“She’s my best friend.”

“Your very nosy best friend.”

Dana threw Kyungsoo a glare, but coming from the soft-spoken mate, it didn’t really pack any heat behind it, especially when compared to Kyungsoo’s icy stare downs.

“When is she coming?” Junmyeon asked, his worried expression etching lines into his otherwise youthful face.

“In a couple days,” Dana replied. “She wouldn’t take no for an answer. She said she’s bored where she’s at and that she misses me. I miss her too, but….”

You were still confused as to what the big deal was. “Is her coming to see her friend a bad thing?”

“(y/n)…,” Soomi scolded. You shrugged innocently at her.

Dana sighed. “Kyungsoo’s right. Mina’s very nosy, especially if she even thinks she senses something’s off. She doesn’t know about werewolves or witches or anything supernatural. Keeping her unaware is going to be a challenge.”

“She can’t come to the farmhouse,” Junmyeon said as he let out an exasperated sigh.

Kyungsoo nodded. “Of course.”

“Quite the time to make a surprise visit, huh?” Jongdae snapped. He definitely wasn’t the only one thinking it given the nodding consensus around the room.

“The timing is weird,” Kris agreed, “but coincidences happen. Dana will keep her away from the farmhouse and the woods and we’ll go about as usual. It’s not like we haven’t been practicing how to be normal our whole lives.”

You couldn’t help but snort at that. Several wolves gave you confused looks. Maybe it was because you’d spent a majority of your life trying to pretend to be the witch equivalent of “normal” that you found amusement in what the alpha had said. You’d learned a while back that “normal” was just a setting on the washing machine.

“I guess you’ll have to stay at your apartment while she’s here,” Kyungsoo muttered disappointedly. Dana gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder, but it did little good. The wolf turned and went back to the food still cooking on the stove top. Apparently, that was the end of the conversation because everyone went back to their business from before Dana had shown up with her news.

You’d come to the conclusion that not much bothered these boys. Whether it was because of what they’d gone through in the past or because they didn’t deem too much to be a threat to them, they didn’t worry easily. Besides the alphas, that is. You had to admit, it was a bid admirable, but it could also be considered stupid. You didn’t think this Mina was anyone to worry about, however, looks could be deceiving. Very deceiving. And assumptions could be dangerous…

**

For the millionth time since you’d come to the farmhouse, you were sitting on the couch, going over all your notes on your visions that you’d taken down. You were desperate to figure out what it all meant, but looking at the half-sentences and vague descriptions made you feel like you were trying to put together a thousand piece puzzle without any sort of hint to what the final picture may be. It didn’t help that your mind wanted to focus on the vision with the wolf. To you, it was irrelevant. There was no immediate danger attached to the scene – accept maybe the wolf itself. However, you didn’t think it would hurt you, at least not on purpose. By now, you were pretty sure it was Sehun, the other supposedly white wolf, Luhan, easily ruled out. Part of you was even hoping that is was Sehun. But why?

You refused to fall into the same trap Soomi did. And yet, how many times did you find yourself replaying the garage in your mind? You wanted to hit the memory out of your head with your notebook, but it was no use. It was stuck there, refusing to budge. Being tortured like this was not what you had signed up for when you reluctantly agreed to come here. Stupid wolf. Stupider witch.

“Hey, witch girl!”

You peaked over the edge of your notebook to see who’d called out to you. Hae In – one of the more outspoken mates – stood behind the arm of the couch where your feet rested, hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips. Behind her was Harper. The ex-hunter was shifting nervously as her eyes darted around the room. She always seemed to be on edge no matter what the situation.

“We’re going to meet up with Dana and her friend,” Hae In informed you. Her usual boldness and straight-to-the-point attitude was still very much present. It didn’t matter that the two of you hadn’t interacted much, she treated you like everyone else around the house. But you liked that about her. It made you feel less ostracized in a way. “Soomi said we could take you with us. Let’s go.”

Harper threw her cousin a tired look, “Innie….”

Hae In wasn’t fazed at all. “What? If I was her, I’d want out of this house, too. I can still remember poor Jinyoung going crazy.”

Harper rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue further. And neither did you. Closing the notebook, you tossed it down on the coffee table and leapt to your feet. “I’m down.”

“Awesome!” Hae In threw Harper a triumphant look before spinning on the balls of her feet and waltzing out of the room. The latter simply shrugged at you and followed her out.

You were hot on their heels until you came to a screeching halt just before the steps on the porch. Baekhyun, it seemed, would be coming with you. So this was not to be a “girls only” thing. With the energy that was brewing in the air at the moment, you were half tempted to go back inside. Currently, Baekhyun had his fingers wrapped around the handle of the front passenger door. He wasn’t glaring at Harper, but you could tell there was an uneasiness behind his eyes. You weren’t aware of the entire situation that occurred between former enemy and the pack, but you figure that if she was going to betray everyone, it would have happened by now so there was no point in not trusting her.

With a short nod, Harper stepped up to the back car door behind the driver’s side and slid in. It seemed she was letting the wolf take the front seat. Hae In honked her horn, bringing your focus back to the present, and you ran to take the remaining seat in her little Honda. It was about an hour into town, a shorter trip than what you had to take back home. As each road sign passed and the buildings on the horizon grew larger, you became antsier, eager to get out and wander around civilization. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Harper slightly smile at you before turning her head to face out her own window.

Hae In parked near the center of town in the business district. Decorating the middle of the prosperous area was the red brick clock tower, like a beacon luring in shoppers with money to spend within its territory. But as intriguing as the timeless structure was, it was the figure leaning up against the base that caught your eye.

The unmistakable orange hair stood out even as dozens of patrons milling about the square, blocking most of him from view. His arms were crossed lazily over his chest with his eyes focused in on the cracking cement by his feet. Just to his left, Dana and Kyungsoo were having a conversation, the wolf looking a bit annoyed, but even from where you stood by the car you tell it wasn’t directed at Dana. When the group you were with approached the others, you found out the reason for his annoyance.

“Mina’s going to meet us at the restaurant,” Dana explained while you tried extremely hard to focus on her and not let your eyes wander over to Sehun. He hadn’t even acknowledged the group’s arrival. “She’s running a bit behind.”

“She overslept and thinks she needs to spend an hour getting ready,” Kyungsoo elaborated with a blank face.

“Let’s just go,” Sehun said in a bored tone as he pushed off the clock tower. It seemed he’d come out of whatever thoughts were keeping his attention previously. “I’m starving. She can just join us when she does.”

Dana looked like she wanted to argue, but Kyungsoo reached out and took her hand, squeezing her fingers reassuringly. That seemed to be the catalyst to give in. “Okay,” Dana agreed. “I’ll send her the name of the restaurant. She’ll find us.” Under her breath, she added, “Hopefully.”

The group made its way across the square towards a small Mexican restaurant squeezed in between a clothing boutique and an eyebrow salon. Keeping to yourself quietly near the back, you learned as you walked that Luhan wouldn’t be joining the group since he was out on perimeter duty at the moment.

“What’s perimeter duty?” you asked out of curiosity. You had a pretty good guess, but….

Sehun was the one who answered. “Kris and Junmyeon have everyone running the surrounding area in case we come across something that might be considered helpful.”

Both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo threw the youngest an odd look, but nothing more was said as the group entered the restaurant. Right away, the hostess should you to a table off to the side of the large room. You were thankful that you and Sehun sat on the same side with Hae In and Baekhyun in between. That way you were less tempted to look at him. That didn’t stop the occasion glance out of the corner of your eye, but you hope it was subtle enough to go unnoticed by the others.

As soon as the chips and salsa were placed on the table, you took that as the perfect distraction to occupy your attention. Baekhyun was keeping most of the table entertained with the random facial expressions and nonsensical sentences leaving his mouth. The waiter came around and took the drink orders, leaving to give everyone a minute longer to pick what sounded good from the menus that had barely been looked at. Another fifteen minutes went by and you were starting to wonder if Dana’s friend was going to show up at all.

“Hey, sorry I’m late!”

You looked up from the pieces of tortilla chip in your hands and froze.

Dana’s friend Mina was a tall girl with light blonde hair and milky skin to match. Just like the woman in your vision.

Jumping up from her seat, Dana gave her best friend a long hug, completely unaware of your reaction to the new arrivla’s appearance. In fact, no one else seemed bothered or to make the connection they took their seats.

“Hey,” Harper whispered, leaning towards you from her seat in front of you. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you nodded a little too eagerly, leaning back in your seat. The waiter, noticing the newcomer, brought Mina a cup of water and took her order after she barely glanced at the menu.

“You get the same thing every time,” Dana teased.  

Mina shrugged, flipping her blonde curls over her shoulder in the process. Her eyes wandered over everyone at the table before they landed on Sehun who sat across from her. Like lightning, her hand was out, reaching over the chips and salsa. “Hi, I’m Mina.”

Sehun shifted in his seat, uncrossing his arms long enough to shake her hand before assuming the position once again. “Sehun. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You’re one of Kyungsoo’s friends, right?” He nodded. “I’m surprised that Dana is comfortable around so many people,” Mina commented, barely glancing at who she was referring to before going back to the one person she was actually addressing. “Groups like this used to make her uncomfortable.”

“A lot’s changed in the last few years,” Dana defended. Making eye contact with Kyungsoo, she slipped her hand into his. The usually stoic wolf let his lips spread into a wide grin, the kind of look that he reserved only for his mate.

“And I’m so happy for you,” Mina said happily as she pulled her friend into another hug.

The conversation drifted into what Dana had been up to lately. She was careful to avoid anything that might accidentally roam into the area of the wolves that lived in the woods.

“So, Sehun, what do you do most days?” Mina asked out of nowhere. She placed her chin in her folded hands as her elbows rested on the table. A glance was exchanged between Baekhyun and Hae In, but if Mina noticed she wasn’t deterred.

In reply to her obviously flirtatious inquiry, Sehun shrugged. “Depends on the day. Sometimes I’m home, sometimes I’m at Kris’ shop, helping out there.”

A sparkle shine in her eyes. “So, no girlfriend to hang out with?”

You shoved your tongue in your cheek, biting down hard to avoid any sort of sarcastic comment flying out of your mouth. She was being shamefully obvious to the point that by now even the mated couples at the table – who weren’t particularly shy about PDA and innuendoes – were shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Sehun, however, was just as unconcerned as ever. “No. No girlfriend.”

Mina nodded with a Cheshire cat grin. “Interesting. When I asked Dana if she had anyone to introduce me to, she said all of her friends were taken.”

“You’re just visiting,” Dana murmured, a deep frown on her lips. “What’s the point?”

“Well, you know me, I’m always on the move.” She sent her friend a wink and a sly smile.

Your blood was boiling even though you had no reason to be irritated. Part of you kept waiting for Sehun to tell her he wasn’t interested, but he kept his mouth closed, letting the nerve-grating comments keep on coming.

Perhaps what was bothering you was the fact that she looked just the woman in your vision. No, you never saw her face when the premonition hit, but the hair and skin was almost a perfect match. Maybe that was why you were on edge. Yeah, that had to be it… right?

You stared at the glass of water in front of you, fighting with yourself, repeating that what happened in the garage meant nothing – as nothing even happened – and it didn’t give you any right or reason to be jealous. Closing your eyes, you started the deep breath exercises Mother Willow had taught you when you felt your emotions getting out of control.

“You know,” Mina said, “Dana can’t hang out with me all the time. So, would you be interes- ah!”

You jumped at the sound of the glass rattling against the table before it rolled away. Water splashed all over Mina’s pretty sky blue skirt, leaving a spot the size of your palm in the most unflattering of places. Crap. You hadn’t meant to do it. Your guilt must have been written all over your face. When you risked looking up from the fallen cup, your eyes met Sehun’s. He was staring at you with a furrowed brow, head tilted to the side. As quickly as you could, you shrank back in your seat to hide yourself from view. Harper was glancing at you as well, her eyes flickering back and forth from Mina to you. Right in this moment, you were wishing that invisibility was a power you possessed. 

So maybe some damn self-control.

**

After getting home from the restaurant, you immediately rounded the house and bee lined for the woods. You’d let your emotions control your powers. Again. And in front of witnesses, no less. While everyone at the table had assumed it was a strange accident possibly caused by an unstable surface, you could tell that Harper’s mind was going in a different direction – you. Her eyes shifted to you throughout the rest of the meal, noticing that you were barely touching your food and not joining in on any of the conversation.

Despite being doused in water, Mina insisted on continuing her flirtatious pursuit of Sehun. Your nails dug into your upper arms with each new line, surely leaving behind half-moon indentions that were thankfully covered by the long sleeves of your shirt. All you wanted to escape from this internal embarrassment.

The forest created the perfect cover. As soon as you thought you were far enough in to be invisible from the house, you slowed down a leisurely walk. You knew you were going to have to tell Soomi about the incident eventually. From what you’d gathered about Baekhyun’s personality, this was not something that would remain among the group. He’d find it too funny that while Mina was hitting on Sehun her glass suddenly spilt all over her to keep it to himself. While she didn’t exactly know about your conflicting emotions regarding the wolf, she’d still be suspicious enough to confront you about it. You just needed some time alone before you faced that conversation. The last thing you wanted was for her to worry about you losing control.

After half an hour or so of walking, you came across a river that intertwined through the trees. It wasn’t very deep, but the water was clear to allow you to see the small, hand-sized fish that swam through the barely existent current. They were unbothered by your presence as you sat down near the edge. Tiny fins kept them stead as they searched the tiny pebbles for possible food.

With the sun shining down through the tree leaves, you could just barely make out your reflection on the surface of the water. Sometimes you didn’t recognize the person staring back at you. Sure, you knew the features – the nose, the eyes, the hair – but the person behind them had become lost. You toed the line between being the witch you were expected to be and wanting to use the powers that were given to you, see how far you could push them until they reached their limit. It was easily to blame the elders in this. To you, the smart decision would have been to teach you how to control your powers, not force you to suppress them. They wouldn’t magically go away through non-usage. But no one cared about your opinion. To them, you were just a young witch with horrible impulse control and lesser knowledge about these things.

The rustling of leaves pulled you from your thoughts of self-pity. Your eyes grew wide as Sehun sat down beside you on the ground, leaving at least two feet of space between you. Great. Was he cautious of you now? With a roll of your eyes, you turned back to the water. “What are you doing here?”

“Harper said you came out here,” he shrugged. It was lost on you why he would even care whether you were out here or in the house or anywhere in the vicinity. He couldn’t be upset at what had happened at the restaurant. If he was, well then, he could just it up.

You threw your hands up. “So, you found me. You can go about your business now.”

“You made the glass spill over, didn’t you?”

Well, wasn’t that just fantastic. He really had made the connection that it was you after all.

Picking up a smooth rock barely the length of your pinky, you flipped it over in your palm a few times as you mulled over his question. For as long as you could remember, keeping your powers a secret beyond the coven had been the number one rule in your life. Scratch that – rule number two. The first one was to not use them in the first place. Soomi had emphasized the importance of that rule before you came here. The pack was already wary of witches and you couldn’t entirely blame them. For the first time in your life, though, you were scared to admit to them, to your powers. In the past, you’d never shied away from admitting to their existence; that yes, the strange incident was all your doing. Hiding who you were had never been something you liked to do. But in this moment, you were afraid. How could you be so worried about what this wolf would think of you? In this moment, you were the most afraid of being considered the freak than you ever had been before.

You pulled in as much air into your lungs as possible before emptying them once again. You flipped the rock over in your palm one more time before tossing it into the river. The ripples blurred your face in the water before slowly disappearing. If only you could fade away like the waves. “Yeah,” you admitted. “That was me.”

Sehun nodded. Apparently, he hadn’t been expecting any other answer. “Can all witches do that?”

“No,” you said bluntly. What was the point of beating around the bush? “Not without a lengthy incantation and even then, some can’t.”

“But you can just… do it?”

“Yup.”

There was nothing but the sound of the river for a moment or two. What you would give right now to be able to read minds. The possibilities could be endless for whatever was going through his mind. Which part was he focusing on? Was it the fact that you could do things like tip over a glass of water? Or was he making an assumption as to why you did it?

“Which did you move?” he suddenly asked, making you jump.

You frowned, staring at him. “What do you mean?”

For the first time since he arrived, he turned to look at you. “The water or glass? Which one were you moving?”

“Oh.” You blinked, trying to figure out the best way to explain this. “It was the water. I’m not telekinetic, although that wouldn’t be a bad gig.”

“Being able to move water doesn’t sound too bad, either,” he said with a small, crooked smile. His reaction to your confession was so understated, as if this was something he’d come across before. It made you comfortable. Perhaps a little too comfortable.

“No, it’s not,” you agreed. “But when you add in the other stuff, it kind of freaks people out.”

Sehun leaned back on the palms of his hands, looking at you with eyes full of curiosity. “The other stuff?”

You picked at your cuticles nervously. It was a bad habit that you thought you’d broken a while back, but the compulsion was rearing its ugly head again. “It’s not just water that I can manipulate. It’s… kind of all the elements. Fire, water, air, earth. All that jazz. It’s kind of a rare thing, for witches. Like, it’s been a few centuries kind of rare.”

“That’s….” He struggled to find a word to put to the news you were telling him. Unable to do so, he went another route. “If you can do this, why has Soomi been teaching you about plant magic?”

This was a question you were subconsciously dreading. “The elders are… concerned about the fact that I can do these things since, according to history, it didn’t end very well last time. A lot of people died because of that witch. They think it’s best if I don’t use them too much. Plant magic sort of defaults to good. There’s never been a witch who trained in it that went dark. A few evil ones have used that kind of magic before, but that was never their specialty. The mothers think it’s safer.”

“But you don’t agree?”

You scoffed. “How could I? You saw what happened at the restaurant. There’s times I can’t control it and things like that occur. They think suppression is the answer, but-” You swallowed back the words that were about to leave your tongue. Never had you been tempted to release those thoughts to anyone – not Mother Willow or Soomi – so why did you almost let them go now? There was something about Sehun that got to you; something that caused holes to appear in your walls. Fearful that you might actually make him run away, you looked down at the eroding rocks that decorated the riverbed.

“But what?” he surged.

“It’s nothing.” The lie felt like acid on your tongue, but it was the kind of lie you were used to telling. Somehow, though, saying it to the orange haired wolf made you feel guiltier than normal. “I’d just prefer to be able to use them, that’s all.”

Everything about Sehun’s demeanor screamed that he didn’t believe you, but he didn’t verbalize his suspicions. He nodded as he sat up, pretending he was taking you at your word. His eyes danced around the surrounding area, careful not to land in your direction. You couldn’t help but think that you made him uncomfortable now, the element controlling witch residing not just in his home, but in his bedroom.

“You must think I’m a freak now, huh?” You hadn’t meant to ask that out loud, but his reaction was… well it was hurting you.

But when Sehun finally looked at you, he seemed confused as to why you could ask such a thing. His brow was scrunched, forming a harsh line above the bridge of his nose. His eyes shined a dark amber for only a second before fading back to their usual brown. Shaking his head, Sehun scoffed. “You’re not a freak. Different, sure, but not a freak.”

“You were acting like I make you uncomfortable,” you pointed out.

The way he in his lips and ran a hand through his hair told you that you were right. “I- I don’t think you’re a freak,” he repeated.

That made you roll your eyes. “You can say that as many times as you’d like, but have you ever heard of the phrase that actions speak louder than words?”

Sehun growled at your argument, but you didn’t flinch at the aggressive sound. Your response was to simply raise an eyebrow and wait. Heavy air escaped through his lips as he looked away. Tension was visible in all his muscles, especially where his neck and hands were exposed. It was like you were watching an internal struggle before your eyes, having seen the signs before within yourself. There was no telling what was going on with him, what he was wrestling with. You weren’t sure if you wanted to know, in case it harmed your ego. Suddenly, he turned to face you, his eyes a brighter amber than before. And they stayed that way. Not once did they flicker or fade back to a normal, human color. The change made you lean back, the tiniest bit of fear lighting up inside you. But that small movement seemed to encourage him.

Your heart was pounded again, exactly like it did back in the garage. Sehun was coming closer. He leaned in as if the space between you didn’t even exist. Why was it that every time he came in close proximity you froze like a deer in the middle of the road? He certainly felt like a speeding car coming at you a hundred miles an hour and whatever damage was done when the two of you finally collided would resonate for the rest of your lives.

In time, however, he swerved away, squeezing his eyes shut as he replaced the space between you. The veins on his hands were visible from how hard he was clenching his fists. “You should go back to the house,” he suggested through gritted teeth. “Soomi’s worried about you.” When you continued to sit there and stare at him, he growled, “Go!”

You huffed. What the hell had you done? He was the one who kept invading your space, saying cryptic things, and flipping back and forth between ignoring you and seeking you out. “Whatever.” You jumped up to your feet and made your way back to the clearing, happy to be putting distance between the two of you.