C H A P T E R  S E V E N T E E N

"Huh? What? Wolf? What are you talking about, sir? We're just going on a trip," Luhan tried to lie his way out but the man doesn't seem to buy it.

"Hah! Don't try to act like you don't know, wolf! Now get the out or I'll blow your ing brains off!" the man shouted as he pulled a gun out. 

Jooeun watched with fearful eyes as the man with frighteningly creepy smile pointed a gun towards Luhan's head. Her breath hitched in when he cocked the gun and placed his finger on the trigger threateningly. Seeing Luhan unlocking the door, Jooeun hurriedly grabbed his wrist to stop him. She didn't know if the man would let Luhan go without putting a bullet through his head and she didn't want to risk the outcome. No, she was not willing to watch anything happen to Luhan and so she doesn't want him go. 

"Oppa.. No.." Jooeun whispered weakly, fear and anxiousness evident on her face and in her voice as she tightened her grip on his wrist. 

"Don't worry.. It'll be okay.. You'll be okay.." Luhan said as he leaned forward and kissed Jooeun on the forehead before he stepped out.

Kris and Chanyeol watched in agitation as Luhan stepped out of the van. Despite being on stationary in their vehicles a few cars away from Luhan's van, they could clearly hear what the man said. The man wasn't speaking very loud. No, he was actually quite discreet despite with the guns and all. However, being human wolves, they could hear up till a few metres away, if not more. Thus, hearing what the man had threatened, they exchanged glances and looked at Luhan worriedly. They could see the rest of the men closing up around Luhan's van with their weapons all ready. 

"Chanyeol-ah.. This doesn't look good. Should we help them?" Baekhyun asked as he looked at Chanyeol who was frowning worriedly. 

"I want to Baek.. But I'm worried about Jooeun.. They might hurt her instead," Chanyeol said as he looked at Kris and mouthed, "What do we do?"

"Kris, are you going to change now? It seemed like they need your help," Tao whispered as he looked at the men surrounding around Luhan's van.

"No.. Not now.. Those men might kill Jooeun if we attack now. We'll need to wait till Jooeun moves further away from them," Kris replied softly as he then turned to Chanyeol and mouthed, "Don't do anything. Wait for my signal." 

Luhan could feel his blood boiling as he watched the man in front of him smirking. He could have changed and ripped their heads off this instant if he had wanted to. He could kill them all and probably escaped with just a few scratches, but he didn't. He couldn't risk getting Jooeun killed and so he just stood there and tried his very best to keep his temper in check. Scanning the area, Luhan could see five other men surrounding his van with one of them standing next to Jooeun's door at a distant which is too close for comfort. 

"NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! OPPA!" Jooeun screeched when one of the man yanked her door open and dragged her out of the van.

"WHAT THE YOU WANT?!" Luhan hissed, a ferocious snarl ripped through his throat when he saw the man threatening Jooeun with a gun. 

Being one of the highest in command within the Orions, Jung Woongin wasn't afraid of a little wolf's bark. No, he was actually expecting the animal to react that way. At least he knew that his hunch was right. But then again, when has he ever been wrong when it comes to these bastards? 

"I want you to see if you're a wolf or not," Woongin simply said, smirking evilly, as he then turned to his man holding the girl and said, "Shoot her."

"NO! NO! NO! JOOEUN!"

BANG!

"Agrh!" 

Luhan watched in horror as Jooeun fell onto the ground, groaning and shaking in pain as her hand clutched onto her bleeding right arm. Unable to control his anger any longer, Luhan bursted out of his human form and pounced onto Woongin, snarling viciously as he bared his teeth at him. But Woongin, however, wasn't shocked or frightened at all. Instead, a smirk formed on his lips as he looked straight into Luhan's blue eyes. 

"Get off me or watch her die," Woongin said and Luhan's eyes widened when he heard the clicking sound of the gun being cocked ready.

Biting back a growl, Luhan watched painfully as Jooeun was dragged up by the man with a gun pointed to her head. He could see her whimpering in pain and fear but there was nothing he could. Not if he wanted her safe and sound. Thus, he didn't do anything when a heavy metal net was thrown over him. Luhan let himself be trapped as Woongin towered over him and kicked hard him a few times, all the while laughing in triumph. 

"Get captain Minsoo here. Tell him we got one of those bastards alive," Woongin said as he looked at one of the man who nodded curtly. 

When the gun shot broke through the morning, most if not all of the vehicles on the road started to scatter back and speeding off to safety without even checking what had happened. As the road were clearing up, Kris noticed how the Orions were letting their guard down to the surrounding and focusing only on Luhan. Looking over at Chanyeol, Kris knocked lightly on his window pane to get his attention.

"Now," Kris mouthed as he then looked back at Tao and whispered, "Get into Chanyeol's car quietly and stay there until we're done. Whatever you hear, don't come out. Try to stay hidden between the seats. We'll try to end this as quickly as we can. Go. Now."

Hearing the urgency and seriousness in Kris' voice, Tao didn't say anything else and discreetly got off the motorbike. After Tao has managed to slip into the car's backseat while Chanyeol and Baekhyun crept out without any of the Orions noticing, he immediately locked the door and tried to stay hidden as how Kris had told him. Tao could hear his heart beating so fast, anxious and worried about his boyfriend's and friends' safety. 

"God, please help us.. Please keep us safe," Tao prayed as he closed his eyes, shaking in fear as he hears the loud gun shots and growling.

"Baek-ah, you go to Jooeun and get her into the car.. We'll handle the rest of the things," Chanyeol whispered as he looked at Baekhyun.

Nodding curtly, Baekhyun turned around and quietly made his way towards Jooeun who was standing at least 10-metres away. Kris and Chanyeol, on the other hand, decided to confront the Orions and distract them before they noticed Baekhyun's presence. Bursting out of their human forms, Kris attacked the man which was the closest to him, standing at a mere half a metre away, by simply ripping his head off while Chanyeol ripped the hands off the other man who was about to shoot Kris. Hearing the loud growlings and the gun shots, Luhan leapt forward and attacked the bastard that almost killed Jooeun. Baring his teeth, Luhan finally saw the fear in the man's eyes. 

"L- Let her go! LET HER GO!" Woongin hurriedly shouted but instead of hearing a reply, a loud sharp burst through as a reply instead. Baring his teeth, Luhan snarled and bite onto Woongin's neck, pushing his teeth in and then ripping his throat out. After he satisfactorily watched the bastard suffers, Luhan ripped his head off and threw it to the side as he then turned to help Kris.

At the sudden attack of the other beasts, the man holding Jooeun as a hostage immediately pushed her away and ran for the safety of his van. After he locked the safety of the door, he immediately dialled for backups, "YAH! BACKUPS! WE NEED BACKUPS! ALL THE REINFORCEMENTS WE CAN GET! THERE ARE AT LEAST FOUR BEASTS HERE! OH MY GOD! NO! ARGHHH! HELP! NO! ARGHHH! HELP ME! HELP ME!"

Unfortunately for him, before he could receive any response, Baekhyun had managed to change into his human feline form and broke into the van via the front mirror, killing him in an instant. Drenched in blood, Baekhyun climbed out of the van and headed straight for Jooeun who was staring in horror as Luhan and Kris tried to avoid the bullets that the last Orion was shooting. Creeping slyly from behind, Chanyeol leapt and attacked the man, ripping his head off in a matter of seconds. When the gun shots and growling stopped, Tao opened the door and he nearly puke when he saw blood, ripped out limps and heads covering the road. Gulping down the vomit, he immediately rushed towards the wounded Jooeun to help her. 

"WE NEED TO GO! THEY WILL BE SENDING THEIR BACK-," Baekhyun was saying but before he could finished, gun shots were fired their way. 

"! COME ON! COME ON!" Tao shouted as he helped Jooeun up and hurriedly head towards the car while the rest of them hit behind the van.

The gun shots were getting closer and closer when suddenly, the vehicles flew forward and crashing against the road. As if that weren't enough and before any of the Orions were able to escape from the wreckage, the cars and vans were levitated in the air and piled up against one another before it bursted into flames, surprising them with the explosion. A couple of familiar cars stopped and they didn't need to look to know who just arrived.

"Hanuel!" Jooeun shouted, her lips pulling up into a wide smile despite the unbearable throbbing pain from her wounded shot arm.

"Are you guys okay?! I'm so sorry we were late! We tried to speed up but- I'm just so sorry!" Hanuel apologised, frowning worriedly. 

"I'm- I'm okay! I was shot but it's just at my arm.. I- I should be fine," Jooeun said with a small smile but Hanuel's eyes widened in horror. 

"What?! You're shot and you said you're okay?! We need to go to the hospital! Now!" Hanuel screeched and Jooeun's smile dropped.

"NO! We can't go back there! They might be heading this way towards us! We need to go now! Besides, Eunhee-sshi can tend to my wounds as how she did to Seungri-sshi. We need to get away from here now. No more going back there. Please," Jooeun said, her voice serious and urgent.

Luhan, who had changed back to his human form and already covered himself up in simple tattered jeans and t-shirt, sighed and said, "Okay.. We'll do as you want. As long as we get your wound treated as soon as possible, I don't mind where you get it treated. And baby, I'm so very sorry I'm the cause of your pain. I know I shouldn't bring you along. I'm so sorry." 

"No! Don't say that! It's not your fault! And don't say you shouldn't bring me! You know I can never be away from you! So please.. Stop saying that you don't want me around or you shouldn't bring me.. It hurts.." Jooeun said, tearing up, and Luhan immediately leaned forward and kissed her. 

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you.. I- I just don't want you to be hurt like this," Luhan said softly as he gently wiped her falling tears.

Looking at the scene unfolding, Jaejoong coughed slightly and said, "Urgh.. I know you still need your moments with each other but we need to get out of here now. The Orions might be sending a battalion of reinforcement right now and we need to be out of here before that happens." 

"Ahh yes! Sorry," Luhan said as he immediately focused back to the situation in hand and said, "I think we better stick together from here onwards. Since my van can no longer be in used, Jooeun and I will seat in with Jaejoong and Eunhee since Jooeun needs to get her wound treated. We'll keep driving till we reached the village and if we need to stop, we'll all stop together. We're going to stick together until we reach there. Okay?" 

Nodding curtly, the guys immediately helped Luhan to transfer his luggages to the other cars and once the van was empty, Luhan helped Jooeun to Jaejoong's car. Once they were all in and ready to go, they started driving again. However, instead of going on the main road, they decided to go via the old road to avoid detection. Fortunately for them, as soon as they exited the scene, the police arrived after getting a few reports about extreme violent gun shooting at the area. However, Inspector Woosung had never expected this. Despite being in the police force for almost ten years, he'd never seen this happening. As he stepped out, his eyes widened at seeing the pieces of flesh, limps and heads scattered within the area. 

"Oh my God. What in the name of Jesus happen here?" 

Choi Minsoo screamed in frustration upon hearing the loud scream that filled the radio system before it went silent. He had just reached the main headquarter when he heard of the man's call for backup but before he even knew where the backup was needed, a loud eerie scream filled the radio system before it went silent. Dead silent. The Orion getting the information tried to contact them continously but there was no response. 

"There is no use. He's dead. All of them are dead. We need to get the informations from the police and people in this town," Minsoo said. 

"Alright. But how?" another Orion asked and Minsoo turned around, eyes glaring holes into his head at the stupid question he had asked.

"Should I shoot your ing brains off since you can't even figure something that easy out by yourself?" Minsoo threatened and the man paled. 

"N- No boss! I-I know how to do it boss! Let's go!" the man said as he gathered the rest of the men out to search and investigate about the beast.

Checking into the radio system and replaying the last few minutes of what the signal had picked up, Minsoo frowned when he heard the number of beasts within the area. Replaying it again and again, his sharp experienced ears caught a few loud growling that belonged to probably three wolves and a loud cat-like hissing sound which belonged to probably one or two human felines. 

"! They're not in town and it's going to be hard to detect them without any clues. We need to find their families and friends now."

Pacing up and down outside of Hanuel's school gate, Jiyong frowned and groaned when he noticed that she was no where to be found. He had been waiting since dawn but he hadn't seen a single glance of Hanuel or Hyukjae. He couldn't understand where they disappeared to and he's going crazy by the second. As the sun sets even higher in the sky and there was still no sight of Hanuel, Jiyong stopped the next person that exited the school. 

"Excuse me. Do you know who Kim Hanuel is? Do you know where she is?" Jiyong asked as calmly as he could, though he couldn't stop frowning.

"Hanuel-sunbaenim? No, I haven't seen her today. Perhaps you would like to ask that guy over there. They're classmates and he's close to them," the boy said as he pointed to Daehyun and another guy who just exited the school and heading the opposite direction. 

Without even thanking the boy, Jiyong ran up to the two guys and stopped them. "Excuse me. You're classmates of Kim Hanuel right? May I know where is she? Where can I find her? I've been trying to find her since morning but she doesn't seemed to be around today." 

Despite the kind smile plastered on Jiyong's face, Daehyun didn't trust him. Not after he received a text message from Jooeun at the crack of dawn. "Daehyun, I'm sorry to ask of you this but I really need your help. Something bad has happened and I need to escape town. I know it's unfair but I can't tell you what happened. Maybe later, that is if I'll ever comes back. But now, I really need you to help me conceal any informations about me, Luhan, Hanuel, Hyukjae, Tao, Kris and Chanyeol. Whoever that comes to find us or request for our pictures, please don't give them. Even if the person is a police officer, please don't give anything to them. I know you're confused and worried but please do this for me. And also, please help me to look after my parents, especially my mother. If you can, try to convince them not to go to the police. They're associated to the people who're chasing after me and so please, help me. After you read this, please delete it. Thank you so much. I owe you my life."

Thus, faking a polite smile, Daehyun said, "Yes, I am indeed Hanuel's classmate. She's not in school today.. and I really don't know where she stays. Usually her brother sends her to school and fetch her back. Sorry. Maybe you'll like to come some other day?" 

As if his assumption about Jiyong were right, the kind smile on the latter's face dropped almost instantly as he turned around and went off without even thanking him. It was beyond rude. It was suspicious and Daehyun were worried. He wondered what's going on with his friend and this feeling doubled over when he saw a large truck of army guys stopped by their school. A van of police stopped too and they entered the school with serious facial expression. As if something told him to escape the scene, Daehyun rode the arriving bus out of the scene before he could be questioned. 

"Seriously, what's going on?" 

Lee Seunmi went berserk upon receiving the text message from Jooeun, especially after she heard of the violent gun shooting near the town's expressway. Once she reached the airport at noon, she immediately head straight for the police station. Despite the text message her daughter had sent her about not going to the police station, she her mother and she wouldn't allow her daughter to run off with a guy like that. Not even if she'd known the guy for more than ten years already and that they were practically family. 

"Officer! My daughter is missing! She- She ran off with a guy when I'm not at home!" Seunmi screamed as soon as she stepped into the office. 

"Calm down ma'am. When and where was she last seen?" the police officer asked and she almost pulled out her hair in frustration at the question.

"I'm not in town! How the hell am I supposed to know?!" Seunmi screeched and the police officer immediately looked up and apologised. 

"Do you have her picture?" another voice, which sounded much more superior asked.

"Yes. Here it is." 

The pack had been travelling non-stop for a couple of days, stopping only for petrol and food while they rested by the side of the road to take short naps. They were exhausted and they didn't know if they will ever find the village. They had just entered the old Busan area and there didn't seemed to be any villages in sights. There were only plains of empty fields and forest of trees that it seemed like the village doesn't exist. 

"Are you sure the village exist? There doesn't seemed to be anything here," Luhan said as he drove Jaejoong's car while the latter rest. 

"I can't really remember where it is but I'm sure it existed. It was where we hide for at least a year," Jaejoong replied as he looked out.

"Wait. Isn't that a village, oppa? I think thats it!" Jooeun exclaimed as she pointed to a large gate entrance approximately a few kilometres away. 

Hanuel was sleeping soundly when she jerked awake, as if someone or something woke her up. It was her senses and she immediately looked out to the huge gate that stood a few hundred metres away from them, and something hits her hard. Clouded memories started to flash through her eyes and she seemed to recognise this place. She don't know why but it feels familiar, very familiar to her. 

"I- I think I've been here before." 

Not too long of an update, but I don't think it's too short either. I was supposed to update this last week but I kind of get distracted with life and EXO that I lost concentration of it.

Well anyway, we've reached the of this story and A LOT of thing will be happening here. A lot of shocking things will be happening and I hope you're prepared for it. I just hope I'll have the full concentration on this story from here out. Well, till then, I expect comments (long long comments) as it'll drive me to update faster. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!  

PS: It's not proofread and so please kindly ignore whatever errors that you see. THANKS.