Twenty

Light crept past her drapes, her groan indicating her misery of being woken early. The throbbing of her head would not be cured if she remained in her sheets. Sitting up, she clutched her head, her eyes closed to drown out the bright sun rays.

Yesterday’s events slapped her in the face, and she hissed profanities. Kris scrambled her thoughts and emotions whenever he was around and she forgot to absolve Yongguk’s team of any ill feelings that might be harbored. Frankly, she did not know what she was doing. He left her, he scolded her, he rescued her, he pushed her, he pulled her – men.

Not to mention Ren was given a good beating and JR would probably respond with equal force.

“Ah, to hell with it all.” Life was easier without these werewolves and their unbelievable misunderstandings. She rolled over and shrieked when she landed on something far too firm to be her mattress. Kris cracked open an eye, grunting at the weight on his chest. “I normally don’t have girls screaming this early in the morning.”

Blushing multiple shades of red, she smashed his pretty face with her pillow. “I don’t recall allowing you in my bed, get out.”

“I doubt your previous guest was treated this way.”

She cried, “Out!” Chaerin wondered why she bothered housing the idiot in her home –ah, that was right. Her guilt of being responsible for his erratic behavior and subsequent punishment had her invite him through her doors. They were probably searching for him and her current unpleasant scent would deter them from coming to her place.

A firm knocking on her front door had her stowing Kris under her covers, wary of strangers. She was practically hiding a fugitive. Grumbling to herself, she slid her door open, a distressed Park Bom on the other side, wringing her hands.

“I think I might be pregnant, Chae.”

“Holy . Are you sure?”

Bom gaped. “I missed my monthly call and would I be freaking out this much if I did not see a in’ positive on that stupid little stick?”

“Calm down. It’s alright, Unnie.”

“No! This wasn’t supposed to happen. I haven’t graduated yet, and god, we were so careful. How could this have happened, Chae? Tell me!” Bom panicked, tearing at her hair.

Chaerin dissuaded her from self-harm and put her to use in setting a cup of coffee. “Unnie, it’s okay. The test could have been false. These things are normal. And if it isn’t, you’re going to be fine just the same.”

Bom’s lips pursed. “I haven’t told Siwon. Should I? What if he doesn’t want it? Oh, they never do. I don’t think I could abort my own child, especially when he’s the father.”

Chaerin hugged her friend. “He wouldn’t do that. You know him better than we do, but from what I have seen, he would keep and raise any child you would give birth to. Just remember it's your body, your decision.”

She consoled her friend, the two speaking of their woes over a stirring pot of coffee. By the end of their four-hour heart-ache episode, Bom had crumpled tissues, and laughter spilling from her. Chaerin poked her girl, assuring her things were going to be okay. “Make an appointment with the doctor. Have the professionals confirm your alleged pregnancy and tell him. Do you want us to come, Unnie?”

Fighting an onslaught of tears, Bom crushed Chaerin in a hug, “That’s alright. I think I’ll tell him and take him instead. What would I do without you, Chae?”

A soft rustling interrupted the flow of thoughts and sentiments and a curious Bom glanced behind her. She gasped at the sight of a young man dabbling in the strawberry jam Chaerin had left out for their toast. What a handsome fellow he was. Confused, she snuck a look at her blonde friend’s mortified face. “Kris!”

Bom’s lips quirked. He shrugged his shoulders, the spoon he rummaged around for moments ago. Paling, Chaerin decided it was time for Bom to leave. Smugly, Bom whispered, “Be careful, yeah? Protection is a girl’s best friend.”

Aghast, Chaerin hissed, “Unnie!”

“I don’t see why she found the need to whisper, it’s not like I was incapable of hearing it.” His host hurled a barrage of throw pillows at him.

She shuffled along the library’s aisles, focused on returning Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to its respective bookshelf. Humming, Chaerin sifted through the authors, smiling when she came across works she had already read. The days were passing by smoothly, Kris rearing his head from time to time.

Each encounter diminished his enigmatic persona, and Luhan spoke true when he said his leader could be a dork.

It tickled her curiosity to discover whether his boys were even aware of their meetings. One could say they forged a connection, well, he definitely got on her good side as soon as he stated that he would join her in pacifying the relations between the three wolf packs. He was just the brawn she needed to get them to heed her words.

Unfortunately, she had to wait for the weekend, Kris was occupied and it did not aid her cause to have Yongguk missing classes. There was no sighting of Aron or Baekho either. Chaerin doubted they could last past the weekend before a war erupted. 

Her tune faltered, a resounding bang seizing her attention. Cocking her head, she traced it back to Mr. Lee’s office, chills running along her forearms. Tightening her bun, she gingerly made her way to the manager’s door, tentative at first.

Upon his return, he had been in a somber mood, his joyous expression all but drained. And she could have sworn there had been moments he glared at her – of course, that could be here paranoia speaking. Still, his behavior under-went a 180 degree change and it wasn’t for the better.

As she neared, she prepared herself with the thickest dictionary she would find; she had learned from experience not to trust peculiar sounds in the dark. Bravely, she cracked the door open, Mr. Lee’s name stuck in as a monstrous beast scraped his claws down the baby-blue walls.

Shredded clothes hung from his furry paws, and she gaped, had he gotten Mr. Lee? Horrified, she shut and barricaded the door, charging to the front desk afterwards. Snatching her ring of keys, she flew past the front doors, her present desire to locate her manager’s car. How the hell did it get inside in the first place?

Glass shattered from the library’s direction and failing to secure the key for his car, she ran down the path she had grown to memorize. Her outfit choice was most cumbersome in terms of survival – why did she take it upon herself to don the blue skirt today, of all days? Not to mention her white blouse would need to be bleached following this ordeal.

The potency of silver forced its way to the surface of her thoughts, her hands searching her pockets and neck. Of course, she would forget it. With Kris’s sudden stay, she had to hide the poison. Gruff breathing reached her ears, the sound urging her to pick up the pace. To think she was done with werewolves – what a joke! He lashed out in full view, his large torso coming up before her.

She made contact with his mad gaze and whipped around, following a different route.

His eyes had been brown.

By the time it dawned on her that he was leading her to a specific destination, it had been too late. He swiped at her back, she cursed, her body planting forward, palms skidding on the ground. Forcing her head up, she discovered all twelve members of the pack Kris belonged in were standing by, the boys just as stunned as she was.

Luhan eyed her nervously, Kris visibly stiffening. She gaped when she recognized the arena – the blasted fight-zone.

Why would the wolf lead her here? Why were they here?

Chaerin worked up the nerve to peer behind her, the beast nowhere in sight. What stood in his place was a man draped in a dark cape. On cue, the boys fell to a knee, their heads bowed. Simultaneously confused and frightened, her heart dropped when the mysterious cloaked figure removed the material shrouding his features.

Brown irises ardently glared upon the surrounding bodies.

Her whisper escaped his notice, her voice choked up. “Mr. Lee?”