I stirred in my sleep, troubled by crazy dreams. I moaned and tried to battle my way up from darkness. With sheer strength of will, I managed to open one eye and push up on one elbow. I must have moved too fast. The forest trees seemed to rock on its axis, then go into a dizzying swirl. Then a blanket of darkness dropped over me and I fell back to the ground, all awareness lost to me.

The next time I regained consciousness, I blinked and lay still, absorbing in my surroundings. Slowly my sense sharpened to find warmth pressed against my side. Careful not to make any sudden movements like the last time I woke up, I slowly turned my head only to get a mouthful of fur.

Silver fur.

The big silver wolf was lying around me with his body protectively wrapping me in its warmth. Feeling my movement, it turned its head towards me and fixed one big yellow eye on me. The next time I knew, its huge wet tongue covered my face with its slimy saliva. As I feebly tried to push his wet advances off me, I heard the sound that was fast becoming my favorite voice in the world.

“Luhannie?”

I looked up to see Sehunnie perched on the silver wolf’s back, staring down at me. When he saw that I was awake and conscious, he leapt off the wolf’s back and landed on me. The air in my lungs let out in a gasp as I struggled to cope with the sudden weight on my chest. I winced at the impact and the pain that followed in my leg. He immediately pulled away and I could see his eyes wet with tears of relief. He smiled sheepishly before leaning back down to give me a huge hug. I smiled and weakly lifted my arms to return the hug. We just held each other for a long while before he finally pulled away. I tried to sit up but Sehunnie gently pushed me back down.

“No no no.”

He crawled away on all fours, turning back once to look at me and say, “Stay.”

Before long, he was back by my side. I felt his arm slip under my neck and lifted my head. His other hand held a cup fashioned from a huge leaf and brought it to my mouth. Seeing the cup of water made my perched throat burned; how thirsty I felt. The first of the water trickled down the cervices that bracketed my chin. Swallowing quickly, I managed to down the rest. Once I was done, the silver wolf, which had left my side for a few minutes, nudged Sehun aside before using his wet nose to roll me into a puddle of mud. Spattering at the sudden firth that covered up, I tried to get up but it firmly but gently held me down with its nose.

Thick mud paste.                                           

I see.

I could almost feel the pain seeping out of my skin. The cooling mud covered the fang bites on my thigh and I sighed in the relief it brought from the pain. I closed my eyes in appreciation of the wonderful sensation of the pain drawing out of my thigh.

Once I felt better, I sat up from the mud puddle and took a look at myself. What a mess I was! My eyes caught Sehun’s and I saw a smile tugging at one conrner of his mouth. The smile as slow as a turtle was climbing his one cheek until an attractive crescent dented it.

He snickered.

Inside me, the laughter built up until it erupted. In the end, both Sehun and I were laughing so hard that I thought I saw the silver wolf roll his eyes. Once we calmed down a little and I washed off the caked mud on my skin, Sehun and I sat in the dappled light from a wide oak, with grass and honeysuckle to our shoulders. The day was warm and smelled green, and for a moment there seemed no need to wish or regret anything.

Sehun’s laughter had long faded but the smile remained as he studied me.

Our eyes met. We smiled at each other and then a moment of subtle appreciation fluttered between us. I wasn’t quite sure of what to do under his intense glaze. Two bright spots of blushing colour touched my pale cheeks as I felt the heat rush to my face.

“What?”

His firm mouth quirked but he said nothing. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his gaze away to stare out into the field. My eyes darted to the ground as I pondered over the new found awkwardness between us. Suddenly, Sehun tugged on my arm and pointed to something far ahead.

Sunset.

How beautiful, the rim of the descending sun, the sky streaked with soft shades of orange.

Sehun rested his head on my shoulder and let out a satisfied sigh.

I tilted my head slightly to face him and fixed a teasing grin on my mouth. I allowed it to remain as he met my eyes and we openly regarded on another. Second passed before we were smitten by self-consciousness. I glanced away. He turned to look back at the sunset. I turned back and studied him. He had a pair of the nicest lips I'd ever seen, and they were downright pretty when they smiled.

“Sehun ah, i brought you a present.”

He sat up to look at me. The grin widened and reached his eyes, which twinkled with excitement.

Without a second thought, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his.

A kiss, I think it is called. I had read about in the adult books from my mom’s collection that I secretly read sometimes. It was an act of love and affection, if I wasn’t wrong. I shut my eyes tight and kept my lips on his unmovingly.

Then, I felt the tip of his tongue trace the seam of my lips and jumped with a start. I drew slightly back, my dark eyes sharpening on his. A quizzical expression settled on my face. Then he smiled slightly and leaned forward to close the gap, pressing his lips on mine this time. His hands gently cupped my face as his tongue worked his way into my mouth. I almost jerked back instinctly but his hands held my head in place.

I wasn’t sure if this was how a kiss in those books was supposed to be but it was wonderful in its own way. Unexpected pleasure took over me. My breath hitched. My eyelids slowly dropped. I could feel the rapid beat of his heart, taste the sweetness of apples still on his mouth. My own heart was hammering, and there was a rushing sound in my ears, like beating wings

My first kiss.

When we finally broke the kiss, we sat in silence for a while. With the sun now set, the night sky was lit up by an array of stars. Sehunnie then began to fill me in on what I missed when I was out.

The pups, all three of them, were safe and sound. The wolves have been taking turns to protect and guard my unconscious self, giving me mud treatments and then cleaning me off. And Sehun’s mouth on my thigh when I out. He was the poison out! I chided him a little for that and told me never to try and do something so dangerous ever again. Only to get the exact same warning back from him. That’s right, I did do something that was beyond reckless but at that point in time, there was no other option.

Oh, and apparently, I was out for five days.

Five days.

Five whole days.

FIVE DAYS?!

Crap crap crap!

I shot up from the ground and turned towards the village. I strode through the forest in long strides, my thoughts racing over the possibilities. What kind of excuses could I use? What explanation could I give? Did the village notice my absence? Did my parents report my disappearance to the village chief? Did the butcher try to help me? Sehun followed me wordlessly as I headed down the familiar path that led back to the village.

At the egde of the forest, I whipped back to face him.

“Don’t come with me, go back to the pack. If they see you, they will kill you.”

His eyes reflected nothing but worry as his forehead creased into a deep frown. “You. Mine. Protect.”

“No, Sehun ah. Don’t come to me, I’ll be fine. I’ll come to you.”

After a long pause, “Promise?”

I nodded and gave him a little push in the direction of the pack. “Go.”

I stayed there until he was out of sight. The pain in my thigh was acting up a little but that was the least of my concerns. As I limped across the grass plain towards the fence, my hands trembled and sweat lined my face. In the darkness of the night, I couldn’t see a single soul.

As I scaled the fence, an eerie feeling crawled up my skin.

The village was strangely quiet and empty.