Areum ran towards her house, her breathing becoming loud when she spotted the top of her roof. She did not want to risk the chance of that large cat to come back and chase her down.

Just because it spared her once didn't mean that it'd do it again.  

She didn't care if it her up and acted all friendly, all she could think about was the sharp claws and pointed teeth. Both things that could tear into her thin human skin like tissue paper.

Once she reached her driveway she yelped when a shadow moved.

"Where were you? You should've been back a whi--"

Areum raced and stumbled over her feet before crashing her body into Jackson's when a streetlight illuminated his features.

"Wha--"

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. You're here. Thank god you're here." She chanted while hugging him.

Jackson was an , but he was an that she was relieved to see.

Jackson blinked in surprise as his eyes flashed at the feel of her slender body against his. "Wait, what's happening? Are you okay?"

Areum just whimpered and clutched onto his shirt tighter making him frown. He placed and arm around her and tugged her closer to his chest, as if he was shielding her from whatever she was freaking out about.

"You were supposed to walk me home. You always walk home with me. Where were you?" She rambled, holding him closer.

He instinctively pressed his nose to her head and shushed her softly, mumbling confused apologies until he smelled something foul on her that made his blood run cold.

Panther.

His body stiffened and his eyes glowed an angry purple.

"Why do you smell like that?"

Areum calmed her breathing before pulling away and staring up at him, in confusion. "What are you talking about? I smell normal."

Jackson didn't believe her, not when she oozed the filthy scent of a panther.

"Where were you? What happened? Who were you with?" He interrogated, a sudden surge of protectiveness washing over him.

Jaebum was right, they were going to come after her.

Areum knit her eye brows and tried to pull away, but Jackson yanked her back to her chest, leaning his face forward so that his lips was an inch away.

"Who hurt you?" He growled, the wind suddenly angrily, picking up around them.

Areum felt her lips part at the deadly look he gave her. A look that told her that he was about to destroy whatever she answered with.

And it made her feel…safe.

"N-no one hurt me. I'm fine." She mumbled softly, feeling warmth creep up her cheeks.

"Then why are you scared? Where are they?" He hissed, his body trembling.

She reeked of panther. Which meant that one of them touched her. One of them got close enough to leave their scent on her.

"I-I." She remembered the cat and how the whole run home, she was positive that it was going to leap back out and kill her.

But she was home now.

She was safe.

Jackson was here.

"It's nothing. I just don't like walking out in the dark alone." She said casually.

Jackson tried to pull her closer to him. He wanted, with every cell in his body, to replace that disgusting scent with his.

"Don't lie. This isn't the time for you to be playing tough-guy."

Areum frowned and yanked away from him. "Are you sure you aren't just going to call me weak again if I do? Make up your ing mind because I'm done with you acting all concerned for me one second and then snapping at me the next."

Jackson flinched, unable to ignore the smell of panther on his mate. He didn't mean to yell at her, he was just mad that the panthers that were trying to kill her and him were getting dangerously close to their goal already.

Areum turned to walked away, but he was faster.

He spun her around and slammed her against the porch railings, making her gasp, before burying his face in her neck.

He pressed his body against hers and prayed that his scent would rub off and replace the one that was on her.

She was his.  

Mine.

No one else could lay a finger on her, much less without his or her permission.

Areum's eyes shot open and her heart picked up while a million things flurried in her stomach when she felt his breath on her.

"What are you doing?" She stuttered, her face heating up. She wanted to push him away, but her body refused to react. The weak attempts her hands made barely counted as trying.

"Just…just wait." He mumbled, nuzzling his face further into her neck…her comfortable, perfect neck.

It made his heart squeeze and his mind spin.  He wanted to think that it was the pull, but he could barely feel it working. He just wanted her to smell like him, that was all his mind was thinking. He was getting territorial.

He wanted to leave his mark so whatever creatures tried to get near her, would know that she had a werewolf guarding her.

Areum sighed, not liking this sudden skinship, "Jack--"

"I'm sorry." He murmured into her skin.

"What?" Her voice quieted down to match his, in surprise.

"I didn't mean it." He continued, his lips moving against her skin, making her shiver when his breath brushed over her.

Areum snorted and tried to yanked his head away, but he just grumbled and stayed rooted, breathing her in.

"You say that a lot. You know, you have this problem of saying something totally rude and apologizing after the damage is done."

Jackson whined pathetically, "I know. I was just angry."

Areum let her hands drop to her side when she couldn't pull him away from her. He was being adamant and she wasn't trying hard enough to pull him away, "Why were you angry?"

She could feel his breathing pick up, "I don't trust those kids, the ones that messed with you."

Areum groaned. "Can you please look at me when you talk because I have no idea what you're saying. I need more context here, buddy."

He pulled his head up and met her eyes. Areum gulped when she saw worry and fear lace his lenses.

"Just stay away from those boys. Anyone but them. They…they're not safe for you or anyone else to be around."

Areum tried to ignore the little niggling grateful feeling that he was looking out for her. She knew that he just didn't want them messing with her. They seemed a lot more aggressive than the other people that made a joke out of her.

"I think I can judge on my own. Don't worry." She said with a half smile.

Jackson didn't look happy, "I know you can. but just stay clear of these boys, okay? Trust me."

Areum gulped at the serious look in his eyes and the gentle way he grabbed her shoulders. Jackson was the biggest thorn in her side, but at that moment she realized something.

She trusted him.

-----

The next day, at dawn,  Areum dragged her suitcase out the door with Jackson's words echoing in her mind. She needed to trust him. Guys knew guys better and these ones were already giving her a hard time and if Jackson was still telling her to beware, she was going to take his word.

She wasn't stupid, she knew that, that group was bad news.

After he finished his little spiel, they let go of each other and said their awkward goodnights before he left. He kept telling her that not to talk to any of those guys and that he promised to walk her home from now on.

She was glad that it was dark because that way he couldn't see her blush.

Too bad for her, that Jackson saw it clear as day.

After he left, all she could think of was his warning and the way his hands felt on her.

Oh god, she should not be thinking about him like that. For all she knew, he could be her new teacher, and this was loud, annoying, snarky Jackson she was talking about.

She couldn't be attracted to him just because he saved her a bunch of times and kissed her too. Sure, he worried about her and seemed to genuinely care about her, but that didn't mean anything…right?

She swung the door open and grunted while she dragged her suitcase behind her. Like clockwork, he was there, leaning against the railing with a suitcase propped up beside him.

Her heart started racing when he met eyes with her.

"Good, you're here. Let's go." He said blankly. He took his duffle and hung it on her shoulder, making her carry his while he grabbed both their suitcases.

Jackson refused to make eye contact with her because today was the first official full moon night and it felt was stronger than usual. There was a tightness to his skin and soreness in his joints that made him feel uncomfortable. He knew that it would only increase if he saw her.

The other side effect of the pull is that it made being in his own skin, . Before he met Areum, he had no knowledge of his mate, so all he felt was extra energy, like he had a shot of 5-Hour Energy.

But now that she was here, there was only one thing constantly on his mind.

Her.

But what scared him was he wasn't just thinking about mating with her, which is what the full moon was intended for.

The full moon was a time where wolves had the most…gusto