Warning: Language/Violence

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

I was somewhat shocked by how easy it was to slip away from everyone and start heading to the meeting spot. I felt a little guilty, breaking my promise to Kris—I hadn’t ever broken a promise to anyone before—but I needed to do this. I wanted closure on this.

I just prayed that Taejoon understood.

I was close to the spot when someone grabbed my wrist and nearly jumped out of my skin. I whirled around, snarling and ready to claw out their eyes when I was startled to see Kris. I immediately felt ashamed and looked down.

“You broke your promise.” He said quietly.

I bit my lower lip—I couldn’t deny it. “Yes.”

“Why? Who are you meeting with that gives him your loyalty?” He let go of my wrist and it flopped to my side. He sighed and took a step back—which actually had me taking a step forward. “No. Don’t answer that. Will you promise me again that you’ll come back?”

I was momentarily shocked by something. I could sense him, feel him. Waves of anxiety and hurt and love were crashing into me from him. I could feel it all. He wanted to trust me, was going to even though I had already broken a promise with him. And I had to remind myself—I was going to trust him too.

But I wondered why I was suddenly able to sense him.

Sometimes you humans are so stupid, I wonder how you’ve survived, my wolf sighed.

Before he could turn and walk away with no answer from me, I grabbed his hand. “I want to show you who I’ve been meeting.” He was suddenly very alert and interested. “But you have to promise me something too.”

“What do you want me to promise?”

I noted how he didn’t right away agree to anything I said—he was too smart for that. “The person we’re about to meet . . . he’s a very old friend of mine. He’s a Were too and he’s an Alpha,” a snarl ripped from Kris’s lips, his wolf immediately protesting the idea, but I continued on as if nothing had happened, “And you have to be nice. I don’t want you to hurt him. And . . .” I debated whether or not I should tell him, but I decided he should know—after all, he was going to hear our conversation. “He’s in love with me.”

Kris stiffened and this time I could feel his hatred for the man he had yet to meet. The possessiveness was overwhelming and I knew if I didn’t quiet his fears and doubts, things would go badly.

“But Kris . . . Kris!” His eyes snapped to mine. I lifted my hands cautiously, then more determinedly cupped his face. “I chose you. Not him. He’s my friend and nothing else. And I want him to know that. You’re the one I want to be with.”

His eyes seemed to be searching mine, as if looking for a lie, but of course he found none. I had meant every word I had spoken to him. I pushed up and kissed him. He responded slowly, but eagerly. I pulled back. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”

He leaned down so our foreheads were touching. “Okay. Let’s go meet this friend of yours.”

I smiled, suddenly a little excited for Taejoon and Kris to meet. His hand still in mine, I led the way. But I could have sworn I heard him say, “You’re driving me crazy.” But it was so quiet I couldn’t be sure he actually said it.

Five minutes later I arrived at our location and then just sat down. Taejoon wasn’t here—but I hoped he would be. I wanted this all resolved. Kris sat down right next to me. He grabbed my hand and placed his and mine on his lap, rubbing circles on the back of my hand. Shivers ran up and down my arm and struck in my lower tummy. But I didn’t tell him to stop. I liked it.

A while passed and I was becoming acutely aware of how it was just me and Kris, pretty much isolated from anyone else, in the deep woods. It should frighten me, but instead I found I rather enjoyed the idea. And, once again, I was strangely warm, but where he touched my hand was hot. I suddenly realized Kris had asked something.

“H-huh?”

“When is your friend supposed to be here?”

I shook myself as best I could out of my thoughts. “I don’t know. He wasn’t here last time either, but I thought . . . We’ll wait a little longer and if he doesn’t show . . .” I shrugged. I was starting to get worried again.

What if he had run into some Ferals? He was an Alpha, so he was strong, but not invincible.

“Hyorim, I’m going to kiss you.”

I turned to look at Kris, but before I could say anything, he was kissing me aggressively. He pressed me to the ground, his upper torso pressing down on me and his hands cradling my head. When he pulled away I was breathless and completely dazed. In my fogginess, I realized I was clutching to his shirt like I was drowning and it was the only thing that could save me.

He was breathless too. “Sorry. I had to get that out.” He said sheepishly, a dusting of pink on his face.

I didn’t think, I just dazedly said, “Don’t stop,” and pulled him back down to continue kissing. This kiss was different—it was all heat and want. He was straddling me now, one of his hands went to the small of my back and pulled me up. I didn’t even remember doing it, but I had one hand wrapped around his neck and the other—I froze when I realized my hand was touching bare skin. I looked down at my hand and saw it had pulled Kris’s shirt up and was now brushing against his hip. Kris watched me as I drew my hand away then brought it back to touch his abdomen. His stomach shivered and rippled at my touch and I heard Kris give a soft groan. Terrified I had done something wrong, I jerked my hand away and looked at him. The wash of apprehension also cleared my head a little and I realized what I was doing, making me blush horridly and turn stiff.

He smiled reassuringly at me, before he grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth where he kissed my palm. “It’s okay. We’ll stop.”

He grimaced as he shifted and something hard left my leg. Confused, I looked down and then quickly looked away realizing what I had felt. My blush deepened in red and my mind whirled. Half of me was terrified and wholly glad I had cleared my head and Kris had called things to a stop, realizing that what we had been doing could have led to something I don’t think I was quiet ready for. But the other part of me wanted to experience what lovemaking felt like—I paused. Lovemaking? When had I started calling it that? I eyed Kris as he closed his eyes, seemingly trying to calm himself down. Even though it made me extremely uncomfortable, I thought about Kris and I . . . no. It wouldn’t be with him, it would be lovemaking. This realization made my stomach warm up and my heart clench in a pleasant way.

I didn’t know why, but this was an important distinction.

“Kris, I—”

“Hyorim!” I had enough time to register the voice as Taejoon’s, and to look up, but I had no time to prepare for the snarling Werewolf that slammed into me. It had a hold between my neck and shoulder and I felt the bone crush in its jaws. I screamed from the pain, but didn’t allow myself to panic. With my free arm, I used my hand to tear out its eye. The beast roared and let me go. I struggled to get away from him, but someone helped me. I looked up and saw Kris as he pulled me away. He had a strange mixture of fear, fury, and concern written on his face.

“Hyorim! Concentrate!”

I was having a hard time concentrating—I was losing a lot of blood.

“Shift!” Taejoon yelled.

Right. Shift. I needed to shift and then concentrate on my wound so it would heal—it was the only way to heal something this fatal. Before I could shift, however, I looked at the Feral and watched in horror as its eye grew back in a matter of seconds—we can’t heal major organs like that, or even if we could, it should have taken days. He had done so in a matter of seconds. I felt it in every fiber of my being—something was wrong.

And then its eyes were fixed on Kris and I could only yell, “Kris!” before the Were attacked him. Kris reacted fast and shifted in their struggle. I whimpered, my heart clutching in fear as I watch Kris being tossed around like a rag doll. This Feral was huge and, I couldn’t believe my eyes, its skin was broken open in places from where the muscles was too much for the skin to contain. Its body was contorted at odd angles here and there and its teeth were massive. And it was strong, too strong for a normal Feral.

What the hell was this thing?

Someone skidded to my side as I grew weaker, my eyes fixed on the fight—a fight, it seemed, that Kris was losing.

“Shift, damn it!” Taejoon ordered.

Shift. I needed to shift. I let it take over me and for a moment I was blind to what was happening to Kris. And then I was in my wolf form and I tried focusing on the wound on my shoulder. Skin and muscle started knitting itself back together, bone growing back and becoming whole. I was desperate—I needed to heal faster, faster, faster! I needed to help Kris.

Noona!?

Sehun’s voice entered my head, panicked as he felt my fear and hurt and every other negative emotion.

Sehun! G-get help! Me and Kris are in trouble! Hurry! I cried desperately. I showed him an image of where we were.

I’m coming, noona!

And then my wolf interfered. Let me help you. I can make you stronger.

I heard a high pitched scream and a crack and I looked up to see Kris had been tossed against a tree, one of his legs bent in an unnatural manner, bleeding all over the place. No, no, no, no!

Do it! I screamed.

Suddenly, something hot flooded my veins, almost burning me from the inside out.

“Hyorim . . .” Taejoon sounded astounded and a little bit . . . excited.

I didn’t know what he was seeing, and I didn’t care. I had to get to Kris and kill that thing. My senses felt sharpened and I just felt . . . better. I raced forward and threw myself at the monster before it could go for Kris’s jugular. We went tumbling together as we fell down a slight slope. We both sprang to our feet and I watched as thick drool slide from out of its mouth. Strangely, a thick, black substance was also mixed in with it.

It lunged forward and I took note that it was faster than a normal Feral too. Stronger, faster, able to heal in moments. This was a new foe. We danced around each other, dodging attacks, lunging. Then something odd started happening. It was like random parts of its body started convulsing, sometimes shifting back and forth between human and wolf form. Blood started mixing in with the thick black liquid, spilling from his nose, mouth, and ears.

But instead of making him weak, this seemed to turn him even more aggressive, fierce, fast, and strong. I had to finish this quickly.

Taejoon was almost humming with excitement. She had finally synced with her wolf. That was his woman. His. He wasn’t worried at all—she would win, he had no doubt about that. And then she would come to him.

Whimpering made him look at the male Were, contorted and bleeding out on the ground. Taejoon sneered, getting up and walking over to the bastard. The Were was taking in small, rapid, shallows breaths and could do little more than follow Taejoon with his eyes. With no mercy, Taejoon slammed his foot down on the Were’s broken leg and the Were howled in pain.

The Were was starting to heal, but he was so badly damaged, it was more than likely he’d bleed out before he could be healed fully. Taejoon smiled at that.

He had planned all this so Hyorim would sync with her wolf and become the wolf he knew she was so she’d be worthy enough to stand by his side. It was only an added bonus that the would-be-lover had been here as well. He had hit two birds with one stone. He no longer had to seethe over this er and worry about Hyorim being swayed away from her place by his side.

“You need to be taught your place,” Taejoon said, fully aware that in his wolf form, the Were didn’t fully understand human speech. “You’re beneath me, beneath my woman. You’re not even worthy to look her way, and yet you dare to touch her? Touch what’s mine?” Taejoon slammed his fist into the Were’s broken limb. “But the world can be just, now can’t it? You’ve been punished and now you’re going to die trying to protect her. Poetic justice. But I can be rather merciful.” He reached into a pocket and drew out a good sized knife. “If I carve out your heart, do you think you could heal from that?” The wolf whimpered and snarled, attempting to stand. “I didn’t think so either. But see? I’m merciful—I’m ending your suffering. Be grateful, you er.”

Taejoon grabbed the wolf’s head and yanked it back to the point his spine almost broke. He slashed the wolf’s throat and then laughed maniacally. “Oops. I’m sorry. My hand slipped. Let me try again.”

He brought the serrated knife over his head and gripped it with both hands. There was a small part that screamed at him to stop, that he needed to stop. But a much bigger part swallowed that voice up and was screaming at him to get rid of the competition, get rid of everything in his way. Taejoon was too far down his path to stop now.

I watched in fascination as the jugular I had just torn out was already growing back, that thick black substance covering it before the skin grew over it. But it was acting even stranger. The convulsions were more violent now and blood was now gushing from his face. He could barely breathe. The Feral shook his head, trying to clear his mouth, nose, and eyes of the blood,  and something in the back of his skull caught the light and glinted. I took a good look and saw a shard of some kind, a shard that reminded me a lot of the Demon Damper, was shoved into his skull.

I knew without having to be told that I needed to tear that out.

Before he could fully recover, I quickly ran around him and jumped into his back. In just as quick of a movement, I clamped down at the base of his skull, my mouth engulfing the shard. My tongue rubbed against it and I felt a very unpleasant tingle run through my body.

Get away from it! My wolf screamed in a panic.

I braced myself and pulled back, tearing skin, muscle, and bone, and the shard, out of the Feral. It howled and I quickly scrambled away, plopping the bloody mess down. I watched the Feral carefully, but it was done. Its convulsions now had it knocked over and shaking uncontrollably. And I realized the gurgling noise I was hearing was it choking on its own blood. With a few last death throes, it went still. Cautiously, I padded up to it and checked to make sure it was, indeed, dead. It was.

I stood there a moment, shaking myself from the injuries I had sustained, when I remember: Kris! I scrambled back up the slope, begging for him to be okay—maybe Taejoon was helping him. But then I froze at what I saw.

Taejoon was kneeling over Kris who was struggling to get away. Taejoon was holding a bowie knife over his head, both hands gripping it, like . . . like. I panicked as I realized Taejoon was going to kill Kris. I ran forward and lunged, biting down on Taejoon’s forearm. Taejoon howled and dropped the knife. I let go, confused and hurt and tired and scared.

I watched Taejoon carefully. Maybe he had gotten the wrong idea. Maybe he thought Kris was going to hurt me. But there were too many maybes there. I went and stood over Kris, watching Taejoon carefully.

He hissed as he tore his shirt hem and wrapped the strip around his bleeding arm. As he stood up, he grabbed his knife with his good hand. The look on his face . . . scared me. He was smiling, but it wasn’t reaching his eyes.

“I knew you would win. See? Even more proof you belong with me.” He sneered as he pointed his knife at Kris and I snarled at the threatening gesture. “He couldn’t stand even three minutes against my wolf.”

At first, I thought he meant his shifted form, but . . . then I realized that the abnormal Feral was his. It was his. Horror ran through my body. This was all Taejoon’s doing. But how? Why?

He seemed to sense my questions and disbelief. “You weren’t synced with your wolf yet. I wanted to help you, so I did. You can understand everything I’m saying even though you’re in your wolf form, correct?”

Shocked, I realized he was right.

His smile widened. “You’re stronger. Stronger than that er.” He eyed Kris. “He’s not right for you. I am. I am a match for your wolf. Can’t you feel it?”

He was right. I did feel it. My wolf recognized him as an equal, but nothing else. I felt nothing else except this deep, empty feeling, like something had just been torn from me.

“Let’s go. Come with me. That bastard is going to die anyway. He was damaged too much in the fight.”

My heart froze. No! Kris couldn’t die. He couldn’t! Panic set in, one I had never felt before. It confused my entire being. I needed to protect him, keep him safe, nurse him to health. I couldn’t let anything intending to harm him near. It painted my vision in red and suddenly everything was a potential threat.

Taejoon took a step forward and I whirled on him, snarling dangerously. “Come on.” He reached forward, ignoring my threat. I lunged at his hand and he withdrew it, a surprised and furious look on his face. “You’re mine! Mine! No one else’s! I won’t tolerate this, you !”

Suddenly there were noises of howls and snuffling and people calling my and Kris’s name. But I didn’t recognize them. Taejoon hissed and looked back at me.

“We’ll meet again soon, and you will be mine and he,” He snarled viciously as his eyes landed on Kris, “Will die by my hand.”

With that he shifted and ran into the woods, disappearing. Once I knew he was gone, I turned to Kris and analyzed him. He was bleeding badly and my heart sank as I realized Taejoon was right—Kris was going to die. He had too many fatal injuries—he couldn’t heal that quickly. I leaned down and nuzzled him and he was only strong enough to huff at me.

I didn’t want him to die. He was as dear to me as Sehun, maybe more. If he died, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to live. And I knew right then—I no longer thought I was in love with Kris, I knew I was in love with him.

Suddenly the area was filled with people and wolves. Somewhere, in the back of my head I knew I should know these people, but I only saw threats I needed to keep away from Kris. I snarled and snapped my teeth at them, warning them to stay back. They talked to each other, but I no longer understood—blood was pounding in my ears and I was too worried about Kris.

One of them, a wolf, one I knew I knew slid forward on his belly, whimpering, his lips. I snarled at him and the others were talking rapidly to him, but neither I nor the wolf were listening to them. He rolled onto his belly, exposing his neck in the ultimate submissive pose. This seemed to flip a switch.

. . . Hyorim?

And then noise crashed into my world and the red slowly faded and I realized I was looking at Suho and Kris’s pack. Lay was just a step away from Sehun as was Sumi. I tried to talk to them, but belatedly realized I was still in wolf form.

I shifted back, tears streaming down my face. “Please, please save him.”