Fourteen

Seconds later when the attack did not reach her, she faced the intruder, his eyes dancing merrily at her reactions. Determined to survive this encounter, her hands grasped the silver, however, having expected such, Zelo pounced, paws landing on her shoulders.

Thudding against the ground, she cried, her eyes seeing stars. He played coy, continued mocking her, drooling, snapping his jaws near her face, snarling occasionally. Biting back the pain and fear, she snatched part of the uncoiled silver chain, and flung it his way, his fur sizzling on contact. Yelping, Zelo leapt away, the silver having dug in his front leg.

Startled, Himchan glanced towards them, his ears pricked up, the opportunity a bloody Aron sought, his body thrown in his enemy’s way. Zelo's yelping turned to whining, his anger brewing as he realized the potent chain marked him, and none too sweetly.

Returning to Baekho as quickly as she could, Chaerin slid next to him, pulling at nails, trying to accomplish her objective. Unaccepting of defeat, Zelo crashed against her back causing her to gasp, and roll forward. No longer underestimating his human target, he hung back, intending to remove her from the silver jackpot.

Slightly hissing from the scrapes her arm acquired, she wearily eyed Zelo. Shaking her head, she kneeled, preparing herself for the next round. He growled, and ran to her, his paws slapping the ground roughly. Hands clung onto his chest, but his weight gave him the extra edge, toppling her, his mouth attached to her arm.

Crudely, he wrenched her forth, ripping a cry from . Flight response having kicked in, she tried righting herself, to escape, however, he reached her, his canines sinking into her thigh. She screamed, the pain shooting her nerves. A tad shakily, her fingers clutched dirt into her palm, and she cast it on his orange eyes, and he instantly released her.

Blood coursed along her leg, her unsteady gaze honed in on her protection squad, the first of which was Aron; his strength was little match for two of those deranged wolves. He stumbled, his hind leg just about dead weight now, blood and dirt mixed along his tarnished fur.
Luhan emerged victoriously from his battle, red liquid dripping from his jaws, tufts of his own fur missing. Alerted by Aron’s cries, he joined the unfair fight, tackling Jongup.

She hazily noted that JR was dominating his foe, Youngjae’s ear torn, his left paw limping, his movements slower. Ren successfully snatched Minhyun’s fallen body from the battlefield during their violence, his current goal focused on tending to him. At times he peeked at the bloodshed. Dread filled her when she could not spot Xiumin.

Tentatively, she dragged herself back to Baekho as Zelo lapped at his wounds. Hoisting herself near Baekho, she wrapped her hand in silver and curled her finger, beckoning Zelo to her and carelessly he pursued her, subsequently receiving a fistful of silver to his jaw. Unleashing a cry that only a beast could, he thrashed, slipping backwards.

Free of her pest, she tore the silver completely off of Baekho’s form, freeing him at last. Tears almost rushed to her eyes from glee and relief. Chaerin faced her boys, croaking for them to get the hell out of the fight-zone and fast. Only, they were too engrossed in their current actions, JR incapable of fully silencing Daehyun’s slippery form, Aron heaving on the ground, Luhan occupied by Himchan after rendering Jongup unconscious.

“You idiots, we need to get of here!” She called. Out of the corner of her eye, she discovered Zelo still writhing about, his claws rubbing endlessly against his face. She flinched, his form having reverted back into a human, his body curled, his flesh along his jaw sizzling. And he was screaming and screaming, his face melting, human fingers tearing at worn skin.

She watched with bated breath, unsure of how to approach this new issue before her when suddenly Baekho snapped, and shifted, radiant pale-green eyes unable to separate friend from foe. ing his head back, he roared, and lunged for her. Chaerin cursed and rose her arms in a pitiful defense, but she didn’t have to make the effort.

He didn’t make it.

His body was sent flying off to the border of the fight-zone, skidding along the dirt within Ren’s sight.

A gruff voice rang out, admonishing her.

“Why the do you think he was tied down in the first place?”

She knew this voice and it sent chills down her back. Gaping, she confronted the owner of the voice, his figure looming near her, eyes glaring down at her lying body. His gaze was strong and his eyes were dangerous slits, the color of orange reflecting back at her.

“Yongguk?”

She hadn’t been prepared for his hand clamping around , lifting her up in the air effortlessly.

“You’re quite the nuisance, aren’t you?”

Confused, she could only gasp and pry at his hands. Yongguk tossed her, uncaring of how she landed. Her mind was overwhelmed, her thoughts were in denial – it couldn’t be him. The young man that she knew by the name of Bang Yongguk was sweet, dorky, kind, caring. In need of oxygen following his strangulation, her lungs worked overtime, breaths harsh, brief. 

She wasn’t sure when he reached the boy’s form, but he was beside him now, inspecting the wound his eyes ablaze.

Gently, he handed his jacket to Zelo, the boy tearing up in silence; he chose not to morph, the occurrence odd enough for Chaerin. He calmly approached the other wolves, all-the-while in human form.

Luhan caught onto his emerging figure, the young man reeking of alpha, stiffening his movements and inducing intimidation. Jongup, Daehyun and Himchan parted, their heads hung low, certain to avert the leader’s wrath. Struggling to return to coherence herself, Chaerin only snagged bits and pieces. JR was standing his ground as a fellow alpha and the next he was knocked out cold.

Aron was long since down for the count, but she surfaced from her daze the moment Luhan cried in agony, his form crushed by Yongguk. After dismantling her guards, he rejoined his group, the wolves wounds and bruises, Himchan doting over Zelo.

Yongguk scolded the entire lot for acting without direct order. “We need to work as a in’ team. What the hell were you thinking? Look where your actions have brought you.”

Bewildered and suddenly glad she wasn’t gashed open herself, she tried to formulate a plan to get all four of them out of danger’s clutches. As long as they remained, death was inevitable. Chaerin tried to move, groaned in pain when her leg throbbed from her harsh landing. Yongguk looked at her, and the whole group approached her, kicking her anxiety levels higher than were healthy.

He was the only one to move in closer, to crouch down and repel her. She was disgusted, she couldn’t bear to look at his eyes, regardless of the orange they shone.

 “You should have stayed away. This didn’t concern you.”

“And here I thought strangling was a sign of distaste, but look at you!”

“I’m sorry, you did hurt my boy. Leave Chaerin, leave and never come back here.”

" you."

“I’m only letting you go this once.” He paused, allowing his statement to process. “I’m not guaranteeing your safety.”

She spat, “I think I have faced scarier than you by now, hun.”

“Sandara begs to differ.”

Chaerin’s body ran cold, her train of thoughts scattered upon hearing her friend’s name.  “Sandara? What the hell. You better leave her out of this!” She flailed, and landed a blow to his cheek, his eyes bleeding orange instantly. He clasped her wrists, arched her to him.” I secured your safety because I liked you enough to allow you to continue to breathe. Now, I’m not so sure.”

His nose trailed along her jaw, his thumb roughly pressing into , dragging out a convulsive pant. Her legs gave out and he unleashed her, her body slumping to the ground. Disoriented, she attempted to sit forward, cursing herself for ever liking the guy.

Yongguk strolled back to his boys; the healed, conscious wolves pissed, Himchan thirsting for revenge, his fingers patting Zelo’s head. A swift nod of Yongguk’s head sent Himchan dashing to Chaerin’s side, pummeling her – her body rolling from the impact and then she remembered, silver.

She needed the goddamned silver to survive and get them out of here in one piece, if not two. Pulling a Luhan, she got Himchan to her in the direction Baekho was tied down only several moments ago, her hand rolling along the poison, her body tangling itself in it. Confidently, she swung towards Himchan, he snarled, backed off. The rest of the crew joined the pair, surrounding her, Yongguk at the head.

Slowly, she inched her way towards Aron and JR, Luhan, thankfully, conscious, able to pick himself up, albeit unsteadily. He assured her he could drag their fallen comrades, his furry back was strong enough, she would have to focus on protecting them one-hundred-percent. Exhausted, he tumbled repeatedly with the bodies, Chaerin warding off the wolves, her body enveloped by silver.

Yongguk and his wolves pursued the quartet, orange eyes trained on her. Once they set foot onto neutral ground, Chaerin cast aside the chains to assist Luhan with Aron and JR. The lack of Ren, Minhyun, and Baekho didn’t deter her from adjusting her boys, but it did worry her.

Luhan’s red eyes widened in alarm causing Chaerin to face behind her, the sight of a wolf leaping at her sealing shut instantaneously. A mutt was on her, his mouth intent on biting her head off and at the sensation of a tooth grazing , she finally screamed.