http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdRV9kCpWhE

Exo-K: Black Pearl

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The blissful trip came to an end, and they had to return to Korea. Danji slept during the flight back. When they came to Seoul, they ate lunch and caught the bus back to Malhwa.

Danji grew strangely excited about coming back to her hometown. She pressed her hand against the glass and peered out. The familiar setting made her stomach flutter.

“You look so happy to be back, mei-mei.” Tao mused with a grin.

“I am happy. Beijing was amazing, and I had a lot of fun, but there is nowhere like home.” Danji spotted the recognizable playground where she used to play with Minyoung and smiled softly. *Malhwa is the best place I know.*

The bus came to a stop, and they all got out.

Danji stretched her legs that had been numb from sitting for too long.

Tao stretched his limbs with a joyful smile. “It feels good to be back!”

“Malhwa grew on you, huh?” Danji smiled.

“Just like YOU grew on ME!” Tao flung his arms around her and gave her a tight squeeze. She giggled in his secure embrace.

“Hey, hey! None of that!” Luhan tried to pry them apart.

“No. My mei-mei.” Tao stuck out his tongue and tightened his grip around her.

Luhan had laser shooting out of his eyes. “Give me my mate back!” He barked and tried to interfere.

Kris looked at their immature squabbling and shook his head. *Such children.* He bent down to retrieve his things. Just then, a black shadow flashed beyond the trees. Kris froze. He became hyper-vigilant, and all his senses picked up trouble. Another shadow whizzed by. His eyes snapped upwards. His keen eyes scanned the dark forest in front of him.

Something was wrong. He could feel it.

There was the sound of a branch snapping in half. Lay and Xiumin looked up instantly.

Chen, Luhan, Tao, and Danji were still preoccupied in their little game.

“You saw that, right?” Kris asked in a low, imperceptible voice. Lay nodded.

Tao picked up Danji, and she squealed with laughter.

“DOWN! NOW!” Luhan demanded.

“Quiet!” Kris hissed. Everyone shut up immediately. All attention was on Kris now.

“Uh-oh. Duizhang is angry.” Tao gently set Danji back down.

Luhan saw Kris’ tense expression. “What’s wrong?” Luhan asked.

“Shhh. Listen,” Kris ordered. No one dared say anything.

Danji held her breath. What was going on? Why did she sense strain in the air?

There was a growl amongst the bushes. Danji gasped and stepped back.

The growl sounded foreign and hostile.

Luhan tensed right away. He crouched forward with his arms out protectively. Whoever was out there meant harm.

“Drop your stuff. It’ll only be weigh you down.” Kris ordered under his breath in Chinese. “When I count to three, we change and split.” His eyes flitted sideways towards Danji. “You run as fast as you can without looking back. We’ll try to block as many as we can. Keep out of the forest, if possible.” She was too transfixed on the darkness to utter a word.

“Danji.” Kris called in a firm voice. Her eyes flickered towards him.

“I need you to do this. You can do this.” He nodded encouragingly. She swallowed hard but nodded. Her fingers curled into a tight fist.

Luhan looked back at her worriedly. He hated fighting without knowing where she would be. He glared grudgingly towards the woods. *Whoever is out there, I’m warning you. You lay one finger on my mate, and I’ll bestow you with the most painful death ever.*

“One,” Kris breathed. The wolves crouched forward, and their eyes flashed different, fiery colors.

“Two,” Kris muttered. The growls from the forest came louder.

Danji swallowed hard and inhaled deeply. “Three!” Kris hissed.

The pack lunged upwards into the air. There was the sound of clothes shredding. Six huge, powerful wolves landed on the ground with fierce growls. The shadows revealed themselves to be coyotes. They were a mix of black and gray, and there were at least ten of them.

Danji didn’t stay to watch the fight. She ran forward without looking back, just as Kris had instructed her. Her heart pounded with every step she took. Her legs felt like mush, but she had no chance to collapse. Her life was on the line here. She had to get to safety and fast.

Danji could hear the sound of paws running after her. Whoever they were, they were extremely fast. Danji could hear the sound of their panting. Her heart lurched forward. She wanted so badly to look back to see who were her opponents but heeded Kris’s order to just keep running. *I need to keep going. Go faster.* Adrenaline pumped through her, and she mustered the last of her energy to speed up. She heard the coyotes whine in protest behind her and knew she had caught them off guard.

Danji regained