Twenty-Two

Small, smooth hands trembled uncontrollably, splatters of blood decorating the skin, the crimson liquid reaching deep into the nails. Vision flickered, surroundings blurred together, the image of a crumpled human the only thing the mind could process. Pools of blood surrounded his fallen form, the red continuously oozing as she stared on speechless.

Breath hitching, she fell towards the slain innocent bystander, and whimpered his name. “Sanghyun-ah.” She gently nudged his body, his head, anything to get a response, but was met with haunting silence. Thus, she channeled her frustration, terror, and anxiety into a blood-curdling scream, her hands tearing at his clothes, at his cold form. “Sanghyun!”Sanghyun.
 In utter disbelief, she attempted to wrench forth his form, shake him awake – as if it would bring him to consciousness.

She needed to help him, and someone had the audacity to tug her away in such dire circumstances. Fiercely, she shook her head, she mumbled ‘no’, she cried to be left alone – all to no avail as Sanghyun’s body diminished in view.

One last cry, one last stretch of the arm, one last reach for him – Sanghyun-ah.

-Earlier-

His brothers lacked repose, their rationality and judgment disintegrating. It was haunting to think their relationship was collapsing in on itself with the recent, and most unwelcomed, events. Their loyalty was tested, their bonds strained, their clouded minds settling on retaliation as a viable solution.

Well-versed in cutting remarks, Kai stepped up to the plate, crudely firing insults one after another against the faces that stood against him, against the pack. He swiped and sliced at the air as he gestured towards his upsetting group members that consisted of fore-runners Tao and Lay.

Xiumin and Luhan lingered, keeping their wits about them, arms crossed. Kai was flanked by Baekhyun and Sehun, Kyungsoo casually standing by, picking at his nails. Chanyeol’s decision to jump over into enemy lines agitated Kai further, boosting the severity of his biting comments.

 “He’s only dragging this pack down. Why the do we need a leader like him?”

While Kris had the support of Lay, Xiumin and Luhan, even they were incapable of properly defending the quiet giant - seeing as his selfish actions hadn’t impacted them other than negatively. Burning, Tao confronted the younger lad, his hands on the collars of his shirt. He wanted to beat some sense into the bastard, however, he settled for mocking his insults – after all, wasn’t it from his own experience that he had trouble trusting s, as well as humans?

He had no ing right badgering Kris or disrespecting him like he was rightfully superior. Kai’s smirk fell from his lips, the boy stunned momentarily. Straightening himself, he struck the first blow that had the two opposing sides charge into battle, his fist loudly smacking against Tao’s jaw.

Perhaps, it had been foolish to avoid physical altercations – it was the only way they knew how to resolve issues.

“What is it that you plan to do?”

Suho blinked for several seconds, his thoughts stunted by the brutal sight of his pack raging, desperate to tear out each-other’s limbs. Presuming that Chen had voiced the question aloud more than once, he sighed, scrambled for an answer. There seemed no end to these dilemmas, each one progressively worse than the last.

Staggering burdens were stacking on his shoulders, and he wasn’t sure when it would prove to be too much.

Deflated, he mumbled listlessly that he cared little for whom gained the title of alpha, at this very moment he only desired peace among his brothers.

“A few of us seem to be destined to wreak havoc on your life for as long as you live.” Chen replied with an arch of his brow.

The corners of Suho’s mouth stretched into a slight smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He looked on below just in time to witness Tao clobber Kai, blood dribbling down to his chin. His eyes flickered, his attention wholly immersed in his thoughts. Their elders had spoken true when they proclaimed they could not survive on their own – no, not yet.

Fresh, young, and stubborn, they sought to refute those claims and proceeded to put their plan into action. Among the boys, most had desired to sever the alliance they had with their neighboring elders – they wanted to branch out, establish their own legacy, their own values and beliefs. But, they had been raised by their elders since they were pups, and adapted to their culture and customs.
Yes, they had been saved, they had been nursed, but they were wolves all the same. They needed their space, they needed to breathe. Of course, things then spiraled out of control, and resulted in death.

As punishment, the boys had been exiled.

Mr. Lee side-stepped the council of his pack, and opposed the motion. After speaking his piece, he withdrew from them and followed after the boys he had shared a hand in raising. They were given the chance to thrive by themselves, to try to fledge on their own under his presence, but by no means with any interference.

However, seeing as the error in leadership concluded with their banishment from the clan, he requested they finally decide upon a matter that had arisen amidst their ranks from day one. Suho rubbed the increasing throbbing in his head. They had been forced to choose an alpha – something they had not considered as Suho and Kris worked together in managing the team.

“Maybe,” Suho began, Chen straining to hear him.  “-we should move on. Start again.”

Mr. Lee’s full name was Lee Soo Man, though he preferred Mr. Lee, and he had been the elder figure from an allied clan that practically raised all twelve mutts. Unfortunately, they ed up, and were cast out, only Mr. Lee refused to leave them, and swore they were innocent in the ordeal that entangled the entire clan.

“What kind of ordeal?” Chaerin inquired, sipping her coffee from the corner of the room she currently occupied, Kris sitting across from her.

“Someone from the clan died by our hands.”

She choked on her beverage, a bit embarrassed she had the gall to still be surprised at the idea werewolves had actually killed something. She wished more knowledge on the matter, but Kris’s dark eyes and tightlipped frown said otherwise. Chaerin signaled for him to press on.

His twelve brothers lashed out at one another, living on their own proving an uneasy feat to conquer. Anxiety levels shot through the roof, violence the sole outlet they had to vent. Sure enough, they split amongst themselves, five wolves standing behind Suho, five standing with Kris.

The fighting was a juvenile thing, really, and Kris thought that Suho would not be so petty as to treat him like a stranger while they sorted out all this nonsense. When he first turned his back on the reserved giant, it stung like a .

Communication was a thing of the past.

She saw a flicker of red in his eyes and she steered him back to the topic of Mr. Lee, or Lee Soo Man as it were.

Mr. Lee had worked at the institution for some time now, it had been child’s play to have his wolves accepted into the school (something Chaerin secretly resented – she worked her off to get in). He resumed his post as the manager of the library, observing his boys in his spare time.

“We were lucky. So goddamn lucky.” He paused, considered his next slew of information. “You do know not all werewolves or supernatural beings are benevolent towards humans – they’re not all like Luhan.”

In fact, the majority of supernatural creatures resented humans, it made their skin crawl to linger in their ranks for very long. A chunk of werewolves usually inhabited areas where humans were sparse. Humans had never been kind towards his species, experimenting and eliminating every one they found.

Wolves had become wary of human throughout the years and the increasing technology has made it difficult to keep their cover, their secret hidden. The amount of werewolves captured had decreased dramatically, though it was a pain to keep it so.

From what had been passed down, werewolf interactions with humans had been nothing short of traumatic, so the loathing could be understood to some extent.

“Kai is a survivor.”

He had been captured as a child, abused, forced to experience a living hell. The boy witnessed multiple deaths in the survival of the fittest, his will to live stronger than others. 

She released a tiny gasp, her cup almost falling from her grasp. It explained so much. 

Kris glanced down at the young blonde woman, loose strands obscuring her mark, and muttered under his breath.

“It’s pretty much a bite mark, if anything,” He commented, gesturing to the nape of his neck. Chaerin looked on confused, flushed when she caught onto his meaning, her hand slapping over the tender area. “Baekho’s brand was sloppily done-“

She hissed, “The guy practically tore off my shoulder.”

“-and it was incomplete.” Kris smoothly finished. “It was easier to claim you.” Her fragrance would be intermingled with a spike of his -courtesy of the injection from his canines- , and his aroma would flare up in the presence of other wolves. His scent would hit the nostrils after her own had settled in, and this was something that would not diminish over time like Baekho’s.

“A bond has been linked between us and you.” He whispered, apologetic, slightly apologetic. “Only the surge between us will be stronger.”

She glared his way, and he stated it was wrong of him to have done such without her consent, it was an impulsive thought and action.

He rumbled, “I just wanted to save you.”

Huffing, she faced him, her brow arched, as if to ask if it was the safest method he could have concocted at that moment.

He flashed a boyish smile, rested his head on his arms, his sight not once shifting from her. “Since a connection was established, it was perfectly within the rules for you to know of our existence.”

“That’s according to your eyes, Kris. I doubt everyone was accepting of the fact.” She responded, recalling the dark vibe the other boys had emanated in her presence. A shudder ripped through her. What Kai had meant about refusing to recognize her clicked into place – he would reject her bond with them, she was no ‘sister’ to the pack.

“Well, . Looks like I have to be wary of more wolves.”

“They would not dare to mess with what is mine, “Kris gruffly exclaimed, slicking back his locks. “Especially when she carries silver and knows how to use it.”

Chaerin groaned.

A simple chain-link would not be enough for six of them.