- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"They're gone." Tao huffed, looking behind and noticing the absence of their opponents' presence. Panting heavily, Minjee fell on her knees, her left hand clutching her chest tightly, finding breathing a rather hard thing to do. Noticing this, Tao hurriedly knelt beside the female human, holding her by her shoulders. "Minjee, you good?" he worriedly asked.

"... S-sure." she nodded hesitatntly. "I'm okay."

", you're cold." Tao gasped. Despite him helping his mate get up, the female human kept on falling down, a conclusion of her legs growing weaker and weaker forming. She can barely stand up nor can she easily breathe properly. "We need to find somewhere to rest for now. Come on, get on my back." he ordered.

"No, I can walk well. I'll be a trouble if I get on your back, Tao-"

"Just do it, alright? If you move slow, they might catch up on us." 

"But-"

"Just get on!" Tao cried, swinging the female on his shoulders before sprinting off in a rather eye-blinding speed. Despite Minjee's pleas to let her go, Tao was rather deaf and continued running away. Defeated, Minjee just clung tightly on Tao, hoping that they'd be in a well condition after they find a temporary shelter or what so ever. 

The gust of wind got stronger and stronger.

And the snow fell harder and quicker.

"Here, stay here." Tao said, placing Minjee near the flame he created himself with two rocks rubbed together. Minjee nodded and warmed herself with the presence of the nearby flame, but that didn't cover up the cold she continuously felt.  She shivered with the contact of the wind and slowly scooted nearer and nearer to Tao. 

"It's freezing." Minjee sighed, snaking her arms around her own body. "This weather's going to freeze me in seconds!"

"Stay alive. We're nearly there." Tao smiled faintly, wrapping his arms around his mate. "We're nearly there, I know we are."

"... But, where to exactly?" she asked, blinking a few times. "Where do you plan do we go to, hm? Do you know where Kris-oppa planned us to go exactly?"

"No. But I've got trust in my guts." the wolf stated. "I believe... we can get there."

Rather convinced, Minjee smiled and nodded before her head lays down on Tao's shoulder. Still trembling, she tries to distract her feeling of coldness by continuously talking, which Tao knew could distract her. "What might've happened to Kris-oppa and Kai now?" Minjee worriedly asked as her eyes were fixed on the growing red-orange tainted flame.

"Knowing gege, he and Kai are in safe hands. Plus, they're not the likeable to die too, since well, Meilin was the last one to have death bestowed on her as a fate, so it's either they get tortured or-"

"Tortured?! No! That can never happen!" Minjee cried in fear. "That'll just make their sufferings worse. It's like dying slowly! I don't want that to happen to either Kris-oppa or Kai!" 

"Calm down, they won't have that kind of fate." Tao sighed, grinning a bit. "Don't worry, Kris-gege can handle things himself. And Kai is good with plans, so they'll be in a good situation."  

"Sure?"

"Hundred percent." the yellow-headed wolf smiled. Slowly, he noticed how droppy his mate's eyes were, thus, he pulls the female human closer to him, smiling faintly. "Go rest, Minjee. I'll wake you up by dawn, then we'll take our leave."

"Sure? Well, I want to stay awake with you." Minjee pouted.

"Trust me. You can sleep now and I'll stay awake then I can sleep then you stay awake. It's just alternating roles." Tao smiled warmly, ruffling the female's black hair. "Go on, I'll be fine."

"Promise that." she nodded. "By the time I wake up, you have to be by my side, alright?" 

"Promise." he smiled, observing how Minjee slowly drifted to her own dream land. The day slowly passed with the bitter cold beside, Tao trying to keep awake as the cold tried tempting him to sleep. But, staying strong, he stayed up, guarding him and his mate attentively.

But with the bitter cold beside, he frowned by the sudden flooding of memories. 

It was the same time.

The same time of the year.

He met EXO.

"Zitao." 

"Zitao."

"... Zitao?"

"Huang Zitao, get up, you naughty wolf!"

The soft voice slowly made the young pup open his eyes, squinting by the sudden contact  with the bright light. He blinked a few times, his vision clearing up just to see his beloved mother in front of him, a warm smile greeting him like any typical day. "Ah, mother. Good morning." Tao smiled. Slowly, he sat up, scratching his head as he turned around. "Is father home yet?" he asked in a soft tone.

"Not yet, dear." his mother answered. "He might be back by noon though, you know how busy he is in his pack."

"Is being a hunter that hard, mother?" he asked, blinking a few times again, this time, tilting his head slightly to the left. 

"Well, it is." she nodded. "You'll soon hunt with your future pack, Tao, and you'll feel the difficulties of being one soon." she giggled. "And I do know my dear brave wolf can conquer anything, yes?"

"Like father, like son!" he grinned.

"Good. Now, hurry, you've got your first day of training today! You don't want to be late, right?"

"Exactly!" Tao nodded as he crawled out of his bed. "I'll hurry now!" 

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Are you a Huang, young wolf?" an older male questioned, eyes fixed on Tao. Shyly, he nods. "Ah, you must be his son! I've got great expectations on you, boy. Your father is a renowned hunter thus, the son must be too, yes?"

"... A-affirmative." Tao faltered.

"Good. Go along with the rest, training begins shortly after the trainee of the Wu pack arrives-"

"You mean me?" a voice asked, making everyone turn around. A golden-brown headed male stood tall, eyes glowing a bright red color. "I'm the eldest of the Wu pack." he introduced. "Wu Yifan here." 

"Ah, yes, Yifan. Go ahead, join the others. Training begins now."

Everyone paid close attention to the trainer, eyes fixed on every demo he makes, ears all lent to the words his lips uttered. Tao felt himself overshadowed by his fellow hunters-in-training. Sure, he was rather in advantage in height but by age and confidence, probably not. He felt himself melt by their presence, his confidence slowly lowering bit by bit.  

By each individual demo, Tao was never satisfied with his, yet completely awed at other's . It was just... too threatening for him. He sensed a different aura from them. And they were a lot stronger too, based on their own auras. 

Day passed quite quickly and before they knew it, it was nearing dusk. "Alright, for your first practice, I would pair each of you with another. You should at least bring a hunt from tonight." the instructor stated.

"A-are we joining the hunters then?" one asked.

"No. You're hunting in a different place where danger is rather absent. Now, Zitao."

"Y-yes?" Tao nervously cried.

"You're with Yifan for tonight's first activity. Yifan, take good care of this younger wolf, he is rather a treasure of the Huang pack and we're in serious trouble if anything happens to the Yellow Hunter's only child."

"Understood, sir." Yifan nodded, eyeing the shorter and younger male. His expression was unchanging, and that made Tao provoked of him. The training came to an end and Tao, shaking in fear and nervousness, slowly approached Yifan.  "U-um, Yifan?" he faltered.

"Hey." Yifan coldly answered. "Zitao, right? How old are you?"

"Ten." he softly answered.

"That makes me older. I'm thirteen years old, three years older than you. What do you plan our hunt to be, hm?" he asks.

"A-are we making an assumption here then?"

"Well, not really, just getting opinions." Yifan answered. His eyes soon travelled around Tao's build, and his eyes smiled at how his hair was perfectly made and tainted with yellow color. Much to the younger's surprise, Yifan ruffled his yellow-colored hair. "Where'd you get your hair color?" he suddenly questioned.

"M-my mother? Why?"

"It's nice, I like yellow." he smiled warmly. "And for a ten-year old pup, you're quite tall. Do you have any siblings or something?"

"Me? No, none really. I'm the youngest wolf in the Huang pack. How about you?" Tao asked, slowly warming up to the older wolf. "D-do you have siblings?"

"I've got a younger sister, in fact, the same age as you are." he smiled. "You two should get along, aye?"

"S-sure."

"And stop faltering. It doesn't suit you." he chuckled softly. "Come along, we might as well get to know each other before we do our hunt, should we? My sister would be glad to meet someone the same age she is. Mind if you have a little time at my place?"

"M-my mother might be worried if I stay out too late without informing her. And my father might be home soon." Tao frowned. "H-how about you stop by our place instead?"

"Sounds interesting. Lead the way, Zitao." he smiled.

"Y-you can call me Tao." he grinned shyly. "That's what almost everyone calls me. Kind of like a-"

"A nickname?"

"Y-yes."

"I've got one too, but I don't let just anyone call me that." he smiled before whispering. "You can call me Kris, it's a nickname I came with years ago. Only my sister calls me that sometimes, and my parents but now, you, so feel honored!"

"I will." Tao nodded happily, finding a new friend just like that.

"Alright, the one with the best hunt is Zitao and Yifan! Well done, young ones!" the trainer smiled, clapping in a rather proud matter at the two. "You two did well for beginners! I mean, hey, no one your age can catch five moose like that so easily and quickly!"

"We're honored." Yifan nodded, smiling secretly at his partner. "Good job, Tao."

"You did well too, Kris-gege." he smiled warmly, giggling under his breath. 

Training ended quickly too, and this time, Yifan and Tao were getting a lot closer, becoming quite good friends in such a short period of time yet! Even Tao was surprised of his sudden friendly nature and on how Yifan was actually loving and all-giddy behind his rather cold nature! The two then spent nearly half of the day together, exchanging stories and soft laughters. 

Days passed quicker than what everyone notices. Before they knew it, three weeks had passed! Yifan and Zitao were rather the closest young wolves in the group, not to mention the best students! They were the best that jealousy often strikes anyone who are around them, no one was a match for the duo! 

From a soft persona, Tao slowly grew stronger and stronger with Yifan beside him. The older wolf was his new inspiration, someone he looks up on. Sure, their packs are on the equal level but hey, someone younger often looks up at the older one, right? That's Tao towards Yifan now.

"Hey, Tao." Yifan calls out, tapping the younger's shoulder as they were walking back to their lairs.

"Yes, gege?" the younger blinks, eyeing the taller older. "Something concerning you?"

"Well, I was thinking that we're going to start building our own packs ourselves sooner or later. I mean, hey, I'm a teen wolf now and I am obviously capable and approved of starting a pack now." he started, making the other nod in understanding. "And I was thinking of indeed starting one."

"Sounds appealing! Any wolves in your mind?" he grinned widely.

"Not much actually." he sighed. "But I am sure of this particular wolf to be the first member of the pack."

"Who?"

"Duh, you, doofus." he laughed, flicking the younger's head. "I want you to be my partner and the first official member of my team." he winked, making Tao feel uneasy and at the same time, honored. 

"M-me? But... I'm not that strong, gege. I'm a big crybaby and I can't complete missions without you! I am too dependent-"

"And that's what makes you the perfect member!" he chuckled, confusing the other more. "My father once told me that he and mother are complete opposites yet they ended up having the most perfect family. That works in packs too, the leader and his partner work a lot better once they're opposites. You get it?"

"... Quite?" Tao smiled shyly. "So, what's the name of our pack?" he excitedly asked. "Any ideas in your mind, gege?"

"Oh, I have one." he smiled in a rather proud fashion. "EXO. Our pack'll be named EXO."

"EXO?"

"Yup.... EXO."

SNAP.

Tao was back to the painful reality. Past was a different thing compared to the present now. He hated how much it changed. 

He hated how all those laughters popped like a fragile bubble floating in mid-air. He hated how things fell down like falling in an endless abyss. He hated how that pack slowly died.

"We are one, Zitao. Remember that." 

Right. Kris-gege, you are such a liar since then.

"We're never going to leave each other!"

Said the one who first died on us. Luhan-gege, why'd you leave first then?

"Forever together. The twelve of us!"

Why kill your own brother then just because you lost control?

Painful memories came back, flowing faster. He recalled how Kris first found Suho, who dragged Lay behind his back. He even remembered how Lay found communicating hard since he's having difficulties with words. Then, the next member was Xiumin, and soon, followed by Chen. Baekhyun stumbled before them and Chanyeol was saved by Kris when he failed to defend himself from a rather agitated stampede. Luhan came soon with Sehun, who followed him like a loyal pup. Kai and D.O came shortly.

The twelve of them were full of smiles and Tao even recalled how they were considered the best "rookie pack" in the clan! Oh, how proud was Kris back then! 

Meilin would often come by too, and she'd always stick next to him and Kris, her idols by that time. She would always force Kris and him to hang out with her and teach her the ways of "flawless hunting". Kris would only laugh at how adorably cute and strongly-willed his little sister is.  

Now? 

They're all dead.

Well, most of them were. Kris and Kai's living breath was still a mystery for them. The only sure lives who were saved were his and Minjee's.

And without knowing, he felt his tears drip down on Minjee's face, waking the female up. "Oh? Tao, are you crying?" she groggily questioned, squinting her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no. I just had a... nightmare." Tao lied, smiling as he wiped his tears away. "Did you rest well?"

"Mhm. You?"

"Same. Come now, I think they're catching up on us, we've got to hurry-"

"Tao! I heard voices!" Minjee gasped as she heard faint whispering a few feet away from them. "Let's go! Quickly!"

Fear struck both of them and without wasting any more time, the two began moving on, running for their dear lives yet again, heading towards no where in particular.

". They're locating us easily!" Tao cursed as he and Minjee paused and hid behind an enormous tree. Both of them were already panting heavily due to the sprinting and running here and there just to save their lives. "This is no use, if EXO still has one member living, they're not gonna stop tracking us down."

"W-what are you trying to say?" Minjee breathed heavily. "A-are you coming up with a plan?"

"A plan that neither of us likes." Tao softly said as he averted his gaze. "We need to go separate ways from now on-"

"Separate? W-wha...?"

"Separate, Minjee. You should escape from this day forward. I don't care if I get caught, all I want is your safety."

"Huang Zitao, you are NOT giving up now! After all those deaths, you can't just give up like that!" Minjee hissed, tears on the perk of flowing down her rosy cheeks. "Please, all those deaths will be gone into waste if you give up right now."

"Minjee, I ain't giving up." Tao smiled, ruffling his mate's head. "I just want your safety assured well. I cannot bear to watch you perish with EXO, alright? Besides, I first came in your life with the mission of protecting you with everything I got." he grinned.

"Tao-"

"And I will go out of your life with the same mission, Minjee."  

"Huang Zitao... I am seriously going to be mad at you if you leave me at this moment." Minjee sobbed, scowling at her beloved mate. She saw how teary-eyed her mate was, the agony coarsing through his and her veins. It was too painful to glue her gaze at Tao. "Please, if you go... where'll I go now? I can't live alone, Zitao. I'm weak."

"Physically, maybe. But your wills and intelligence are at maximum power. Those are your weapons in life, Minjee." he smiled. "That's what makes you strong."

"Tao, please."

"Here." Tao stated, wrapping a bracelet around Minjee's left wrist. The lace was in a braided-fashion, tainted in inky-black color. A blood-red gem was on the center, giving slight life to the dullness. "That's my mother's gift to me when I became a teen. Now, it's yours. It'll provide you luck in life and it'll remind you that I may be absent physically but always alive in your heart and mind." 

Silence.

"I'll always be there for you, Minjee. I am your hero, right?" he smiled before pulling the female close to him for a tight hug. "I promise, I'll come back for you soon."

"... M-make sure you keep that promise, alright?" Minjee weeped. "Or I'm going to be angry for you forever, never going to forgive you again!"

"Alright." the wolf smiled before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Now hurry, run away while you still have time. I'll distract them for you." Tao stated.

"W-where'll I go?" she faltered in fear.

"Anywhere away here. Just go." he said, pushing the human away. "Hurry, Kang Minjee!"

Minjee nodded sadly and began running away, away from her beloved and slowly escaping the fears that once imprisoned her. A few steps later, she turned back, a sad smile patched on her fair face. "See you soon, Tao. I love you." she smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I love you too." Tao smiled, his eyes in a scarlet-color at that moment. Minjee makes her escape, disappearing completely in the horizon, exactly when their opponents arrived.

"Where's the human?" they growled.

"Why look for her? Take me instead. I am the last member of EXO. Cease my existence and spare the cursed female." Tao smirked, his eyes radiating brighter in bravery. "Go ahead."

"Gladly, Huang Zitao." they nodded, taking the male wolf by the arm and mercilessly dragging him away. "Shame on you though, you were seemingly a bright wolf, too bad your father got a rebellious one."

"Indeed." Tao nodded, hiding his fears and agony. "I'm a shame, amn't I?"

"Yes."

"But if I were... then I wouldn't have my lovely story ending happily like this?"

"What ever do you mean, Zitao?"

"None of your concerns. Take me along."

"Of course."

The forest grew dark,

The snow fell down.

The tale of beauty and her wolf.

Finally comes to an end.

It might be a sad parting.

But...

Everyone deserves a happy ending still, right?