“It seems as though our betrayal was discovered.”

Tiffany hung her head low as she sat on the couch of her living room. Her legs were pressed together tightly, her hands resting in her lap as she silently atoned for what her actions caused. Her grandfather was sitting in front of her in a grand lounge chair. He didn’t seem as though he was going to lash out on her. She would be able to tell by his tone if he was. Still, she couldn’t help but feel as though any minute now she would be punished for the events she helped set in motion.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would get so out of hand so quickly.” She spoke up, attempting to somewhat placate his anger.

“Of course you didn’t. No one knew that Bang Manshik would be so egotistical as to do something like this. He’s starting to have no fear of what lies in wake of his recent actions.” Tiffany looked up, locking eyes with him for the first time since he first called her home to talk to her about what had happened. Only now did she notice that he didn’t seem angry because he wasn’t. He was in deep thought as he stared at the head of his cane.

“There’s nothing we can do? Nothing at all?” She asked, her voice more pleading than she would have liked. It was not often she had to beg her grandfather for things. Recently however, she had been. If her grandfather couldn’t do anything despite his influence, she didn’t know how in the world she would be able to help you now. Her worry for you washed over her like a tsunami as she waited for her grandfather to speak, praying he had some good news.

To her surprise, he actually did, “Now why would you say that? There’s always something we can do my dear.” She stared at him, mouth agape, as he stood up from his seat, “First things first, I think you should develop a bit more faith in that friend of yours. She’s not alone after all.”

Birds flew from their nests, disturbed by the presence of a rather annoyed male who now stood in the forest. The male squatted down, inspecting the ground as though his findings would somehow change. When his closer investigation failed to lead to new answers, he sighed and sat back down onto the forest floor in defeat.

“Is this where he always went when he entered our territory?” The male, Zico, tsked as he looked on, down the stairway he had known all to well to simply mistake it as the remains of a destroyed building. No, he knew what was down there; a maze that boggled the mind coupled with an entity which physically injured the body. 

Zico didn’t like the looks of this. The underground labyrinth where he and his friends hazarded to go not long ago was the place the Mayor’s trail had led. This was the same place Myungsoo’s scent led to as well. His scent however went further in while the mayor’s stopped right at the entrance. Which meant he had some of his rather unfriendly colleagues venture down there with the wolf boy. But Myungsoo’s scent did not double back which meant he was still down there, in that abyss.

He had to report what he found to the werewolves now. He shook his head, a sigh coming from his mouth, “Damn wolf problems always muck things up for us.”

Woohyun quickly opened the door, deciding against pleasantries as he opened it wide for you to step in as well. Once inside, he quickly took off down the hall, forcing you to follow him in an equally rushed pace. The reason he was being so uncharacteristically hasty was due to what you had told him upon finding, or rather not finding, out about Kim Shinae.

After listening to your suspicions, he learned of where you first had heard the name before. Then, without wasting a single second, promptly drove your car back to the werewolves’ house with you in tow.

Why wouldn’t he be in a hurry? If the name Kim Shinae was in the book he mentioned before, then the man in the Containment Zone had something to do with the werewolves who lived in Springfield before both Sunggyu’s group and Zico’s had arrived. That was enough of an incentive to find out more.

As you raced up the stairs, Woohyun leading you, you passed by Hoya who was on his way to the kitchen. He watched on in confusion, stopping dead in his tracks as he watched the two of you disappear into the second floor of the house.

Sungyeol, who had happened to hear the commotion, warily walked towards Hoya from the kitchen, “What’s going on?” He asked as he peaked up the stairs, hearing the sound of a door being forcefully opened.

Hoya shrugged, just as clueless as Sungyeol was.

Woohyun had lead you to a door at the very end of the hall, the frame of the door engraved egregiously, much more than Sunggyu’s bedroom’s frame was. He had to force the door open, most likely due to as he had told you earlier, it not being used in quite some time. Once he succeeded in pushing it open, dust went flying everywhere. You coughed and used your hand to waft the particles away from your face.

Woohyun huffed air out of his mouth and braved the storm of dust as he headed straight into the room. You followed, your eyes squinting to see anything as you continued to cough, expelling the dust from your lungs. Woohyun saw you struggling and walked towards a nearby window. He pulled back the curtains before unlocking and opening it, both light and fresh air invaded the room all at once.

As you finally found the ability to breath without difficulty, you got a look at the room you were now in. There was an odd feeling about the room. Oddly, there was a comfortable feeling despite how dark and covered in dust everything was. The desk at the head of the room as a cherry wood color. Papers were strewn atop it as though work was being done before it came to an unprecedented halt. You walked near the desk, having the urge to touch it but resisting.

This was where Sunggyu’s grandfather must have spent most of his days. A man’s office was his second home. This was a precious place for Sunggyu and something inside of you told you to not touch the desk. The notion was just as odd as this room made you feel. However, you knew this was a sacred place. A place you couldn’t simply intrude and bother with at your leisure.

“Here!” Woohyun exclaimed, drawing your attention from the desk. He was standing in front of a bookcase adjacent front the desk. He pulled from the shelf a large leather bounded book and flipped it open, holding it in his open palms. He didn’t lay it down anywhere, meaning he must have felt the same way you did about this room. The page he opened to was marked with a red piece of fabric. He looked at you, a signal for you to come closer and look.

On the marked page, you find a similar filing procedure as you saw on the town’s online registry. Next to each individual name was a date, the date each one had arrived in Springfield. First, down the left most column where names. Kim Jungyu, Kim Sunggyu, Jang Dongwoo, Nam Woohyun, Lee Howon, Lee Sungyeol, Kim Myungsoo, and Lee Sungjong. You presumed Kim Jungyu to be Sunggyu’s grandfather.

Under that are the names Lee Taeil, Lee Minhyuk, Ahn Jaehyo, Kim Yukwon, Park Kyung, Woo Jiho, and Pyo Jihoon. Even the hunters names are there. Which means Sunggyu’s grandfather knew about the hunters when they arrived. 

Woohyun stays on the page for only a moment longer before he flips back through the pages to the year Kim Shinae was born, twenty years before her death date. He went silent as he stared at the page.

“Kim Shinae.” You read out loud.

Her name was there, listed in elegant handwriting along with the date of her birth.

Woohyun’s voice shook as he affirmed your suspicions, “She was a werewolf.”

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A/N:

So I never got around to actually celebrating the 100 subscriber mark. I always forgot to so I'm doing it now! Surprise! Here's an update to celebrate 100+ subscribers and 388 comments (whoa! I'm going to read through them all right now. You guys should know I love comments by now. 388 comments = 388 times I did a little dance of excitement from getting a comment alert.)

Thank you for sticking around all this time! I love you guys!