"Father Wolf..." Chanyeol mumbled with a low growl, his teeth clamped together defensively. An odd feeling in my chest rumbled like an earthquake when I looked him in the eyes.
    "Chanyeol, my troublesome child," Father Wolf lifted his head slightly, all the while -- keeping his eyes on me. "What have you done?"
    "How did you find out?" Chanyeol bared his forming fangs. "Who told you!?"
    A wicked smile creased across Father Wolf's face. "A good child of mine; Zitao."
    "Zitao..." I repeated the name. I always had a feeling that he was untrustworthy. The air about him seemed to give me a bad feeling.
    For some reason, when Father Wolf spoke with his low voice, it felt like every part of my body was being ripped from limb to limb. The power that once shone from me, hid behind the cloud of fear. What was this strange magic that he emitted?
    Father Wolf took a step toward us. Chanyeol swindled me into his arms and barked loudly at his clan leader rebelliously.

    One step closer. Chanyeol began to change form. The sparky magic began to react. Father Wolf was messing with him.

    Two steps closer. I covered my ears with my hands and buried my face into Chanyeol's chest. The shrouded power inside of me made my heart ache.

    Three steps closer. Father Wolf's magic began to ring inside of my ears. His golden eyes flashed. Chanyeol's senses came alive. My mind went blank.

    In one single moment, Chanyeol's body twisted itself into a wolf. Spiky black hairs sticking out of every part of his body. A tail flowing behind his back. Paws indenting themselves into the earth as he stood his ground.
    Father Wolf lifted his right hand -- palm facing Chanyeol -- and an invisible force pushed him away. He was forcefully thrown backward into the trunk of a large tree.
    "Chanyeol!" My hair flipped as I turned my head to look for him. Quickly, I tried to pay attention to Father Wolf -- whom was already shrouding himself over me. My eyes became wide with fear to the point where I felt like I could have died from it.
    Instead of sitting still like a rock, I got up and attempted to run. The instant I took a step away from him, Father Wolf pulled on my hair to bring me back. My voice screeched in pain. I fell to the ground once again.
    Chanyeol pounced on top of Father Wolf, fangs sinking into his skin. The both of them tumbled over and I was released. Hurriedly, I got up and looked to the ground for my satchel.
    Right next to the two wrestling giants, my satchel laid still. I wanted to reach for it, but I was afraid that I would get caught in the fight. Then again, I knew I didn't have a choice since I was already a part of it.
    I risked myself and rolled on the ground, grabbing the satchel at the same time. Luckily, I had not been involved in the struggle.
    I searched through the satchel and found a small stick. Although the appearance was that of a twig, it was actually more powerful than that. Days ago, I figured that I would be out in the woods with Chanyeol more often, so I had my clan Shaman infuse the stick with magic.
    Then I remembered that Father Wolf had a black pearl; if I tried to use any magic against him now -- it would hurt me instead.
    I looked over at the two of them to realize that Chanyeol had been the one struggling to escape Father Wolf's hold. In one toss of the hand, Chanyeol flew away once again. I wanted so much to run after him, but there was also the choice of protecting myself.
    Rather than chasing my heart, I listened to my mind. Father Wolf got up from the ground and faced me. The blood in my body raced like the river's current throughout my body. My scared eyes searched for a place that Father Wolf would have kept the black pearl.
    As I studied his complicated outfit, I spotted the black pearl sitting right on the tip of his large necklace. Amongst the white pearls dangling on his chest, the single black bead stood out.

    I inhaled a deep breath of air, bit my lip, grabbed a dagger from my satchel, and slashed Father Wolf's chest.

    Just as I had hoped, the necklace had split into pieces. Although he hadn't noticed it himself yet, Father Wolf laughed at my weak defense. He lifted the back of his hand and slammed me away into the forest.
    Chanyeol howled as he saw what happened. He changed from his wolf form and sprinted over to me as a human. I could hardly feel it when he curled me into his arms, holding my head to his chest. He was shouting a name I wasn't able to hear. A few tears streamed down his face.
    Weakly, I lifted my hand and gave the twig to Chanyeol. He looked at it, unsure of what it was or what to do. I pointed over at Father Wolf, trying to show that I had cut off the black pearl.
    He looked over at his clan leader. Father Wolf had realized that the black pearl was missing. Desperately he searched for the small black bead in the darkness that shrouded over us. Now was Chanyeol's chance; Father Wolf was distracted.
    Chanyeol laid me down carefully and kissed my forehead, a single tear dripping onto my cheek. He lifted his head and inhaled one large breath of air. Time suddenly began to slow down. Everything either became slower or didn't move as much. I watched Chanyeol run over to Father Wolf and implant the twig into his back.
    Slowly, a bright light surged from the stick and Father Wolf howled in pain. Everything happened like we were underwater. Slow movements. Inaudible shouting. I could hardly even move from my spot without wanting to close my eyes.
    From behind, a pair of hands lifted me off the ground. Chanyeol looked over and sighed in relief. I looked up at the person who held me closely.
    Suho's smiling face gleamed while he carried me over to his brother. From the bottom of my heart, I was glad to see him here. With those last thoughts held inside of my head, I shut my eyes and heard Chanyeol's faint voice shout my name.