“Yixing! Yixing!”

Panic caged around your lungs. Each breath was too shallow, sending too little oxygen to your brain to keep yourself upright. Your own legs start to shake under you despite the fact that Junmyeon was holding a majority of Yixing’s weight. He was heavier than you would have expected. Or maybe you were too weak.

“Chanyeol!” Junmyeon shouted. His voice was strained but you suspected it was stress - not Yixing’s limp body - that caused it. Chanyeol had already been on his feet and was over to you in less than a blink. He picked Yixing up in his arms like he was simply a pillow stuffed with feathers. “Get him to the couch in the living room and keep an eye on him,” ordered Junmyeon. Chanyeol nodded once before disappearing from the kitchen. Junmyeon went over to the counter, took out a tea bag from Yixing’s tin, and sniffed. He flinched. 

“Junmyeon?” Baekhyun’s voice was void of any previous lightheartedness. He, too, was no longer in the booth. From the angle of his body, he was torn between staying and leaving for the living room. 

The alpha remained quiet as he walked over to the dining table after grabbing a knife from one of the drawers. Laying the bag down, he cut through the thin white bag so the contents spilled out on the wooden surface. 

Like Baekhyun, you wanted to run to Yixing’s side and beg him to wake up, but the other part of you needed to stay in order to understand what Junmyeon was thinking. With the tips of his fingers, he spread out the herbs, eyes searching as the frown on his mouth deepened. Then he hissed, snatching his hand back. 

“Wolfsbane.”

“What?” Jongin’s eyes jumped from the tea herbs to the alpha. His face was a mixture of shock and dread. Nearly every other face was a reflection of his. 

You, however, didn’t fully understand. “Wolfsbane?” 

“It’s a flower that can be deadly to us,” Minseok explained. As he was the one sitting closest, he leaned away from the herb as if it might jump and attack him at any moment. 

“Yixing’s been drinking that for weeks,” Baekhyun said. 

You frowned, your teeth painfully digging into your bottom lip. Weeks. He had been drinking that tea for weeks? Consuming the essence of a flower that was deadly to them. The effects that could have…. 

“So, this could be the reason he was blacking out?” 

The silence in the room confirmed it to be so. Shaking your head, you turned and ran from the room. 

Chanyeol was sitting on the coffee table, fingers folded together with his elbows resting on his knees. His bottom lip quivered, his eyes never leaving Yixng’s unconscious form draped across the worn tan couch. The up and down movement of Yixing’s chest was the one glimmer of hope that he was okay. 

“I told him to throw it away.”

You almost didn’t realize that it was Chanyeol who had spoken and not one of the others coming into the living room. “What?”

Chanyeol sniffed. His eyes were red-rimmed, a shimmer threatening to spill over. “He told me that it didn’t taste right. I kept telling him to throw it away. He said he didn’t want to waste it. Idiot.”

You almost wanted to laugh, however inappropriate. It seemed like a very Yixing thing to do. 

“He’ll be okay… won’t he?”

Chanyeol shrugged. “I hope so. He said he’d been blacking out, but this is the first time we’ve witnessed it.” Sighing, he hung his head before standing up. “You’re his mate. You should be sitting here instead.”

“I don’t want to shove you out.” Though, you had to admit, you did want to be closer to Yixing, to hold his hand and be right there if he were to wake up. No. When he woke up. 

“Sit.” He forced a smile. “Junmyeon told me to keep watch, so I can’t leave, but I’ll… stay over here.” He pointed to the recliner on the other side of the room. After giving you a slight nod, he shuffled over to the chair and collapsed heavily, causing the leather stretched over the cushions to whine. 

Pushing through your hesitation, you knelt on the floor near Yixing’s head, grasping his cold, clammy hand within your own. His fingers didn’t squeeze back. A small, stupid, optimistic part of you had hoped that - being his mate - he would subconsciously be aware of your presence and give him an extra sign of life. 

Yes. A very stupid notion to wish for. 

If you were alone with him, you would have gently adjusted his position so there was room on the couch for you to lie down next to him and run your fingers through his hair soothingly. You would have rested your chin on his shoulder and memorized the sharp angles of his face that were also somehow soft and innocent. You would have talked to him softly, asking him not to stay under too long and that when he woke up, the two of you would make sure this never happened to him again, even if that you had to research how to make your own tea bag concoctions. 

But there was another person in the room, so you stayed where you were. You did press his fingers to your lips, not quite kissing them, but taking in the feeling of his skin against yours. 

In the time before the two of you had fallen asleep last night, Yixing had been holding you while lying on his bed. One arm was under you, wrapped around your waist so you were right up against him. The fingers of his free hand had drifted over your lips, tickling the sensitive skin. You had made a comment about how the lips had the most nerve endings in the human body - over a million. Yixing had laughed, telling you that he knew; he was a medical student, too.

You wanted more moments like that. More memories created that made you smile just by thinking of them. 

You would get the memories, you told yourself. Yixing had always woken up from his blackouts before. This time would be no different. 

Being here, in this situation, was a bit surreal. You were his mate and you were… oddly okay with that. You didn’t feel like you should have been. You probably should have fought it a little more, questioned it a little more. But you didn’t want to. What was the point? You… liked how you felt around him. The way that he looked at you. And he’d apologized for walking out of your apartment and had promised that he wouldn’t keep secrets from you anymore. He was being open with you, vulnerable. He deserved the same thing. 

Your mind stayed on that vague path to the future. More specifically, on your possible future. You were still waiting to hear back from the university. Could you go now? With all of this going on?

Maybe it would be over by the time you heard from the university. Then maybe the two of you could have a long distance relationship? You could… come back to visit. Or he could come visit you? It was a blur right now, fuzzy and unsure. 

Later. You would figure it out later.

**

For two hours, you didn’t move. You stayed right there in that spot next to Yixing, holding his hand. Either on their own or in small groups, members of the pack came to check on the two of you. Chanyeol had fallen asleep in the chair, but no one dared to wake him. Junmyeon was apparently on the phone with the previously mentioned “research partner”. They were volleying ideas back and forth on how the wolfbane could have been affecting Yixing all this time and how Zara could have been masking her scent. She had to have had help from a witch. Kyungsoo thought it might have been the local coven. 

Local coven. There were witches right here in the city. 

Apparently, they didn’t have the best relationship with the nearby witches. Baekhyun had no idea why; they hadn’t done anything to them. Minseok had reminded him that witches and wolves were natural enemies. They didn’t need a reason to hate the pack. 

But if they hated werewolves, why were they helping one?

None of it made sense to you. Which wasn’t surprising, given how new you were to this world. 

Just after the two hour mark, you were starting to drift off. You didn’t think you were that tired, but the lack of movement had tricked your mind into thinking it was time to rest. You didn’t want to fall asleep and miss him waking up. It didn’t matter, how strong your willpower was. Your eyelids fluttered shut and your head lulled forward onto the couch cushion. 

**

“Baobei. Baobei.”

You groaned as someone shook your shoulder. Thinking one of the other boys was going to try and take you up to a bed for a better place to sleep, you mumbled out, “Uh-uh.”

A soft chuckle came as the reply. 

Wait. You knew that laugh. 

Your head shot up. 

Yixing! He was awake!

He smiled weakly at you, the dimple barely visible. 

“Oh, thank god!” You all but tackled him on the couch, an audible “oof” pushed from his lungs. You pulled back, remembering how he had collapsed in the kitchen and probably didn’t need you smothering him. “Sorry! I’m sorry!”

His laugh echoed in your chest. “It’s alright.” He traced a finger down your cheek before cupping it in his palm. “I think you slept harder than I did.”

“What?”

His thumb brushed the skin over your cheek before tracing down its side again. You followed the same path, realizing that there was now a deep groove indented in your face. 

“Oh my gosh!” You rubbed hard at your skin to try and make the cushion scar go away. It didn’t feel like it helped at all. 

Yixing laughed hysterically, but it soon died out. A frown hardened his features. “Did I… hurt anyone?”

You shook your head. “No. You just lied here the whole time.”

“You didn’t shift at all.” Junmyeon stepped into the living room from the kitchen. A strange, sharp scent followed him. 

Yixing sat up and sniffed the air. “What’s burning?”

“Your tea,” Junmyeon answered. “Baekhyun and Jongdae are having a bit too much fun burning it all.” He lowered his brow. “Yixing. There was wolfsbane in those tea bags. We think that’s what caused your blackouts. Soomi said that since the wolfsbane trace was small, its a possible side effect.”

Yixing’s eyes drifted down to the floor. The wheels turning in his head could be seen from a mile away. “But that doesn’t explain how nearly every time I out, someone got hurt.” Or killed. 

That last part hung unsaid in the air. 

“She could have been watching you from afar,” Junmyeon suggested. “Waiting for you to lose consciousness before striking.”

“This is too intricate,” Yixing said, shaking his head. “And for what? Because I voted no?”

“There have been pettier reasons for revenge.” Clapping Yixing on the shoulder, Junmyeon sighed. “Now that we know who we’re dealing with, we’ll catch her. This will be over soon.”

Yixing nodded, though his face showed his lack of confidence. You reached out and took his hand to tell him without words that you were with him, too. He squeezed back, the corner of his mouth slightly twitching upwards. 

Junmyeon turned and left the living room. 

Checking the room, you realized that Chanyeol was gone as well. You took advantage of the alone time, sitting on the couch next to Yixing and curling into his side as close as you could manage. Yixing caged you in his arms, pulling you in even more so you could feel his heartbeat through your shirts. He rested his chin on the top of your head, his breath ruffling your hair. You felt safe in that spot, never wanting to leave. If neither of you ever left, you wouldn’t be vulnerable to Zara and her schemes. 

Yixing didn’t deserve this. He made a decision that he believed was best for those he called his brothers. It wasn’t an easy one and you could see the anguish in his eyes when he confessed to being the final vote. If you ever met this Zara…. well, you probably wouldn’t do anything. You were too much of a coward and if she was anywhere near as strong as Yixing, you could be dead by the time she was through with you anyway. 

But you hated her quietly. Hated what she did to Yixing - both physically and mentally. Hated that she thought this was the best way to get pay back and that she’d involved innocent people. Yes, you hated her. But you would leave the retribution to those capable of it. 

“Yixing, you’re up!”

Several bodies piled into the living room from the front parlor. You shot up out of Yixing’s arms, your cheeks feeling like hot coals. A flash of worry hit you as you looked to your wolf, in case he took your reaction personally. From the way he smirked at you, he understood your shyness of public affection and found it amusing. 

“You really scared us,” Chanyeol pouted. The red had faded from his eyes and his shoulders didn’t slump as low. The pep he had possessed earlier seemed to be coming back. Even his pout had a hint of a smile underneath. 

“I’m sorry,” Yixing said with a half smile of his own. His hand found yours on the couch as his eyes stayed on the other wolves. You didn’t pull away, still needing that bit of contact. Besides, holding his hand wasn’t too much in ways of public displays of affection. “Hopefully, it won’t happen again.”

“Junmyeon said you’re banned from tea drinking for a while,” Jongdae smirked. He didn’t seem as hostile as before. Then again, he wasn’t even looking at you. “Water only.”

“Soomi wanted to bring you something,” Jongin added, “but Junmyeon said it wouldn’t be necessary.”

“I don’t need it,” Yixing confirmed. You were thankful for that. You didn’t really want him drinking something without knowing the exact effect it would have on him. Over the next few days, you would make sure that he drank plenty of water to flush out any remaining wolfsbane that could be in his system. 

Kyungsoo looked between the two of you with a blank expression. “You both should eat something.”

“I’m fine,” you answered. It felt too early to be thinking about lunch. But the light coming through the large window on the opposite wall was waning, dimming as if it were getting closer to sunset. Had you really been asleep that long? 

Yixing, however, was of a different mindset. “I should eat something.” Not letting go of your hand, he stood to his feet. Then swayed slightly. You jumped up, hurrying to steady him. “I’m alright.” His voice was strained, weak. He still needed to rest. He needed to replenish his energy. 

You helped him to the kitchen and sat him down at the table. He didn’t let you go the whole time. The others sat around as well while Kyungsoo was left cooking at the stove by himself. It took mere seconds for the laughter and loud talking to commence. Yixing even joined in, his high pitched laugh scrunching his nose as Baekhyun talked about the date he had last weekend and how Chanyeol and Jongdae had crashed it and leapt at the chance to embarrass him. 

It was odd to you, how normal they were able to act after the morning’s horrific scene. As if they were used to things like that. It was jarring, like whiplash. You hoped that wasn’t the norm in this house. If it was, you weren’t sure how you would be able to handle it in the long term.

**

Yixing leaned against the short clock tower, frowning so hard that a small headache was starting to emerge. His arms were crossed over his chest, his fists clenched tight underneath. Minseok and Jongin had insisted on joining him for this little mission, but he managed to convince them otherwise. Junmyeon didn’t protest as long as Yixing promised to call them the second something happened. They would be close by on the university campus. That was good enough for him. This was his to deal with, and his alone. Besides, he wasn’t scared of a witch. 

They often hung around the business district. There were a few shops run by ordinary humans that sold organic and natural goods they could use in their spells and enchantments. According to Soomi, the spell covering Zara’s scent wouldn’t last long. It would need to be performed more than once to keep her hidden for this many weeks. In order for that to work, it had to be a nearby witch that was conducting the spell. 

So, Yixing had a few questions for their local supernatural friends. 

Ha. Friends. Not a word that would really be described in the relationship between wolves and witches. But Yixing wouldn’t agree to the phrase “natural enemies” either.  What could be natural about the witches first creating the shifters and then hating their existence? 

Soomi was an exception. 

The whole pack was wary last year when Junmyeon advised them that he was going to approach her in his obsessive research about the history of their kind. He promised he wouldn’t tell her that he was a wolf. He didn’t need to. She’d figured it out pretty quickly, despite his lie about being a male witch descendant. There was no hostility and when the air was cleared between them, they dove even further into the research. 

But most witches weren’t like Soomi. 

Most witches were like Eun Na. 

The witch was dressed in head to toe black - a figure-hugging sweater, skinny jeans, and knee high boots all worn underneath a thin duster. Matching raven hair blew behind her in the wind as she strutted down the sidewalk, heading in his direction. A fearsome sight. But not enough to scare him. 

Pushing off the brick, Yixing stormed towards the witch. “Eun Na!”

She stopped walking. Her eyes flickered towards him and she slipped her hands into her pockets. A scare tactic that was supposed to indicate she might have a talisman hidden on her person. It didn’t work. 

“What do you want, dog?” she spat. 

Yixing kept that hard expression. He didn’t like being this way, but he couldn’t show weakness to the witch. “I have a question for you.” 

Taking her hands out of her pockets, she crossed her arms. “A question? Really?”

“Yes,” he hissed. “Why are you helping Zara?”

Eun Na raised an eyebrow. “Zara? Never heard of them. Who are they?”

Yixing growled. “Stop playing games. I know you’re helping the gray wolf mask her scent.”

The witch actually had the audacity to laugh. “Why would we ever help a wolf?”

Calm, Yixing. Calm. He filled his mind with thoughts of you to try and keep his temper down. Bad idea. Because then he thought of how Zara had chased you through the woods and would have caught you if he hadn’t shown up in time. His voice was animalistic as he said, “I don’t have to understand your motives to know that you have to be helping her. She’s killing people, Eun Na. Innocent people. And you’re helping.”

“I don’t involve myself in wolf affairs,” Eun Na insisted. But her heart rate was rising. Not by a lot, but enough to tell Yixing that she was hiding something. 

“Then stay out of pack business and stay away from Zara. No more masking spells. We’re going to stop her.”

Eun Na smirked. “Good luck.”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder before starting back down the sidewalk towards a coffee shop located on the corner. A girl in the shop’s uniform was waiting, her eyes down on her phone. 

“Come on, Jiyoung,” he heard Eun Na say. She hooked her arm around the barista’s elbow and led her away. Yixing narrowed his eyes at the girls. The barista was… human. Odd. The witches usually stayed away from them, preferring the company of their own kind. Maybe she was aware of Eun Na’s true nature. 

Yixing shook his head. It didn’t matter. What did matter was the fact that Eun Na had practically confirmed that she was masking Zara’s scent with those last two words. 

Good luck. 

It was a challenge that Yixing was more than happy to take up. 

Turning to head home, he froze. No. It couldn’t be….

Far down on the sidewalk, was a woman with short cropped hair the shade of tree bark and tanned skin that was kissed by the sun. Despite the chilly temperature, she was in shorts and a tank top. 

Zara. 

Yixing took off, weaving through the crowd to catch the killer before she could disappear.

She didn’t slow as the buildings thinned and the forest came into the view. Yixing could have sworn he saw her smile each time she looked over her shoulder. He dug his feet in further, speeding up while cursing at himself for not bringing Chanyeol or Minseok along to help. 

Luhan would have had her by now. 

Yixing shook the useless thought from his mind. There was no point in that now. He kept going on his own, dodging tree branches and loose rocks as the distance between them inched closed. 

He jumped, tackling her to the ground. A roar erupted from Yixing’s throat as they rolled through the leaves. Zara’s twisted response was to laugh. The momentum of the crash caused them to roll apart. Yixing jumped to his feet. Zara was slower to get up, still cackling as she plucked tiny twigs from her hair. 

“About time you caught on.”

“You’re going to pay for what you’ve done,” Yixing said through gritted teeth. 

She shook her head. “That’s not how this is going to end.”

“It’s nine against one. How do you expect to get out of this?”

She smirked. “I don’t want to get out of it. But I wouldn’t say I’m alone in this.”

That stopped Yixing from taking a step forward. “Why? Because of the witches?” Would she really reveal everything right now? 

Zara snickered. “Mutual benefits.”

What was that supposed to mean? 

Before he could ask, Zara shifted. Gray fur exploded all over her body, scraps of denim and cotton bursting at every angle. Yixing braced himself for her to lunge, but instead, she turned to run. 

Yixing shifted as well and took off after her. But Zara had always been faster. And Yixing was still weak from all the wolfsbane he had consumed. His strength was waning. After chasing her for several more miles, he lost her among the trees. Her scent was still masked. He couldn’t follow her anymore.

Damn it!

Yixing growled and then let out the howl that had been building in his chest, filling the silent forest with the sorrowful sound. Birds fluttered from the trees. Yixing hung his head, ashamed that he had failed.