Luhan leaped into the secret entryway and immediately began to dash through the thick foliage, following the glimmering of the sun in between the leaves of all the bushes and trees. He stumbled into the clearing where he scared two servant women bringing some herbs back to their wolf's home. They screamed, clutching their chests, and a ripple ran through the town. Luhan could literally feel the wolf ears twitching in surprise at the shrill sound. And there, he collapsed from exhaustion and everything went black. 

"What's wrong with him?" 

"Shut up you , he's waking up. Listen to what Yixing has to say about this."

Tao glared at Xiumin's harsh words before turning to Yixing who was checking Luhan's vitals. He waved his light in front of Luhan's eyes. 

"Follow the light Han, and don't move your head." 

Luhan groaned and knocked Yixing's hand out of the way. "I'm fine, you don't have to do all of that on me." 

Yixing smirked and straightened up, slipping his light into his pocket and slipping his hands into his doctor's coat. "Luhan was severely malnourished and had a slight rush from the sudden morphing that he did, especially in the state where he has this wound." He pointed to the patch on Luhan's side that was covered in gauze and surgical tape. "Make sure you guys change it for him or at least call a girl in here to clean and redress the wound for the next few days. Make sure he gets his meals on time and that he doesn't overdrink or overeat." 

The younger ones rolled their eyes while the older ones nodded solemnly. 

Tao smirked, "Does that mean Luhan can't leave the bed?" 

Yixing nodded, "He shouldn't be putting too much strain on the wound until it stops bleeding. That'll take a few days even with our healing ability because the blade and the wolfsbane went so deep and the herb wasn't extracted for so long. Plus he's probably too weak to actually do anything than lay here." 

Tao laughed, "Then he can't get any girls! Hahahaha!" He nudged Chen, "More for us." They high fived eachother and only stopped when Kris smacked them on the head. 

Luhan just watched his brothers and smiled weakly. He was so glad he was back. And so glad he was alive and recovering, because he had finally figured out what he had to do. 

Back at the forest, he had formally recognized her as his mate. And now, no one could hurt her or take her away from him. If anyone tried, it was his duty as her mate to prevent that and make sure she was returned to him. 

And this journey started with protecting her from Kai. 

Years of running and training for this mission had not prepared her for how hard her heart was beating and how much her muscles screamed and begged her to stop. But she ignored her body pains and kept running. She was headed toward the rock that sh