The leader gave him a hard task. How was he going to tell all twelve of them? He was given a limited time to execute the leader’s orders. He was not allowed to tell each one about the others. The leader told him that the twelve should discover it for themselves. It will test their self-control and teamwork.

He shook his head as he proceeded to walk toward his quarters.

It has been quite a while since he discovered his other personality. Rather, the other half that made up his entire existence.

He was seventeen at that time. He barely recalled the first time he changed into his other self. It was a very painful experience. He would rather forget about it than keep the memory. It was not a very good memory. He had hurt people he loved. He didn’t mean to hurt them, but at that time, he didn’t have any choice. Everything happened quickly. It was as if a bullet had been shot through his heart. He had clutched it and felt his insides burning. It felt as if his eyes were on fire. He managed to drag his feet toward the front of the mirror and watch his reflection. His eyes had become red, his skin almost translucent. But a little while later, his arms started growing grey, fine hairs. Fur, to be exact. He looked right into his reflection in the mirror. He no longer saw himself. In front of him, staring at the mirror, was a big animal. Like a dog, but bigger, fiercer. A wolf. A cry had escaped his lips. He had been afraid. But his cry sounded like a low whimper. He tried calling his mom for help. But instead of his mom’s name, he heard a howl. That was when his mom knocked on his door to check on him. He had bounded toward the door and pressed his paw to lock the knob. Deep inside him, he had wanted his mom, but an unknown rage had formed around his soft heart. It made his mouth dry. He had started to his lips and taste the air. He had tasted meat. Blood.

And the rest of the memory became blurred. He had forced himself to blur everything. But until this time, he still heard the faint cries of pain that came from his mom.

No. He shouldn’t think about it.

He was in control of himself now. He had learned to control everything now. He can transform at will and avoid people. He didn’t attack for no justifiable reason anymore. It had been the longest year of his life. Every month, during full moon, he changed involuntarily. Until he met the leader and Miho.

He was wandering along the banks of the Han River one day, feeling bad about himself. He had just made a meal out of a mugger he saw at one of the alleyways downtown. The guy had been holding a gun to a woman’s side. He hadn’t eaten for days and he didn’t have any money to buy food. He had steered clear from his home, to avoid further damage than what was done.

Now, as he walked along the banks, his sense of smell caught a queer aroma. His heightened eyesight caught smoke rising on top of some trees. He broke into a run. There was something about the scent that drew him in. It was the kind of scent that relaxed his tensed muscles and minimized the rage inside him. As he drew nearer the scent, his eyes saw a glint in between two trees. There was a house? He had been curious, so he slowly walked toward the two trees and saw a tiny house nestled between it. Smoke was rising up from a tall chimney and the front door was opened. A man was sitting down on what looked like a wicker chair. The man had his eyes closed, but when the wind blew, the man’s eyes flew open and as if the wind whispered something in his ears, the man looked toward his direction. He had started to run. But the man was faster. He had stopped. His heart was pounding hard when he saw the man’s eyes. They were blood red.

The blood red eyes surveyed him and as if in a move mastered through time, the man inhaled his scent. The eyes never left his, though. Then, the man spoke.

“You are alone.”

It was not a question. And the man’s voice sounded like authority. It was the voice of a leader. Deep inside him, he wanted to counter the man’s statement. But, oddly enough, he automatically surrendered. He knew this man was like him.

“Yes, I am alone.”

“I can help you.”

And that’s how it all started for him.

He had only needed six months to control his inner wolf self. Miho, the old lady that the leader trusted, had superb knowledge in making a drink from herbs that would neutralize the rage and appetite during that crucial full moon time every month. During the first two months, he managed to control changing fully after he took the herbal drink. He might have sprouted fur all over his body, but his tail didn’t appear, and his canines were shorter than a normal wolf’s. The leader was impressed at the progress. He had said that it usually took five months for their kind to be able to control changing. His was the fastest progress, so far.

He was pleased. And he worked hard to control the beast inside him. He was not allowed to know the secret to Miho’s concoction, and he didn’t mind. As long as it helped him behave, he didn’t want to even bother knowing the ingredients and the process.

But, as all things are not amiable with everyone, someone was intent on finding out the secret. That someone didn’t like the idea of taming the beast inside them. He had said that they should embrace who they were fully. Every month, they didn’t have to hide and drink the herbs to control their transformation. They should be as wild as the wolves out in the forest.

The leader was against this of course. Wild animals should be left in the wild, he said. The city was no place for wild animals. Normal humans didn’t deserve to be hunted. Halflings like us should know how to live in equilibrium. If they wanted to live like the wild wolves, they should go to the forest and live there, not camouflage in the city and attack unsuspecting, innocent people.

But the big bad wolf was not having any of this. There were several Halflings who sided with him. They left the pack and formed their own. The big bad wolf wasn’t alpha, but he defied the law. It must have hurt his core, but his ego was bigger. He wanted to rebel against the leader. He waged war.

The leader was wiser. He performed an ancient ritual up the mountains.

As far as I know, the ritual he performed was one that the old leaders’ did whenever an impending disaster is foreseen. Blinded by his desire to rule and overrule the existing laws, the big bad wolf forgot this very important ritual.

Not one of us were allowed to go with the leader to the summit. He went in his wolf form, the better to get there in one piece. For three days, he was up there. There was nothing we saw, but we felt the wind go up like a vacuum it up there. No sound was heard, not even the crackling of the leaves as we paced back and forth at the foot of the mountain. We were on guard, vigilant. The big bad wolf might come at us and attack.

When the leader descended, he had on a weary face.

“We have twelve assurances. Let’s go back home.”

Wild wolves live in the forest, but halflings like us lived in the city. We were born humans with wolf genes handed from generation to generation. Not every generation gets the wolf gene, though. There are some three generation family members that are normal, but the great grandchild would have a very pronounced wolf gene handed down from his father or mother whose wolf gene was dormant before the right heir is born.

The leader called a meeting with every leader of the pack he knew. As technology allowed, the ones who lived overseas were connected online or by phone patch.

They convened for more than two days. Only taking a break to eat and go to the bathroom.

I had stayed in my quarters, anticipating the result of the meeting.

After the meeting, the leader had called for me. I didn’t know why he chose me, but somehow, I had an inkling as to why he chose me. I was the one who had the shortest time progress for controlling my other self. I should be able to carry out whatever plan he had for the rest of the pack.

I had walked into his office confidently. He asked me to sit and I obliged.

“Jeolmeun neugdae, I have a job for you.”

The leader always called me his young wolf, and rarely called me by my given name.

“Yes, leader-nim. What is it?”

“We have twelve assurances that will end the war. I want you to be the one to pass the message to them.”

“Yes, leader.”

“There are 12 souls that are destined to rule, but before they can rule, they must first accept their fate. Their destiny. Once they face their fate and accept it, this will end the war.”

“But leader, how can you be sure...?”

“I am never mistaken. Remember that.”

I could only nod. I knew he was telling the truth. He first saw me for what I am. I didn’t even tell him what I was at that time, yet he knew. I bowed and turned around, ready to leave for the first task. But the leader called out a last warning.

“They don’t know each other. They must discover it for themselves. Do not tell them anything than what they need to know…individually.”

“Yes, leadernim.”

“The details will be given to you at dawn, before you leave for the first location.”

“Where is it?”

“Two locations. Two alphas. First, to Seoul and then to Canada.”

Ode to OT12. I miss them as 12. This fic is almost 2 years delayed, hahah. I received a notif on "Growl" and saw a comment saying how the reader liked the story and still gets addicted to it. Heheh. It inspired me to finish writing the prequel. I'm doing another fic, and I hope I can update both stories in a timely manner. Anyway, this particular story is a one shot, so it's not gonna be a hassle to write. I just decided to write it in short chapters, instead of a one page shot. Thanks for the upvote, even if it's been almost 2 years. 

Please anticipate the next chapter. Young Wolf is travelling to Seoul and Canada to find the two alphas. The first two of the twelve. 

EXO Saranghaja!