Luhan was pacing his room when his phone rang. He picked it up. It wasn’t a number he knew, but he decided to answer it anyway. What if it was Kai? He could explain the situation to him.

“Hello?” he answered. He heard shuffling in the background.

“This is the noob from the Wolf Pack, ain’t it?” he heard the voice ask. It was very familiar. Luhan’s eyes grew wide.

“You, you’re-”

“Never mind who I am, listen and listen good, punk.” Luhan was stunned into silence by the abrupt rudeness. “We got your girl, if you don’t want her back in a dozen pieces, you’ll do as we say.”

“Alright.” Luhan’s throat was tight. His lungs suddenly seemed to stop working. He was frozen with fear.

“Come alone. Even think about calling your buddies, and the girl gets it. Got it?”

“Yeah,”

“Good. You got half an hour.” The man hung up the phone. Luhan took a deep breath and looked at the photo on his mantle.

“I’m sorry, Kris.” He grabbed his jacket and ran outside.

*****

The boys of the Wolf Pack sat around Kyungsoo as he sat in his bed at the hospital. Kai was worried since Eun Ji hadn’t called or texted since the night before, but he thought she just needed time to cool off. He decided to let her have her space.

*****

Luhan rounded the corner to the warehouse. He took a deep breath. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but he knew that without any backup, he might relapse. He couldn’t let that happen. He stepped into the warehouse.

There, across the vast room, was the rival gang. One of the men had Eunji’s arm in a tight grip. Her other arm was behind her back.

“Well, well, well, look who showed up.” The leader stepped forward. He looked around behind him. “You’re alone then?”  Luhan nodded.

“Of course.” The man nodded back to the rest of them.

“Get him.”

While the others rushed forward, Eunji pressed her quick dial button, and called the only person she could think of.

*****

Kai’s phone began to ring. He walked away from the guys for a moment to answer. It was Eunji.

“Eun Ji?” he whispered. After a moment his face went placid. He could hear multiple male voices. Most notably a small voice, almost a whimper. “Luhan,”

He turned to the others.

*****

Luhan was surrounded. As he attempted to duck, dodge and throw his own punches, he was slammed in the stomach with a baseball bat. The wind was knocked right out of him. Another came up from behind and hit him right behind his kneecaps, and another kicked him in the stomach onto his back.

As the gang surrounded him and was getting ready, there was a scraping sound from across the warehouse. It was the Wolf Pack. The leader kicked Luhan.

“Well look who we got here,” he pulled up Luhan by his hair, and forced him to look in the direction of his friends. Luhan groaned in pain.

‘Why are they here?’ he wondered to himself. Tao led them forward, and delivered a damning blow to one of the boys in the front.

He could see blurry images of several of his friends as they came and took him out of the fray. “It’s gonna be okay, Luhan, c’mon, let’s go.” The voices rang in his head.

On the other end, Tao took down two of the assailants, and swung another around as he delivered a blow to his back, knocking him onto the cold concrete floor.

He spun around and kicked another in his ribcage, forcing him onto the ground. He looked about and saw Kai across the room.

Kai was doing his own thing, taking one after the other down, kicking one, tripping another and finally standing to breathe.

One small victory after another, the two finally came back to back. Tao gave Kai a knowing look, who smirked in return.

Tao put his hand on Kai’s shoulder, using him as leverage as he kicked one of the men in their faces. Kai ran up and punched another, breaking his nose.

Tao delivered a round-house kick to another, and sighed as Kai ruffled his hair out of his face.

Gaining a second win, Luhan ran up and jumped over one, punching him in his face as he went off to chase another. He slid over the roof of a car as one came up behind him.

He jumped down, avoiding them as Xiumin and Lay came and took over. He sauntered right up to the man holding tightly onto Eun Ji. As he grabbed him away and prepared to deliver a blow, the mark on his hand glowed.

He looked over at Eun Ji. Her eyes held the same fear as they had before. He paused. He didn’t want to frighten her again. His vision went hazy. His body was overcome with a fever.

As he paused, another one of the rival members took the opportunity to wail him in the ribs with a baseball bat. Luhan lost his breath and fell to his knees.

“Luhan!” Eun Ji cried. His attacker and the other rival gang members fled as the Wolf Pack rushed forward.

Kai and Tao ran as fast as they could. Kyungsoo held onto his chest as he made his way over to Luhan.

Kai and Tao bent over him as tears stung at Eun Ji’s eyes, and began to flow over her cheeks.

*****

At the apartment, Kris walked into Luhan’s room. He should have been home by now. He looked around the empty room, puzzled.

On the bed, was a note. He picked it up, and read it.

‘Dear Kris,

I appreciate everything you’ve done for me since Mother left us. Truly, I am grateful. But now, I’m about to break a rule, or at least, I might. A very important one. One that might hurt us both. But hopefully, I can contain myself and stop it from happening.

I’m sorry, Kris. But there is someone I need to protect. Someone who besides you, is one of the most important people to me.

I’m sorry, Kris. Please forgive me.

Your brother,

Luhan'

Kris looked up. He went over to the bed, and traced his hand over the space. He could feel the current of energy fading.

‘No,’ his eyes grew wide. ‘He’s found her. What if…’ he looked over at their picture.

*****

Back at the warehouse, Eun Ji bent over Luhan, holding onto his wrist. She held back her sobbing. ‘I hope this works,’ she thought, aiming her cheek above his wrist.

A tear fell onto his mark. It faintly glowed before fading into his skin. ‘It worked!’ she smiled inwardly to herself. ‘It worked; you’re going to be okay,’

Luhan slowly opened his eyes. His hair slowly faded from its bright blonde to a dark, mahogany brown. His eyes went from crimson red to a rich, dark brown. He looked up at Eun Ji and smiled in relief. He was alive, and he had felt a change.

As his friends came closer, he lifted his wrist. The mark was gone. He was…normal. Tears began to sting at his eyes. He was finally normal. He was free.

But…now, Kris…

*****

Kris wrung the curtains. He looked down as he felt a humming sensation on his wrist. His mark was glowing.

He ran back over to the portrait. Luhan’s eyes faded from a soft crimson to a deep brown. He threw the photo down in a fit of rage and ran to the window.

He was gone. The brother he knew was no more. He cried out in frustration, his eyes aglow with fury.

His sister was back.

*****

The gang members fled, stripped from their human forms into their natural spectral form, they slid into the shadows and slinked off into the night.

As the approached the woods, the light burned as they approached their destination.

At the lake, a large tree stood. Its proud branches stood out as it boasted its leaves. Soft glowing lights floated around it.

The specters bowed before it. “Tree of Life,” the leader whispered hoarsely. “Our deepest apologies. As we were about to finish the smaller one off, the group he was with came in, and we were defeated.” The tree swayed in the breeze. It seemed too calm.

“We wait then.” It cooed calmly. “We wait, until they return to us. It’s only a matter of time, now that their sister has returned.”

TO BE CONTINUED….