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"No." 

"No." 

"This is so not true."

Tears were rolling uncontrollably down Minjee's eyes, down to her chin. Her cheeks were flushed red and her face was swollen from all the crying. She wrapped her arms around the now blind Kai, weeping over the death of D.O and the fate Kai had fell down to. She blamed herself for all of this.

She blamed for her allies' fates.

She hated such merciless fate bestowed on them.

It was all her fault.

"I-it's all my fault. I'm so sorry." Minjee sobbed, her eyes tightly shut. "I'm sorry, please, end my life to end the curses. I beg of you!"

"Minjee, calm down." Tao begged, patting the female's back. "Look, nothing is your fault-"

"Nothing? Please, Zitao! You've heard Lay-oppa said it before, it was my fault that such fate was given to you! If... if my life ends, the curses falling on you will stop as well! No one else will die anymore, no one else will meet such horrible destiny! Just end my life-!"

"Can you even hear what you're saying?" Tao cried. "Even if it were your fault, so what? And ending your life? Minjee, the curses were with us since the day we made interaction with each other. Even if you die, the curses won't leave! So it's gonna be useless!" 

"... Then... you guys will... even Tao will-"

"Minjee." Kris calls out, pointing at the teary-eyed male around her arms. "We've got to get going now. Now that we have one member whose eyesight was gone, we need to move quicker. Come along." he stated, helping his blind brother up. "Let's get going."

The pack then began moving again, now with a blind pack member and the knowledge that another brother had died again. Their steps were uninmaginably heavy, due to the shock they've just had not long ago. Kai was assisted by Meilni herself, Tao and Minjee walked together, the male wolf comforting his dear mate, and Kris led the way. The place got colder and colder by every second.

And the steps got heavier and heavier.

"Hyung." Kai called out, shivering in the cold. "I know this sounds crazy, but... can we look for D.O-hyung's body?"

"... Kai, his remains remain unknown." Kris answered, sorrow and depression heard in his voice. "I'm sorry, but we need to keep going. Wherever our brother is, he's reunited with the rest. His troubles are over and he's now in peace."

"But, won't his soul be in rest since he broke a promise?" Kai asked again.

"Probably. But wherever he is, if he sees us still standing and going on, I'm definitely sure he'll be in peace." the leader sighed. "Come along, move."

Everyone nodded, shivering in the bitter cold. Minjee knew her limits and she was definitely close to hers. Kai, now human, knew his limits as a human boy again. Make that a blind human boy. He knew that like Minjee, he'll die out in the storm. The wolves would be fine, being a lot more in advantage when it comes to heat or cold. Their kinds are kind of strong in such.

Wolves are quite some strong kinds to knock off just like that.

"Ouch." Minjee winced in pain upon feeling her wound get worse and worse. "C-can we stop first?" she pleaded.

"What's wrong?" Tao worriedly questioned, eyeing his mate intensely. Slowly, he removed the tattered cloth and saw how swollen her wound was now. It was worse from before! The blood was not near into drying up just like that. The torn skin was swollen red. His mouth was ajar and Tao felt his own heart beating faster. The sight of her wound was definitely no joke.

"Gege, we need to pay attention on Minjee's wound now. If we leave it again like this, it'll be the cause of an extremely big trouble!" Tao exclaimed, emphasizing the need for medical attention for his mate. "Please-!"

"What do we do then?" Kris blinked, kneeling beside his brother. "None of us know how to pay medical attention towards a wound inflicted on a human by wolves! Only Zhangs are aware of all aspects of healing!"

"... I can help." Meilin volunteered, letting Kai down gently before she knelt beside the wounded human. "I can try-"

"Meilin, this is no time for trying out stuff." Kris growled. "This is serious matter!"

"I know!" the female wolf nodded seriously. "I saw Lay-oppa do it once, and I learned a bit from him back then. Let me try. I have no experiences nor enough knowledge, but I can do it. I promise-"

"And what if you fail?! How if she dies?!" 

"... Then kill me along. A life for a life." the female stated bravely before handing Kai to Tao as she stood up. "I swear, I can do this." she mumbled, picking up a few plants unknown to both human and wolf. She pulled something inside her cape, turning out to be a container of some liquid of some sort. Using a rock, she began to pound on the plants, making a powdery substance afterwards. With careful and sure hands, she poured the powder in the container as she chanted a few words. Her head spun to her right and with her free left hand, she picked up a crimson-red colored flower blooming alone under the harsh environment. Again, she pounded on the petals and poured the powder in the container again.

"Give me your arm, Minjee." Meilin ordered, which the human girl complied to. Carefully, she began to pour the liquid on Minjee's wound, making the female wince in pain.

"Hey!" Tao growled, seeing how his mate winced. 

"Calm down, hyung." Kai said, tapping his brother's chest. "I am sure that whatever Meilin is doing, she's sure about it." the blind human stated.  Silence broke and after the medication, a brand new tattered cloth, cleaner this time, was wrapped around the wound. Minjee smiled to conceal the pain she has on her wound and thanked the female wolf.

"I never knew your sister was a great healer, gege." Tao blinked as he eyed.

"Neither did I." Kris blinked back. With careful hands, Meilin assisted the human up on her feet again, patting her back. 

"She'll be good." Meilin states out. "But she would need lots of rest for now. We'll have to let her rest, and same goes to Kai." she said, eyeing her brother. "Can we?"

Silence fell for white some time and finally, Kris gave in, nodding. He then leads his group to a nearby shelter, letting Minjee and Kai down carefully. He and Tao rested alongside their allies. Tao watched his mate give in to the drowsiness teasing her since lately. Kai, being blind and everything, tried to feel his surroundings and was rather silent. Kris watched his allies, Meilin watched her brother.

The two never made eye contact.

"We're staying for the night again." Kris announced. "So take lots of rest, alright? We'll leave by dawn. You should leave by dawn too, Meilin." Kris said, eyeing his sister.

"Don't worry, I will." she glared back before breaking eye contact and drifting into sleep as she curls up into a ball. Kris lets out a deep sigh and felt how Tao gave him those "looks". "What?" the leader blinked.

"... You were always loving towards her." Tao frowned as he caressed his mate's head. "What ever happened to that loving brother Meilin took pride on? Where was that Wu Yifan everyone dreamt to be their own older brother-?"

"Gone, Zitao. Gone." Kris cuts off. "I am Wu Kris now."

"Yifan and Kris are just one!"

"... They're not." Kris sighed, running his fingers on his golden-brown locks. "Yifan is the Wu family's pride, and Kris? He's a disgrace. A disgrace of a son, brother and a leader."

"Not true." Tao pouted. "You're not a disgrace, gege. In fact, all of us were proud to have you. ... Me, Kai, Minjee, our brother... and Meilin." he sighed, patting the older' back. "Come on, open up your heart to your own sister again, Kris."

"... I can't. I'll just bring her to trouble." Kris sighed heavily, feeling tears of agony beginning to pool in his eyes. "I left to protect her. Since we were banished, I know that being connected to be will mean big trouble. My mother, father and my own beloved sister. Tao, I love her. I love her more than anything. Heck, I'll even love her more even if I get a mate!" 

"... Then go to her."

"She'll die around me, I swear." Kris breathed. "She's my one and only treasure. She's someone anyone can't just compare to a diamond or any other worthy gems. She's a fallen blessing, and I wouldn't waste her existence because she's affiliated to me. I won't have her life snatched away like our brothers."

Tao fell silent. Kris did care for his dear sister. Those harsh words? Those cold times around his sister?

He never meant it.

All he wanted was his "treasure" to be safe and away from any harm.

And the harm in this story is him. Meilin needs to be away from harm.

"I want to protect her. I want to be close to her, but I can't." Kris teared up, being too full of all the burdens and pain. "I want to hug her, plant forehead kisses and play with her again but I ing can't! I'll have her life as an exchange if I even get near to her!"

"... Gege-" 

"You're lucky enough that you're not in the same situation I am, Tao." Kris tried smiling. "You're too lucky. You're an only child and you easily left home without any heavy feelings. Being away from your careless parents and being an only child. You're lucky."

"Why am I lucky?" Tao blinked.

"In my situation, sure, I've got a loving family. They're my weakness. A leader musn't have weakness for the pack. My mistake was that my family grew too attached and dear to me, especially Meilin. , if only I can turn back time."

"No, gege." Tao shook his head, frowning. "If you never cared for Meilin, then she would be in a much worse situation."

"What?"

"She'll be lonely, all alone. You wouldn't want your own blood-related sister like that, right? All alone, fighting alone, walking alone. No allies, no one to care. It's... a nightmare."

"Point taken." Kris nodded, stopping the painful conversation. "I'll approach her carefully. I'll be sure... that nothing happens to her around my presence. By the time the moon rules the sky, I'll try."

A smile crept up Tao's lips as he nodded before averting his attention to his sleeping mate, his fingers running down her black hair. Kris, meanwhile, took the chance to take glimpses of his sister before resting along.

The sky soon was tinted in a inky black color, a few twinkling stars ruling by the moon's side. It was rather a bit cloudy but it was enough for the lights to pass through the clouds. The cold breeze was easily felt. 

Her long, golden-brown colored crown of glory.

Her blood-colored eyes.

Her faint scent. 

Meilin sat alone outside their shelter, the cold breeze brushing her cheeks. Her eyes were locked on the moon, memories flooding back to her head with every second passing. All she heard were the rustling of the leaves, the howl of the wind and faint footsteps slowly getting louder-

Wait, faint footsteps?

With no second wasted, she jumped back to her feet, guard up within a second and her pose suitable for defense. To her surprise, it wasn't a threat. The silhouette in front of her shared the same color of their crown of glory, eyes glowing through the seemingly blinding darkness. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, Kris." Meilin breathed as she placed her defense down. 

"Did I?" Kris smirked. "Faint hearted as always, aren't you, Meilin?"

"Spit it out, why're you out here?" she glared. "Shouldn't you be back there, guarding your own pack? What kind of leader are you?"

No words were given back, but instead, a warm smile and soft eyes were responded. Meilin, out of confusion and annoyance, turned her back from her brother and sat down again, eyes looking at the horizon. To her astonishment, her brother sat a few inches away from her, his eyes locked on the bright moon ruling the inky-black sky. 

She was new to this feeling again. It's been years since she's been this close to her dear older brother. "What're you planning?" Meilin hissed. "I thought you disliked my presence."

"... Forgive me for those words, Meilin." Kris sighed. "I just... well-"

"What?"

"I don't know what to do." Kris sighed. "It's been too long since I've last seen you and emotions just filled me up. Joy, fury, anxiousness, terror, everything. They all mixed up and well, I eventually ended up saying those darn words."

"It's so like you." Meilin laughed softly. "You really are my brother."

"Mhm." Kris nodded, smiling faintly this time. "I still am him, right? The pride of the Wu pack, Wu Yifan. It was like yesterday that all the girls were jealous of you for having me as your brother."

"And I took pride in that." his sister giggled, winking at him. "I even once shouted to everyone how lucky I was to have you as my big brother. Everyone would always force me to come along them so they'll grow close to you... and those people turned out to be fake friends."

"And if I never warned you, you'd never know." Kris smiled.

"Exactly. I owe you big time for that.. Yifan." she smiled. Silence fell afterwards, the two's eyes locked at how bright the moon was now glowing. It was quite a beauty, add the fact that hundreds, no, thousands of stars twinkled brightly beside the moon. A smile slowly crept up on Meilin as she nudged her brother.

"Are you scared, gege?" she asked, emphasizing "gege" clearly.

"Me?" Kris gawked. "Well... a bit. Wait- why ask?"

"Nothing." Meilin snickered. "I always knew that situations like this will actually reveal your fears and everything." 

"Well, all of us have fears." Kris countered, nudging his sister. "Even you have one, Meilin. You're once afraid of hedgehogs, right-?"

"That was back then when I was only four!" she squealed, pushing his brother off the boulder they were sitting on, making poor Kris land on his back, flat. Realizing what she did, she bursts into laughter before approaching her brother, fixing his golden-brown locks and sweeping them off his face. "My apologies."

"Yeah right." Kris smirked, sitting up as he ruffled his sister's head. "Are you scared?"

It took merely three seconds before Meilin replied with a smile.

But no words.

"I'll take that as a...?" Kris blinked, but was instead, helped up by Meilin before she leads him back to the cavern. "I'm your sister, you know me better than anyone else." she giggled. "Let's sleep, I'm heck tired."

"... Fine."

"So this is where the little Meilin skiddadled to, hm?" Shindong laughed as he watched the Wu siblings walk back to their shelter. 

"Went back to her big brother, eh?" Sooyoung giggled softly. "Aw, what a little child she is. It'll be such a shame if we just pounce at her and, well, end her sorrowful little life."

"Patience, guys." Sungmin smirked. "Shindong, you go back and inform everyone that we've spotted Meilin and our dear Yifan."

"Alright." Shindong nodded as he sprinted off to inform the others. Meanwhile, three remained, namely Sungmin, Sooyoung and Yesung. 

"As of us, everyone understands the plan, yes?" Yesung asked, smiling at the others. Everyone nodded and in the next second, they disperssed in the darkness.

The morning star soon rose up. Kris soon had his eyes opened and by instinct, he checked up on his allies. One, two, three and four. Yup, everyone was there-

Wait, four?!

"Meilin!" he gasped as he noticed the absence of his sister. Wasting no time, he prepared him and jumped up his feet. He was just about to sprint off and look for his sister when he seemingly heard someone call out his name. To his surprise, Kai was awake, hands outstretched as he was calling out for his name. "Kris-hyung? Hyung? Hyung-"

"I'm here." Kris said, holding his brother's hands. "I'm here, what's the matter?"

"I felt that you were off to somewhere. I-is something wrong? A-are you tracked down again?" the blind male worriedly asked. "I-is something serious going on?"

"No, Jongin. Nothing is." Kris assured. "I'll just look for Meilin. She's gone the moment I woke up."

"I-I can come along!-"

"Jongin, you're blind. Stay here and when your brother and Minjee wakes up, tell them where I am off to." the leader stated as he lets go of his brother's cold hands. "I'll go now, stay here, alright? It's an order."

"... Yes, hyung."

Hurriedly, Kris sprinted off, looking for his sister. He looked here and there but there were no signs of his golden-brown headed sister anywhere. He began worrying.

What if she was in trouble?

No matter what he thinks, he always ends up blaming himself. Kris wasn't there for her, and that's what got her into trouble.

"Get it together, Kris." he whispered to himself. "Meilin's alright. She's an independent woman, she can take care of herself." More walks here and there until finally, as if the heavens heard his prayers, he found a rather familiar dirty-brown colored cape hanging on a nearby tree's branch. The scent it has also smelled familiar. "Meilin-!" he gasped as he ran in a straight direction. To his expectations, Meilin was there, sitting as she hummed lonely tunes to herself.

"Wu Meilin!" he exclaimed out, running towards his sister before he grabs her by the arm. "Darn it, you've got me worried dead! Why in the world are you out here, humming alone? You know, what you've done is extremely dangerous, especially in our current situation now-"

"Gege, calm. The. . Down." Meilin smiled, ruffling her brother's head. "I'm alright. I can handle anything that comes into my way, I promise. Plus, there's no one around!"

"How are you so sure? And how can you say so?" Kris glared.

"Yes, Meilin. How are you so sure you're alone?"

The voice made the the two jolt up in astonishment, just to find out two males and one female standing a few feet away from them. Meilin was sure that the two men were Sungmin and Yesun while the female was no other than Sooyoung. Kris heard his sister gasp in fear and shock, thus, he had to stand up in front of her, arms outstretched in a protective matter. "My, my, what a teary sight of reunion." Sooyoung smiled. "The Wu siblings finally got to see each other again, how touching."

"Marvellous." Sungmin mocked. "And I suppose this is where you said your mission was taking place, Meilin?"

"Mission?" Kris blinked as he averted his eyes on his sister. "Meilin, what are they saying?"

"Nothing, gege..." she gulped. "N-nothing-"

"Aw, don't be a liar, Wu Meilin." Yesung sighed. "Don't lie to your own brother, dear. That's quite a wrong act."

"Meilin?" Kris blinked.

"Aw, wait, don't tell me she never told you!" Sungmin pretended to gasp. "My, Meilin, you should have told your brother first! You should have told her that you were here, reunited with him, to kill their human."

"Kill... Minjee?" Kris gasped as he glared at his sister. "You came here to kill Minjee?!"

"No-! I, well, that was my original mission, but-"

"So you really were to kill Minjee!"

"Was, gege. Was. I was going to cease her existence, but her kindness... it-"

"Don't tell me the pride of the Wu family is taking on some fear?" Yesung teased, surprising Kris more. "Come on, Wu Meilin, tell him everything... or were you telling lies again-"

"Enough." Kris breathed out as he walked away from Meilin. "Enough. You've told me lots of lies already, Meilin. You're a traitor..."

"Gege, no, that's not-"

"Not what?" Kris sighed, eyes with tears of frustration and betrayal. "You know what, I've always known that behind your seemingly adoration with me back then, I sensed jealousy. You were jealous that mother and father always had me as their pride. Then, there was you, who was nothing but a klutz back  then. I tried training you, Meilin, and you did catch up. You were excellent, but you never had enough."

"Gege, I-"

"You always wanted whatever I had. Popularity, love, attention, power. You wanted those. You wanted everything that was bestowed on me. And now, now that I was banished, you took opportunity of it. You got my positions, my attentions, my powers, my love. You got mother and father to finally recognize you and now-"

"See what you've done, Meilin, dear?" Sooyoung smiled. "You've broke your brother's dear heart."

"And now, we're breaking the rest of his fixed being." Sungmin smirked as he sprinted towards the betrayed wolf before landing a few sharp punches and kicks on the golden-brown headed wolf. Yesung followed after a few seconds and soon, Sooyoung did too. Kris put up no defense at all, receiving the attacks. Everything was painful, but not as painful as how his beloved sister betrayed him and his pack. "You did well, Meilin." Yesung grinned. "You may go home now."

Silence filled the air, only howls of pain to be heard, and faint footsteps running away from the crime scene. Meilin ran off, tears flowing down her eyes. "Gege, forgive me." Meilin sobbed as she ran off.

"Painful, right?" Yesung smirked as he landed another attack on the weakened wolf. "The pain of your own sibling betraying you. The pain of how everything is stolen from you in a blink. It's painful, isn't it?"

Silence.

"Yifan, Yifan, Yifan. You rascal." Sungmin sighed. "We thought you'd see through your sister's colors, but my, what a surprise! ... You didn't."

"That's because... I placed my whole trust on my sister." Kris glared. "She never betrays her family-"

"She just did." Sooyoung cuts off. "She just did, Kris."

"No I didn't." a familiar feminine voice echoed before a sharp attack landed on Sooyoung. Meilin, her golden-brown hair flowing with the wind and her blood red colored eyes glowing bright. Hurriedly, she helped her brother up, glaring at the three. "Last warning, stay away from my gege."

"How heroic." Sungmin smirked. "The little wolf girl helps her dear brother whom she once betrayed."

"Meilin." Kris breathed out weakly. "Why...?-"

"Save your breath, gege." she smiled as she placed his brother down. "I might have once betrayed you, but that's the last. This time, I'm making up to you. Leave this to me, I'll deal with this."

"Meilin-"

"Plus, I'm an independent woman, right?" she smiled one last time before Kris' sight blacks out.

"Nrgh, my head." Kris hissed as he held onto his head, wincing in pain. His vission slowly cleared up and to his surprise, four bodies were down on the snow-cladded ground. Three were enemies and the other one had golden-brown colored hair.

Golden-brown colored hair.

"Meilin!" Kris gawked as he ran towards his blood-covered sister, holding her tightly around his arms. Fear struck him again, his heart beat pacing faster than before. "No, no, Meilin! Meilin, wake the up. T-this is not funny, wake up!"

"...G-gege?" Meilin blinked. "Oh, hi." she smiled faintly, despite her lips all blood-soaked.

"Darn it, what have you got yourself into?" Kris gasped. "You're covered in your own blood. W-what happened here? Did you kill them? Did you win?"

"Mhm, I did." she proudly stated, though weak. She smiled angelically, worsening the sight of her. ", my whole body feels in pain."

"Meilin..." Kris gasped in fear as he saw blood seeping out her chest area, just above her heart. ", no, you are not going to die. Darn it, don't go to the light."

"I might've had a few miscalculations." she sighed. "The eleventh death will be the last. And it seems... that I'm the eleventh death. I'm sorry, but our family would have me out of it. I'll have to go as well.-"

"No, you are NOT." Kris firmly stated out, hugging his sister tightly. "Meilin, you aren't dying. You... you're a strong wolf, you aren't dying. Please, please stay with gege for a little more."

"I can't, sorry." she smiled, hugging his brother tightly. "I have to go. Just... just remember this, Yifan-gege."

Her bloody hands slowly crept on her brother's face, cupping his cheeks. "Look, I did get jealous before but that was because I was too young. Now? I'm proud to have a brother like you, zero jealousy. I was born lucky enough to be blessed with a brother like you. You're the best brother anyone can have. You... you are a keeper. Plus, hear me out. The way out of this maze is to follow evergreen trees. That's your way out of this ."

"And you... you're coming, right?"

A smile was patched on her face. "I would love to, but that involves me being bodiless." she giggled. "Gege, thanks for everything, I'll never forget you. Next time, in the next life we get to have, let's be siblings again. You be the big brother again, and I'll be the little sister. We'll play all day and be beside each other always."

A painful smile crept up Kris' face as he nodded. "Sure." he nodded. "Let's."

Life soon seeped out of the wounded female wolf's body, her cold hands dropping on the snowy ground. Before her leave, Kris bursts into tears after what she had mouthed.

"Gege, I love you."