--

08

--

He and Joon circled each other, the crowd gasping with anticipation. “You always get to dance with pretty girls,” Joon whined. “Can’t I win this time?”

“Maybe,” Howon said with a grin before leaping forward for the attack. The crowd ooh’d and aww’d at appropriate moments.

It was a fierce fight between the two of them. You winced when hits connected, and you could swear bones were being broken. They looked evenly matched until Howon managed to knock Joon off balance.

Then Howon tackled him, making him fall back against the bonfire. He yelped and hopped out of the fire as the pieces began to fall. Howon’s eyes went wide as a large log broke away and started falling in your direction. And before he knew it, he was across the circle, knocking it away before anyone even got a chance to react.

Your eyes widened as you watched it burn his arms, but they healed almost immediately. Howon replaced the burning wood into the bonfire before shaking his head and dusting off his hands.

“If you thought I was tough before.” He popped his neck, making Joon pale slightly in the moonlight.

Howon hit harder, attacked fiercer than he did before. Joon had a hard time keeping up with him until Howon finally crushed him to the ground, hand around his throat.

“Okay! I give!” Joon yelled, pushing at Howon. He grinned at him before getting up and pulling the other man up. “Jeeze, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were defending a mate.”

“And we have a winner! Sorry, Joon, better luck with the ladies next year. And now, Howon, who will you choose?”

Without hesitation, he strode over to you and held his hand out. You stared at it for a moment before looking around wildly.

“Pick someone else,” Sungjong hissed at him. Sunggyu and Seungho looked amused as they looked from you to Howon. You met eyes with him, and a smile quirked at his lips.

“Chicken.”

You stiffened.

“Are you so afraid of me that you won’t dance with me, even with all these people watching?” he asked quietly.

“Howon, have you lost your mind? There are plenty of other girls here. You can’t just-“

“I’m not afraid of you,” you said quietly, looking up into his eyes with defiance. You’d suffered through worse before. You were locked in a dungeon for Goddess knows how long, beaten, tortured, and chased across the country for months. Surely you could live through a dance.

“Prove it.”

You swallowed and reached up to take his hand with your good one. Sunggyu and Seungho tried not to snort at the astounded look on Sungjong’s face as he led you to the middle of the circle.

“It’s just a dance, relax. It’ll be over in a few minutes when the moon is full.” You kept a determined look on your face as he took your good hand and left his other hand on your waist.

Music floated out into the air, and Howon thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

“I’m sorry,” he said after a moment of silence. You blinked a few times, not answering him. “I had some unresolved feelings and took them out on you.”

He felt your head lower, and he pulled you closer, closing his eyes as he inhaled your scent. “I’m not asking you to forgive me now. Or even in a while. I just hope I can show you that you don’t have to be scared of me.” Your eyes widened as you looked up again. He saw the wonder in your eyes, wondering if what he said was true, and wondering if you could trust him.

Suddenly, a howl went up into the air, joined by another one, and the moment was over. The two Alphas stood up and stretched before heading to the forest.

The crowd began to join them, the kids running around excitedly. You stood next to the fire, watching as Howon was swept away with the crowd.

“I’m not scared of you!” you called after him as he stopped at the edge of the forest. “I’ve survived worse than you! I’m not scared of you!”

Howon turned around and looked at you with so much intensity, you were rooted to the spot. Suddenly, he was right in front of you, but you refused to move, staring defiantly into his eyes.

It was when he brought his hand up that you closed your eyes and flinched away from him. Howon sighed and gently your jaw with his thumb before taking a few steps away from you.

“You’re terrified of me.”

And then he was gone, along with everyone else. Two howls went up into the air again, and then the forest was full of answering howls.

--

The need to let the beast out was strongest on a full moon, and no wolf could deny the call. But something didn’t settle right with Howon, leaving you back there all by yourself.

Only on full moons did the werewolves revert back to the beast, their full wolf form. Other times, if they transformed, it was a mix of man and beast, a werewolf.

And though all the wolves called to him, he turned back towards the campfire in his wolf form. He peeked out of the forest to see you sitting on a log with a blanket wrapped around you.

You looked tired in the firelight now. You stared at the roaring flames, wondering why they would leave it as they ran in the forest. Probably because they could smell if it got out of control and started burning.

He sat at the edge of the forest until you noticed him, going completely still. He walked towards you slowly before sitting down next to you on the ground and gazing towards the fire.

When it became clear that he was no threat to you, you relaxed against the log, letting out a sigh.

“You’re not going to join your friends?” you asked the wolf, wondering if it would answer you. It didn’t, but it stretched out, resting its head on your lap, making you smile. “It’s going to be boring keeping me company.”

An ear flick was the response it gave you, making you laugh as you reached out to scratch its ear. If Howon could moan as a wolf, he would. You managed to scratch the one spot that melted him into a pile of mush. Of course you would.

You didn’t give a second thought as to who would stay behind to keep you company. It was nice that someone decided to stay bac