and the ticket stubs through the half circle hole. When he came back to you, the tickets in his hand, you were dumbfounded. The flood gates opened and you began to sob right there on the sidewalk.

He’d listened. He’d really listened.

Jongdae wrapped you up in his arms, letting you cry into his chest as he rubbed your back soothingly. You could feel his mouth stretch into a smile where it was pressed into your neck. Pulling away, he kept one arm around your waist while he wiped away the tears with this thumb.

“Don’t cry, baby,” he whispered. “It’s just a movie.”

You shook your head. How could you even be minutely angry now? “No, no, it’s not.”

Smiling for the first time in too long of a time, Jongdae kissed you passionately as you giggled. You couldn’t completely forget the fight, but you’d definitely forgiven him. He was trying. He took what you said and was trying.

“I love you,” he whispered when he finally let you breathe again.

“I know,” you replied sincerely.

“We’re not seeing that movie,” he teased.

You poked his stomach playfully. “Jerk.”

He laughed, tugging you into the theatre so you didn’t miss your show.

The theatre was practically empty, only a few other patrons scattered throughout the rows. Jongdae picked the seats almost right in the middle with no one else close to you.

“Did you want any popcorn?” he asked.

You shook your head, opting instead to lift up the arm rest and snuggle in close to his side. An actual purr vibrated his chest as he rested his arm around your shoulders.

“I should have done this a long time ago,” he murmured.

You shrugged. “Thank you, for doing it now.”

“Listen, (y/n), about the potion….”

Sighing, you sat up so you could see his face. Perhaps this was too good to be true. Apparently he was merely trying to butter you up. “Yes?”

“Take all the time you need,” he said, shocking you. “I heard the others talking and I know they think you should just do it, but if you’re scared or worried, I don’t want you to. I’m happy just being with you.”

Your quick conclusion was wrong. Of course it was. You needed to stop doubting him and start trusting. Happy but feeling a little guilty, you kissed his cheek and settled back into his side, saying nothing as the lights dimmed to a soft glow and the credits began to roll.

After the movie was over, Jongdae took you out for dinner at a small mom and pop burger joint and then for ice cream at the parlor down the street. It was already dark as the two of you made your way back to the car. Having real alone time with Jongdae had gotten the wheels in your head turning and you didn’t want to go back to the farm house with almost a dozen other people quite yet. And… you wanted to show him that you loved him, despite how you’ve been treating him recently. And, as you’d been thinking about it a lot, you were sure that you were ready.

Just before he could open the passenger side door, you put your hand over his. “Jongdae?”

He smiled at you. “Yeah?”

“I-it’s r-really late,” you stumbled. Clearing your throat, you said with a little more confidence, “Do you think we could stay at my place tonight? And go back tomorrow?”

Something predatory flashed in his eyes, but they immediately softened up again. “Okay.”

After opening your door, he kissed your forehead and rounded to the other side with speed. Once outside your apartment building, you fished around in the dirt, trying to find your spare key you’d buried in a hollow rock in the bushes since you didn’t have your purse with you. Finding it, Jongdae followed you up to your place. You were nervous as you slid the key into the lock and pushed your door open.

As soon as the two of you were inside and the door locked shut behind you, Jongdae pinned you against the wall, kissing you feverishly as the air left your lungs. You responded in earnest, pulling at the hair on the back of his head, earning a growl as a reward.

Remembering the layout of your apartment from last time, Jongdae lifted you up, making you wrap your legs around his waist as he carried you to your bedroom. But as soon as he laid you down on your bed, he hit the brakes.

His breath was heavy as he straightened up, letting you go. “I shouldn’t have done that. We can’t-”

You pushed yourself up onto your knees, linking your arms around his neck. “Hey, let’s give it a shot. Please?”

That last word killed him, you could tell, from the way he squeezed his eyes shut with his hands resting on your hips. “I don’t know if I’d be able to hold myself back from marking you, (y/n).”

Kissing his neck, you whispered, “I bet you can.”

He growled. “Is that a challenge?”

You giggled, “Maybe.”

That did it. Jongdae slammed you back onto the bed, hovering above you, your wrists locked in his hands by your head.

“Challenge accepted.”

**

Everything from the night before felt like a dream when you woke up the next morning. Imgaes flashed in your mind, making you blush. Jongdae was currently lying on his stomach next to you in your own bed surrounded by your own furnishings and decorations. You really had spent the night alone with him, not worrying about interruptions or someone overhearing. Just like a normal couple.

Your mate was still fast asleep, his arm draped over your stomach protectively. Shivering from the lack of clothing, you tried to wiggle your way off the bed, but his grip tightened, letting a rumble escape from his throat.

Laughing to yourself, you flicked him on the forehead, waking him up instantly.

“Ow!” He flew up to a sitting position, rubbing the sore spot that was turning a bit red. “What was that for?”

“For not letting me up,” you replied, snatching his t-shirt off the floor and pulling it over your head before going to your dresser and pulling out a pair of sports shorts you’d left behind.

Jongdae was now leaning his back against the headboard, raking his eyes up and down your form. “That’s it. I think you’ll only be allowed to wear my shirts from now on.”

“Ha ha, so funny,” you said dryly, rolling your eyes. “I’m hungry. I’m going to make breakfast.”

At the promise of food, Jongdae jumped out of bed, pulling his jeans on as he followed you to your kitchen. Unfortunately, a majority of your food had gone bad from being gone so long, save a gallon of orange juice and the bread you kept above the fridge.

“Toast it is,” you murmured, pouring both of you a glass of OJ and sticking slices into the toaster.

Jongdae leaned against the counter, grabbing one of the glasses and chugging it empty. He frowned, staring down at the ugly tile. “Last night actually happened, right?” You giggled, walking over to him and hugging him around his waist as you nodded. He smiled, warming you up in his arms. “Good. I thought it was just a wildly vivid dream.”

Shaking your head, you pulled out of his embrace. “I don’t even want to know what kind of dreams you’ve been having.”

“Hey, come on n-”

Jongdae was doubled over, holding his head as he grasped onto the counter to keep himself upright. He fell to his knees as you ran back to him.

“Jongdae?” you cried. “Jongdae, what’s wrong?”

“I… don’t… kn….” He collapsed completely to the ground, unconscious. After a few shakes from you, he still didn’t move. His pockets were empty, not a phone in sight. You ran back to the bedroom, searching the floor for his cellphone, thinking maybe it’d fallen out from last night. You found it half hidden under your bed. There were five missed calls from Junmyeon. You dialed him back right away.

“Damn it, Jongdae! Where the hell have you–”

“Junmyeon, its (y/n)!” you yelled into the phone. “Jongdae just collapsed! I don’t know what happened!”

“(y/n)? Where are you?”

“My apartment. We spent–” you stopped, hearing some sort of noise from the kitchen and running to see if Jongdae had woken up.

He hadn’t. Instead, your worst nightmare was standing in your living room, flanked by two male members of her coven that you certainly couldn’t out match.

“(y/n)?” Junmyeon called out on the other line. “(y/n), are you there? (y/n)!”

Eun Na smirked as you dropped the cell phone, to shock to even move.

“Hello, (y/n). Did you have fun yesterday?”