BAEKHYUN’S POV

I looked over at the faerie who was supporting me carefully, walking over the pine boughs towards a strange looking shelter. His skin was pure white and flawless, with a slightly pointed chin and rounded cheeks. He was Asian, with almond shaped eyes like me, but his were a striking ice blue. His nose was straight and small, with a slightly pointed tip. His ears were mostly hidden by his shaggy black hair that just brushed his shoulders, but I could see one pointed end. His bangs flopped slightly over one eye, and he shook them back impatiently, pursing his pale pink mouth.

Jaeshin was about the same height as me, maybe a few inches taller, and had a leanly muscled build. He was wearing tight black pants that showed off his legs and a black t-shirt. There were two strange bumps under his t-shirt, and he shifted his back uncomfortably. I frowned, wondering if he was deformed, and wondered what they were. The cold didn’t affect either of us, but I still got goose bumps looking at him.

I noticed Jaeshin also looking at me, and I pulled my wings closer to myself self-consciously. We stepped inside the shelter, and Chanyeol turned towards us. Immediately, Jaejoong and Chanyeol leapt towards Jaeshin, seeing the faerie as a threat.

Chanyeol landed on his chest squarely, knocking him back and almost making me fall too. Jaeshin closed his eyes fearfully when Chanyeol snarled at him, claws locked around Jaeshin’s neck. He gasped for breath, desperately trying to shove Chanyeol off of him, and I felt a weirdly protective feeling jump up inside me.

"Get off him!" I cried, grabbing Chanyeol’s collar and flinging him away. He landed in the snow with a dull thump, and immediately turned to join Jaejoong and spring on Jaeshin. I turned quickly, spreading my wings as wide as they would go and forming a shield over Jaeshin.

"Chanyeol! Listen! He’s not here to hurt us! He healed me." I said. Chanyeol and Jaejoong paused, returning to their human forms and walking forward slowly.

"His name is Jaeshin." I said, still hovering over him protectively. Chanyeol nodded after a moment, and I helped Jaeshin up. I saw faint lines of blood on his creamy white neck where Chanyeol’s claws had cut him, and stepped forward.

"What are you doing?" Jaeshin asked softly, still looking scared. I shook my head, not exactly sure myself, but I stretched my hand out towards his neck.

I rested my palm over the scratches, closing my eyes and focusing. I envisioned his neck how it was before, cream-colored and flawless, and focused on how much I wanted it look like that again. I opened my eyes after a moment, surprised to see my palm glowing silver. I drew it back, and looked in disbelief at Jaeshin’s unmarked neck.

"You can heal?" Chanyeol asked. I shook my head, certain I hadn’t been able to do that before. Before what?

"Jaeshin. You healed me, right?" I asked. Jaeshin nodded, touching his neck carefully. I shook my head, realizing Jaeshin had transferred some of his abilities to me.

"What’s going on? Where’s Yunho?" Jaejoong asked suddenly. I looked over at Jaeshin, and he nodded.

"Your packmate is in a clearing not far from here. I’ll go get him." Jaeshin said. I stepped forward, standing next to him.

"I’ll go with you." I said. Chanyeol grabbed my arm, pulling me back, and Jaejoong stepped forward instead.

"No, you stay here and explain what happened." Chanyeol said.

"I’ll go with you." Jaejoong said, his voice low and gravelly. Jaeshin looked at him fearfully, and I could feel a sense of unease. I didn’t like the idea of Jaejoong alone with Jaeshin, and I wasn’t afraid to defy Chanyeol.

"I’m going too. We’ll be back in a few minutes, Chanyeol. Relax." I said, folding my wings tightly to myself and walking forward after Jaeshin. Jaejoong followed, and I talked to him a little.

"So, you split off from Fey’s pack?" I asked. Jaejoong nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on Jaeshin walking ahead. I looked more at the large bumps under his shirt, right over his shoulder blades. He rolled his shoulders slightly every so often, making me think he was uncomfortable.

"Isn’t that dangerous?" I asked. Jaejoong nodded again, and I knew just how much peril he and his friends were in. A pack who had just lost one alpha would be hurt and vengeful, but a pack that had just lost its alpha and its second in command would be downright furious.

"They’re close, I can feel them. I just hope they leave us alone." Jaejoong said. Jaeshin stopped in front of a tree and nodded, looking down.

"Here he is." Jaeshin said. He waved his hands gently, a faint shimmer of light blue in the air, and Yunho faded into sight. He was asleep, but other than that, he looked unharmed. Jaeshin woke him up with another wave of his hands, and Jaejoong helped him to his feet.

Yunho was still a little groggy, and Jaejoong ended up carrying him back to camp. Jaeshin walked next to me, our shoulders brushing a little. He had broad shoulders like me, thick with strong muscles, sharply contrasting the lean muscles he had everywhere else. He must do a lot of exercises with his arms.

"Come on, Chanyeol. Let’s get back to the pack." I said when we reached camp. Chanyeol nodded, turning to walk with me, and I looked expectantly at Jaeshin.

"Well? Come on." I said. Jaeshin gave me a timid look, and I beckoned him forward. Chanyeol stepped in between us, and I felt a measure of anger bubble up.

"He’s not coming." Chanyeol said. I shook my head, beckoning Jaeshin again. When he was too afraid of Chanyeol to step forward, I turned to Chanyeol.

"Chanyeol, he’s coming with us. He’s under my protection now, I can’t just leave him here." I said. Chanyeol frowned, finally turning away and stalking off. I sighed at his childish behavior, and grabbed Jaeshin’s wrist.

"Come on." Jaeshin flinched slightly at the contact, but started walking obediently. I let go of his wrist after a few seconds, the warmth of it still burned into my palm.

"Where are we going?" Jaeshin asked, his voice soft. He was scared, and it made my heart ache. I was going to protect him no matter what, and keep him from being scared.

"You’re going to meet the pack."

JAESHIN’S POV

I swallowed at Baekhyun’s words, feeling my pulse race with fear. The wolf pack. I had seen them fight before, they were terrifying. They would probably rip me to shreds like Chanyeol had tried, and there was nothing I could do about it. I sighed, wishing yet again I wasn’t a faerie.

I wasn’t even good at being a faerie. I was timid, I was bad at playing tricks, I wasn’t very good at magic. And I was handicapped on top of that. Killing Baekhyun had been the test that would’ve allowed me to be accepted as faerie, and I had failed that too. Although, I was glad I had.

I looked over at the angel next to me, wondering how Aurora could ever want to hurt him. His soft brown hair curled slightly at the nape of his neck, matching brown eyes twinkling as he looked around. He looked back at me and smiled, flashing those perfect white teeth again. My heart did something funny and I looked away quickly, staring at the ground.

My back itched terribly and I rolled my shoulders again, trying to scratch it discreetly. Finally, we reached large cliff top, covered with snow and rocks. A girl about our age stepped forward, greeting Chanyeol with a kiss. She looked past him at me curiously, flashing a friendly smile.

She and Chanyeol walked over together, greeting a huge group of people enthusiastically. Baekhyun smiled as well, looking at them, and beckoned for me to stay close to him.

"The Imugi and kitsunes are here." Baekhyun smiled. I nodded like I knew what he was talking about, and hung back when he went forward to greet them.

I stayed on the sidelines by a large truck, crouched down and trying to stay quiet so no one noticed me. My pulse beat strongly in my ears, my back muscles aching and itching terribly. A sudden blow to my back made me sprawl forward on my stomach, crying out as my attacker landed a solid punch to my sensitive upper back.

I looked back quickly, seeing a werewolf with red eyes crouched down, snarling at me. I tried to crawl forward, still feeling waves of pain from my back, but he grabbed my ankle with clawed hands and dragged me back. Jumping forward onto my back, he slammed my head back into the snow and raked his claws across my sides.

"Ahh, no, stop!" I cried, twisting to get away from him. I got a mouthful of snow for my trouble, and jerked when a wave of electricity shot through me. The werewolf knelt right over my shoulder blades, causing agony to pulse through me, and I struggled to breathe through the snow.

Suddenly, the weight on top of me vanished, knocked off. I stayed there limply, unable to move through the pain in my back. I could smell my own blood, trickling from the cuts on my sides and my ankle.

"Stay away from him!" Baekhyun’s voice sounded, and I thanked my lucky stars my angel was here. He would keep me safe, like he did from Chanyeol.

"I’m sorry, Baekhyun, I thought he was a spy or an assassin." another voice sounded, too close to me for my comfort.

"It’s fine, Chen. Just help me get him up." I heard Baekhyun say. I swallowed a yell when four hands picked me up gently, carrying me quickly through the snow.

"Here, in the truck." Baekhyun said. They set me down gently on a hard wooden floor, and I opened my eyes slowly. Baekhyun hovered over me, looking down at me carefully.

"Jaeshin, I need you to take off your shirt." Baekhyun said gently. I shook my head, not wanting him to know.

"Please, I need to heal your sides and see how badly your upper back is injured." Baekhyun said. I shook my head again, desperate to keep my handicap hidden.

"Jaeshin. I’m not going to hurt you. Please, let me help you." Baekhyun said. I paused, swallowing, and nodded slowly. Baekhyun could make the pain go away, and I would deal with the shame later.

"Fine." I let him help me to my feet, grabbing the hem of my t-shirt and painfully taking it off. It dropped to the floor, and Baekhyun nodded at me.

"Thank you."

BAEKHYUN’S POV

I finally convinced him to take off his t-shirt, burning up with my desire to heal the cuts on his sides. I needed to know why he was in so much pain from his back too, and I won’t deny my own curiosity about the bumps on his back. I helped Jaeshin to his feet, watching as he took off his t-shirt grudgingly. He stood still, watching me warily, and I nodded to him.

"Thank you." I stepped forward, focusing on the cuts along his sides. I would look at his back last, seeing how uncomfortable he was about it.

I pressed my hands gently to the cuts, closing them up quickly, and quickly did the same to his ankle. Finally, his back was the only thing left. I took my time, trailing my eyes over the snow white skin of his torso and his lean muscles, but finally I asked him to turn around.

"It’s okay, I just want to heal you." I reassured again. Jaeshin nodded, dropping his head and moving his gaze to the floor as he turned. I looked at his exposed back...and immediately felt the urge to cry.

Yes, another update! Guys, the story is flowing so well now! Thank you so much for your continued support.

And yes, Baekshin is now totally a thing. And I like it. *proud smile*

Please leave me a comment on what you think; why does Baekhyun want to cry when he sees Jaeshin’s back?

Saranghamnida, kamsamnida~

-Sujin

<3