“Territory alert. Everyone” Xiumin barged through the front door with perspiration running down his face in waves. He looked soaked from head to toe, and I didn’t think that it could be from the rain that splattered against the windowpanes like pebbles being flung by the air in irritation. As soon as those two words escaped his mouth, it took only a second for all the wolves to jump off their chairs – we were eating – grab their coats and stand in a group with gravely serious faces. Even Cherub-like guy Luhan sported a frown that furrowed his eyebrows, the usual childlike glint in his eyes long gone.

“What’s happening?” I asked Haerim in a hushed tone as she took hold of my arm and dragged me away from my food. She just shook her head and mouthed one word that shook my body to the core: ‘coyotes’.

“Wh-What are they doing here?” Panic started fumbling inside my chest, like a red alarm clock that wouldn’t stop skipping around and trying to burst my composed self. The last time I had heard that word, it was when they had assassinated my parents with their bare hands, and right now I don’t know if I could cope with all the events that would happen. The coyotes were dangerous, that I knew. So what about the wolves? Would they be safe? How about Kai? I don’t want to lose him like I did with my parents.

A sob escaped my lips at the mere thought of him dying in front of my eyes, just like they did with my mother. Oh god.

 The girls led me to the alpha’s rooms, and it was then that I noticed Krystal’s absence, and with widened eyes, the panic continued to flow through my body as they sent nerve impulses of alert. “Where’s Krystal!?” I couldn’t keep calm anymore, everything that had occurred before was rushing back.

“She went out with the boys. That girl loves the fun” Lin smiled tenderly while my hair, “It’s going to be fine Sarang. It always happens once in a while. Trust me, the boys are tougher than they look”

“As a werewolf, it’s their duty to seek for the society’s safety. It’s their territory after all” Taehee murmured. She pulled at a string behind the curtain- one that I wouldn’t even have known existed- and a frail ladder cascaded down to our height touching the floor. I jumped but Mihye quickly put a hand on my shoulder, calming me and comforting me. I guess it had become a habit for her, seeing as she had been bound to Kris for ages. I wasn’t probably even born when they did it. With grace, Taehee was the first to climb up, then Lin before she turned to take my hand. I got up, expecting some kind of gray attic that would send chills of fear down my spine, but instead was faced with a brightly light, but narrow hallway that had a carpeted floor. Wow, I blinked. They were that ingenious. Okay, now I felt stupid beside them.

As Haerim was the last one to come up, she pulled the ladder back when she suddenly shrieked. It was followed by a soft slap and a groan. When I looked back to examine if she had any damage done to her, my eyes rounded at my wolf standing right in front of me with concern written at the border of his eyes. I couldn’t help but feel touched that he had come all the way just to seek for my well-being. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be out with the other wolves or he might get in trouble.

The questions, however, dissipated when his arms enveloped me into his soft and protective embrace, one I had gotten used and accustomed to as my eyes fluttered shut while I pressed my face against his chest, inhaling his wood like, manly scent. One of his hands smoothed my hair down, while the other raised itself up to my cheek and caressed it softly, like I was made out of porcelain. He cradled my face with his huge palms and pressed his forehead against mine, not minding the public of girls gawking at us at this moment.

“It’ll be okay. I’ll avenge their death, so don’t worry, arraso?” he murmured cajolingly in my ear, the immediate sound soothing the alarm that had threatened to burst seconds ago.

I nodded “Be careful”

“Is that concern I hear?” He chuckled when I rolled my eyes. Trust him to crack a bad joke in a bad atmosphere. I scowled “I’m not concerned. I just don’t want to be framed if ever you die. I’ll be the number one suspect”

“I won’t die” He whispered, “So you can forget about being framed, silly” then pecked my forehead before slipping out into the alpha’s room, as quick as lightning. Blinking, I smiled softly while sporting a soft blush at how he takes such great care of me, but soon got distracted by the soft giggles that emanated from the other corner of the hall. When I looked back over my shoulder, I noticed all of the girls huddled together with knowing looks on their faces. Uh oh, I think I’ve just dug my grave.

“So~” Mihye shot me a knowing look “When is the mating gonna happen?”

“I swear I have never seen Kai so whipped in his life” Haerim wriggled her eyebrows at me “He is sooo in love”

“G-Guys!” I protested, cheeks flaming from the heat that accumulated from my neck and face. I hated being the center of attention.

Lin giggled “You’re so cute, Sarang”

We followed the hallway as it narrowed down into a small corridor, and then reached another hole, which contained a passcode. Taehee stepped forward diligently before punching the code as the rock slid open like some kind of glass door. They entered and I followed, my gaze coming to a rest at the beautiful forest that surrounded us. I blinked, frowning suddenly when I took a quick look and recognized assets of this small patch of forest- I gasped.

It was the forest I usually came to, it was the forest where I first met Kai.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Lin misinterpreted my gasp as astonishment. True, it was beautiful, but I had seen it all before.

“B-But isn’t it more dangerous if we’re outside?” I asked tentatively. To me it seemed pretty logical, but Haerim quickly cleared my doubts away. “It’s sacred. Only werewolves and good beings may enter this place. Because of this fountain” She pointed at the mini waterfall by the corner, lips curving into a smile “Holy spirits live here”

That made much more sense.

We waited as the hours dragged on, the sun slowly setting when a sudden shout was heard from the right. We all turned, noticing that it had come from one of our wolves. A beat passed before a set of them burst through the bushes. Chanyeol and Chen where holding on to a bruised black and blue, wolf-state Luhan, almost trailing him since his body was lagging. Eyes widening at the scene, I got even more surprised when Lay burst through the left carrying a first aid kit. We all rushed to help the cherub boy out, settling him onto the ground as his puppy-like yelps and moans sliced through the night. I couldn’t help myself, the pain of the animal touched me much more than humans, and without a second thought I crouched down to help Lay bandage his wounds and bruises.

“Change back, Luhan. Change back” Lay soothingly pressed a wet compress onto the said boy’s forehead as slowly, Luhan’s body shifted and changed into the 178 cm boy we all knew and cared for. Up close, his skin was more porcelain-like; an easy target to spot bruises and scabs across his body. One gash ran along his upper torso, leaving his clothes all bloody and ragged as blood continued spurting out of the wound like an overflowing river. I tried my best to stop the bleeding, but there was just too much blood, and the fact that Luhan was lying there helplessly with his eyes rolled at the back of his head reminded me of the night my mother died in front of my eyes, and I froze, muscles tensing at the similar image.

The rest of the pack emerged from the darkening forest, their expressions grim while Sehun cried a “Luhan Hyung!” and ran over to the injured boy, tears already dribbling down his face as Haerim pulled him away softly and distracted him by pressing his face into her neck, letting him cry there. The rest of the girls went to crash into their mates’ arms and soon, a pair of arms pulled me away from Luhan’s bloody body.

“No!” I struggled “NO, please! Save her!” All I could see was my mother, her face pale and cold in the moonlight. I would never see her smile ever again, that was long gone. Nor her cheeky remarks that always highlighted my day. Whenever I was having a bad time at school, she was the one that comforted me and helped me stand up again. The loss of that important person tore my heart to pieces; it was slowly falling apart, like I couldn’t breathe anymore. I wanted to throw away Kai’s arms that were stopping me from seeing he. He wouldn’t understand, of course he wouldn’t. He hadn’t seen his beloved dying right in front of his eyes right? So he couldn’t know about the pain that was holding on to me, drawing me in.

“Sarang, Sarang calm down” With a great effort, he twisted me around and locked eyes with me.

Her eyes glistened with sadness that echoed her entire being right now. He hated that look she had, that glazed over look that said it all; she was back in her past, not with him, but recalling back the last memory of her mother. He couldn’t let that happen, wouldn’t let that happen. He had to make her snap out of it, somehow. It was wrong to look at her that way right when she was in her moment of grief, but he had never seen with his own eyes something as beautiful as her. The cries that fell from her lips in small sobs were like a twisted symphony in his ears, and she resembled a fallen angel that had been taken away her wings. He felt his eyes burning hazel, and snapped them shut, frowning. Not the right time Kim Jongin, he scolded himself inwardly. Grasping her waist, he slammed her body to his, loving the way she fit snuggly into him like she had always belonged there.

She tried pulling away, in vain, struggling with all the energy it took her and even resorting to swatting his arms away while hitting his chest with a force unknown that had suddenly come to her.

Kia could only watch her with a crestfallen look on his face, at loss. What was he to do? She was slowly losing herself, but he had to make her come back no matter what. It was bad for a mate to go through all those emotions alone, because otherwise it might break the bond between them. The hate was was feeling for the coyotes, might be passed down to the werewolves and this might threaten the bond that binds them together.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. There was one last option, and if he died because of it, so be it.

She froze when he grabbed a hold of her face. “Sarang, listen to me-“

“No!” She pulled away instinctively “You wouldn’t the pain that’s tearing through my heart Kai. It hurts, it hurts so damn much’ she was practically begging him. the mention of ‘Kai’ made his eyes flash with a red light, but he quickly restrained himself.

“Sarang please, you’re losing yourself” he pulled her closer while she struggled. “Didn’t you hear me, let me go Kai! Or I’ll seriously-“

He cut her off with his lips.

She froze momentarily, her eyes as wide as saucers when he pressed an open-mouthed peck onto hers, hesitating for fear that she might hit him again or do something that might prevent him from having children in the future. Seeing as no response was coming from her yet, he leaned in again and this time, very slowly took her bottom lip in-between his, lightly onto the patch of skin while fireworks were dancing behind Sarang’s eyes. He was kissing her. Kim Jongin was kissing her.

Like, what was air?

Instinctively, her hand went up to slap his face away when his huge palm restrained her from doing so, his lips distracting hers by letting his mouth linger over her own; pecking, nibbling, kissing, grating his teeth against her bottom lip as soft grunts rose at the back of his throat. Her knees trembled, and she collapsed under the desire that flamed in her stomach while her head spun dizzily. She was grateful for his arm around her waist just then, for she might have collapsed if not for his strong hold.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Kai’s mouth disconnected from hers with a soft pop while earning a soft, almost inaudible mewl from the latter which made him blink. The girl, in realization of the sound of want she had just made, fluttered her eyes and looked at the ground while a soft blush spread across her face. Not having any of that, he tilted her chin up to meet his brown, hazel-like orbs that were swirling with the utmost affection, the most tenderesst caress that reached out to her like a feather. His nose prodded hers gently, as if passing a message of comfort, and an unconscious smile danced across her lips.

Jongin wanted more, needed more of her. But for her sake and respect, had to make use of what he had got. He bit his lips in a very aroused-like manner which caused Sarang to frown and let out another breathy whine. The sound was like music to his ears, and giving in to his mate’s desires, was about to leave another kiss upon her lips when a voice interrupted their small session.

“Excuse me for interrupting” Sehun had on one of the wackiest smiles they had ever seen in their lives, wriggling his eyebrows. If Sarang weren’t around, Kai would’ve definitely boxed his ears.

But he settled for a soft snarl instead. “What?”

“Don’t you dare make that sound at me, hyung. Luhan’s fine, but he’s sleeping now so we’re going back to the headquarters” He turned to leave then when Jaerim slipped a hand into his with a knowing smile playing on her face “We’re leaving first, if you two want another makeout round”

They both laughed at that, and left the unmated couple staring at their retreated backs. Sarang’s face was as red as a fire engine, and Jongin couldn’t help but reach out and caress the soft skin with his lithe fingers.

“Why did you kiss me?”

He winced slightly at the sharp tone that rang in the air shrilly, his ears folding in on themselves like a kicked puppy. “You were panicking Sarang. I couldn’t possibly let you go on like this”

Her gaze never left the ground, too embarrassed to see the hazel glinting of Jongin’s orbs. It had been her first kiss; she wished at least that it hadn’t turned out that way. Her first kiss should’ve been tender caresses with love and affection, not in a place where she had been out of her mind and practically killing Jongin. Upon taking a glance at the boy with a crestfallen face, she noticed the small scratch forming onto his right cheek, and gasped.

Her finger reached out, taking his jaw into her hand “D-Did I do that?”

He frowned, reaching out himself to touch the scar and shuddered “Don’t worry about it”

“I did it, didn’t I?” Her eyes were slowly filling with tears, and the wolf wasn’t having any of that. Without any hesitation, he grasped her hand and entwined their fingers together, fitting like a perfect missing puzzle piece come to life.

“Don’t worry, it’ll heal. Let’s go back now”

In his heart, he had heard everything that was pouring out of Sarang’s head, and felt like he had just betrayed her. The girl was a strong one that could stand on her own two feet, but however still had this fairytale-like aspect in which she wanted her first kiss to be magical. And what had he done? Gone and kissed her just to distract her. Pabo Jongin! He almost hit himself upon the head. How dense can you be?! He needed advice now, and needed it deeply. The guilt was eating at his heart, he couldn’t even think of sleeping in the same bed as her, for fear of the rejection that would follow.

However, when they reached the coziness of his bedroom –Jongin had already prepared sleeping on the couch with his blanket flung over his shoulder and pillow stuck under his arm- Sarang had grabbed a hold of the back of his shirt, and when he turned, she sat on the bed with her eyes fluttering onto the floor, biting her lip in nervousness and twining her fingers gently onto the blanket. To Jongin, she resembled a little kid that was going to ask for an early Christmas present, and he just found her insanely, irresistibly, beautifully cute.

Cute was the word.

Not to forget that Jongin could restrain anything- but cuteness.

“Sarang, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“I-I..Where are you going?” She questioned him timidly with that ever so prominent blush of hers that it was hard for him to take her seriously.

“I-I thought that you wouldn’t want me here tonight-“ His breath caught in his throat when she suddenly encircled her arms around his middle and pulled him harshly so that he sat back down onto the bed, back facing her while her arms slowly wove around him like vines twining around the bark of a tree. He almost heaved a breath when her face burrowed in the space between his shoulder blades.

“Please stay” it was a very soft whisper that caressed his skin, he would’ve shivered if not for his sweater that was separating it from her breathed words. Turning, he caught sight of her red, swollen eyes and restrained himself from bending down to kiss those tears away. Her lips trembled “I’m sorry”

Kai blinked, before a -eating grin filled his features and threatened to break his face into. “It’s fine”

 As she made space for him on the bed and cuddled into a soft ball- just like a cute kitten- he laid down next to her and instinctively brushed her hair out of her eyes, ignoring the startled look that the girl gave him. Then, without waiting for her approval of any sort, s his arms around her waist and pulled her to him so that she was back-facing him, ignoring the yelp that was emitted from . His heart was palpitating like he had just ran a marathon, and his skin was scorched from where his body came in contact with hers. But in no other circumstances would he be as happy as he was now. That was what he had desired for years; for him to be able to hold her in his arms without anything from preventing him from doing so. When she squirmed, he stopped her with a warning growl while nudging his nose in the depths of her neck, nuzzling softly.

Sarang turned however, surprising him when her nose prodded his lightly and her face hidden in his chest. He could only blink down at her and his head in amusement. This was full of surprises, no matter how he looked at it. Every time he had tried predicting her actions, the result would always be the shock that left his jaw hanging. Nevertheless, he liked that side of Sarang, the affectionate side. There were no complaints.

It’s okay, at least my first kiss was with you, her thought rang inside the room, leaving the boy astounded by what he had heard. Was she for real? His grin was back onto his face, as dazzling as ever before he pressed a kiss onto her temple. “Goodnight, beautiful”

I love my subbies :) <3