15. Storm Before the Storm

His hands look paler, like his blood is draining out. All that rings in his head is blood. He can still see the dark red liquid twirling in the cup when he closes his eyes. It is enough to have him embrace himself, wishing to stop the freezing chills that run down his body, the image so hideous, it makes him want to puke yet there grows a yearning in his chest to feel the liquid down his throat once again. His brain unconsciously wonders if he would be able to sneak a sip tomorrow, from Wendy perhaps.

Kyungsoo hates himself for that, this surging emotion is so real inside him, like a solid block of mass stuck in his throat and he can't swallow it down. He doesn't know how to forgive himself for greedily chugging down the blood. His eyes had flicked, his heart thumped against his chest uncontrollably and his brain had been receiving uncountable orders from all part of his body that it shut down. His instincts had taken over and there he was, feeling the blood down his throat, enjoying it. How could he do that? Kyungsoo doesn't know how to face Chanyeol and Baekhyun, who are sleeping soundly inside the tent. Every night, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo alter their watch duties because they don't trust these blood-thirsty creatures at all. However, despite tonight being his night to sleep, Kyungsoo had sent Chanyeol inside, knowing all his attempts to sleep will be futile tonight anyway.

The restlessness inside him acquires a peak and he springs to his feet. Before his legs give up and he ends up kneeling on the hard grassy ground with a thud. How can he be one of them? He doesn't believe the old man, his words make no sense. He has grown up under the care of his father, taught the werewolf ways diligently, his body had been a wolf's nest, not some filthy bloodthirsty animal's. He never felt it like he feels the wolf growling in his bones. Running about in the midst of nature, he never thirsted for blood. So why now? Why did he drink from the cup? Why was he yearning for it now?

Angry and disappointed, he fists his fingers around the grass and pulls two tufts of them, screaming internally. He wishes to run in the forest just behind these tents, and perhaps that will be ideal to calm himself down. As much as he wants to shove the old man's words out of his head, he can't deny that the blood had soothed his taste buds, that he hadn't thrown up after drinking that as he had always thought he would. Even so there must be some kind of an explanation to his odd action.There must be more that the chief knows. Kyungsoo looks behind his shoulder at the ped canvas tent before walking towards the deep red tent in the distance.

His every step is filled with guilt, hopelessness and a suffocating distress. The lamp dimly shines from the inside and the yellow rays are a bright that Kyungsoo wants to smash to pieces. He suddenly doesn’t like the light anymore. This sudden energy inside him wills him to destroy all that he comes across, and he suppresses such alluring thoughts with great difficulty as he storms towards the tent. His legs come to a stop , almost like a car braking with a pitched screech, when he hears the voices inside. The old man is not alone, apparently.

“I don't know what you’re waiting for. This is just plain stupid,” A woman muttered under her breath. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, he wants answers and he can’t care less who else will hear him. Two steps ahead, he touches the curtain, determined to shove it aside.

“Tell them to leave, unless you want a mutiny. Or...just kill the boy.”

There is a little hunch in his head that they are talking about him. That sounds like Wendy’s mother. Kyungsoo isn’t shocked to hear a just kill the boy in such a nonchalant tone from a vampire, nor the fact that they are most probably talking about him. But he wonders why they are so bothered about his mixed blood, if that even is true of course. Why does his presence insinuate mutiny?

Meanwhile, the two vampires inside argue in the name of discussion. The chief, Taeoh, sits at his desk with his pen clicking against the desk and the woman paces around almost madly. “Once the vampires know you’ve been providing the group shelter only because you’ve grown a soft spot for your wife’s illegitimate boy, Taeoh, they won’t sit back and watch,” she goes again. “You have to get rid of him while you can.”

“I can’t get rid of him,” the man almost growls, making the woman shudder to a stop. His voice softens however at her stunned expression. “She loved him. The boy reminds me so much of her.”

“Such silly reasons,” the woman mutters under her breath restlessly. “Look, these boys are gifted with abilities, which is why the Circle is specifically after them, Taeoh.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“That Hee Ae’s boy might want to replace you. Kyungsoo, was it?” She snorted, “There are countless reasons, Taeoh, why you should do as I say,” her voice grew hushed, “Kill him.”

“You don’t understand, Hyunseo. He doesn’t want to be who he is. This is not his fault that he is half-blood. I’ve always been against the execution of half-bloods in our society yet just to save face, I always do as you say,” He confesses in a frustrated voice. “It is not his fault that his mother was my wife. She loved him and will not want me to kill him in the name of purifying. Till her last breath, she spoke of this son of hers--”

“And that doesn’t make you angry?”

“No, I promised to protect her sons! What have I not done to find him, Hyunseo. But he has come to me by himself now, I’m satisfied to tell him about his real identity and do not wish to lose him anymore.”

“You’re not his father so don’t speak like one. Taeoh, this is unreasonable. Do you think he will accept his true identity so easily? He’ll be out of this place with his friends before you know it.”

The man’s face contorted at the painful truth. His fists clenched around the edge of the desk with frustration. “He is in danger, Hyunseo. I have to protect him.”

Hyunseo rolled her pretty eyes at the concern of her chief. “When he finds out our kind killed his mother, he is never going to forgive you, Taeoh. Your worries are pointless. Before he revolts, get rid of him the easy way. You don’t want trouble now, with the whole world against us, do you?”

Taeoh’s eyes squint, the concern evident on his features. It is clear he isn’t about to pay any heed to the woman’s words. His usually calm mind races while his brain plays the picture of Kyungsoo’s face when he had realized he had drunk the blood he had been disgusted with since the beginning of his stay in these quarters. There is a constant worry that the boy wasn’t going to remain with him, despite finding out his true roots, that he will for sure follow his friends out once they deem it appropriate. He is afraid that his own people will kill Kyungsoo once they discover the little secret. The Circle is trying to hunt him down, there is trouble waiting for Kyungsoo in every corner. Taeoh’s racing heart can’t find a reason to calm down tonight.

This pull he feels towards Kyungsoo is similar to what he feels for Taehyung. Disclosing the secret to Kyungsoo, he didn’t know what he had accomplished. Taeoh only wanted to let him know that in here, he wasn’t a guest. He was a part of this race too. His mixed blood made him stronger than most. With Taehyung’s childish addiction to video games, and all the trivial things, Taeoh knows he will not make a good leader. He doesn’t have another child. But, now there is Kyungsoo. Taeoh’s plans for him perhaps escape boundaries and fall into imagination only but he wishes Kyungsoo will stay.

The strong determination in Kyungsoo’s bold eyes convey the strength in his mind. There is an unmistakable spark in his disinterested eyes, the naturally careful choice of words that Taeoh wants to see in Taehyung. He makes quite a lifeless leader himself, preferring to stick to his rules than keep his people united. There is no spirit in him, only the vivid consequences of the stress of keeping his clan safe on his face, signs that say he finds this job exhausting. He does. Sometimes, the pressure is too much and staying sane requires Herculean strength. Taeoh is looking for someone he can pass his duties to. Kyungsoo just seems perfect.

“This is absurd,” Hyunseo stated. “What do you wish to gain from him? He is a threat. Can’t you see the red flags?”

“He is no threat,” he impatiently tells her, “The werewolves have a real chance at uniting because of these boys. If Kyungsoo can be a bridge for us, we will be stronger than ever.”

“That is just wishful thinking--”

“Can’t you be optimistic for one second, Hyunseo?”

“Look, these boys are too scared of any such change. They have a human mate, on top of it all. How can you possibly think they will help us in destroying her race?”

“We’re only targeting the Circle. And that’s it. You’re dismissed.”

There was a slam of something on the desk, a signal that it was the end of the conversation and perhaps also conveying that they will never have this discussion again. Kyungsoo, stunned with the information, felt dizzy. Yet he managed to hide himself while the Hyunseo woman stormed out of the tent. Kyungsoo felt tears prick his eyes.

“It is not his fault that his mother was my wife.”

“Our kind killed his mother.”

He doesn’t know how to unhear these, foolishly wishing to get rid of these words from his mind. With the guilt, disappointment, the heavy loathing for himself, he felt these words engraved on his shoulders. All of a sudden, he didn’t want to exist anymore.

A strong thud interrupts their unexpected encounter. Sehun doesn't even get the time to touch Haechan's hair when the new guy shoves all of them further into the narrow space between the crammed shelves. Leah's hand wounds around his arm and he momentarily forgets about the surging pain in his chest. Haechan pressed against his body, squeezes in a little smile up at his brother even while something seemingly terrible is going on outside. At least that is what the unknown man's face conveys, the way his brows scrunch up while he peers through the gaps of the documents stacked on the shelf.

"What's happening?" Leah murmurs.

Sehun shrugs, but his shoulders deflate discouragingly when the realization hits him that she isn't talking to him. "I don't want any more trouble, I swear," Leah goes on mumbling, holding dearly to him while Sehun covers her from the front.

"Not if trouble finds you," The guy directs it to her. “We’re not alone.”

As if they don’t know that already. Sehun already doesn’t like this guy. In the chaos of his brain, he still makes space to dislike this man; and they’ve only met. There are footsteps in the hall, curses being muttered, words exchanged openly, everything but hushed. Sehun wondered if his observations had gone wrong somehow. No staff of the Circle should be in this building at this hour, he has spent countless sleepless nights noting down these details. No way he could have been wrong.

The vulgar voices grow louder, conveying quite a group walking down this corridor.