***

Okay, so this is what it felt like to have joined a gang. What was I thinking? I should have thought about it longer. Honestly, there were twelve of them and just one of me, in what universe was joining an all-male wolf pack a good idea? 

I had so looked forward to getting some rest in the weekend, but after last night, they asked me if I could meet up again at night. Their excuse being that they wanted to make sure that as a newbie wolf I wouldn't create havoc by myself so they wanted to play it safe and keep an eye on me. Not that I would know whatever for since I couldn't even manage transforming at will between wolf-form and human-form. Anyway, I wanted to refuse because I needed some well-deserved rest, but after saying that I wanted to be a part of the pack, I had no other choice. 

Not that it was all that bad. I mean, if it would help me get the answers I needed, then so be it...and...I suppose it wasn't all that annoying to hang out with those guys. After spending two nights with them, I found out that they were all kind of sweet and fun to hang around with, even Suho, who put more effort in trying to interact with me. Kai was still a little distant, but I think that's just his personality. I couldn't help but appreciate that they really did try their best to make me feel more at ease and made sure to look out for me. It was still a little hard to believe that I was part of them right now. Then again, there were still a lot of things that were hard to believe for me right now. 

"Ah, finally awake, sleeping beauty?" Mom asked the moment I came down to get some breakfast. 

"It's weekend, Mom, I'm allowed to sleep in," I grumbled, still feeling a little tired. Apparently being a wolf also meant missing out on some precious hours of sleep. How do those guys do it? Do they sleep in class or something?

"Hmhm," she mused and looked at me as I poured myself a bowl of cereal. To be perfectly honest I could totally go for a hamburger or a juicy piece of steak right now, but this will just have to do. 

"Hey, do we have some bacon?" I then asked since that was probably the only breakfast meat I could eat in the morning. 

"Yeah, in the fridge, why- oh," Mom watched me scoot over to the fridge, grabbing the bacon and heating up the pan. "Amazing. You know, I thought you were over the teenage phase of wanting to eat everything and anything you came across," she commented, watching me closely. 

"Guess I'm not over it yet," I said, shrugging my shoulders as nonchalantly as I could. I really didn't want my mom to find out about my more animalistic side. Unless...Would being a wolf be hereditary? The thought alone nearly made me snort. My parents, wolves? Sure, Dad had an appetite that could put a T-Rex to shame and Mom could get very ferocious when she was really angry, but those were hardly wolf-qualities. Not to mention that running through the dirt and drinking lake water was either of their styles. In addition, Suho had specifically said that up until recently they had always thought that there were only twelve of them on the island. If their families were somehow wolves as well, then they would've known. 

My mouth was watering when the scent of bacon filled the air, the crackling of it making my ears twitch. My senses were heightened when Mom started to move next to me, watching closely as I prepared the bacon. 

"Are you going to eat all of it?" she asked, seeing me put another thick slice on the pan. 

I shrugged. "Maybe. Why? You want some?" 

Mom shook her head and looked closely at me, up to the point that it was making me uncomfortable. Just when I was about to open my mouth to ask what was wrong, her hand was placed on my forehead and she prodded me with her other hand. 

"Mom, what are you doing?" I asked, while simultaneously making sure that my bacon didn't get burned. 

"You don't feel hot," she mused and I frowned. 

"Of course not. I'm not sick," I said, moving away so she'd let go. 

"You were last night, though," she suddenly said and I froze. 

"Last night? What are you talking about?" I purposely didn't look at her, afraid that she could see that I was totally lying. 

"It was you, wasn't it? You went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and I heard you retching, sweetie," she patted my stomach and checked my temperature again. My eyes widened, my mouth formed into an 'o'. 

"Ah, that. Eh, yeah, I guess I ate one porkchop too many," I tried to chuckle it off. In truth, it was the wild boar that did me in. I got sick when I came home around four in the morning, but I couldn't tell her that, now could I?

"How much sleep did you get last night?" Mom continued drilling and it was making me nervous. Was she a wolf after all? Could she sense my anxiety or could she smell it? 

"What's with the sudden third degree?" I asked instead. Mom, you're not a wolf, are you?

"You were in the bathroom for some time, I figured you lost sleep over it, but you don't look tired at all," she remarked. "Actually, you seem to be glowing," she breathed, but she suddenly looked horrified. 

Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God. How could she know? Did she know? What should I do? Keep calm, keep calm, don't freak out so easily!

"Glowing?" I managed to utter, quickly grabbing the bacon and walking to the dining room. Of course she followed me like a hawk. 

"Are you craving bacon or are you just hungry?" she then asked and I didn't know what to say. My nerves were all over the place, especially when I remembered that the guys told me explicitly not to let anyone else know about our existence. But, what if my mother already knew of the existence of people being able to change into wolves if she was one as well?

"Uh, can't it be both?" I asked innocently, though I was pretty sure I was sweating now. When I gave her a fake smile, she grunted in annoyance. Too much, Jae, you shouldn't have smiled!

"You've been acting strangely the last couple of days. Sneaking around, eating all these things, mood swings, dressing yourself up and even putting on makeup. I thought it was funny to tease you about you possibly being interested in someone, but now I need you to tell me the truth," she drilled not a hint of playfulness in her voice and I just felt like running away. Mom got scary when she was like this and I really couldn't tell her anything- or could I? No, I shouldn't. But what if she already knows? Not possible, Mom couldn't know... Argh! This is driving me crazy!

"Tell you what?" I still tried, stalling just so that I could think a little more about everything. Should I try to escape? How? 

"Jae-In," she warned and grabbed my shoulders. "You can tell me anything, you know this. I'm your mother, whatever it is, I'm here for you," she said in all sincerity, but it just made me gulp. I really wanted to spill the beans, but I couldn't. 

"There's nothing for you to worry about, Mom," I started. "I'm just going through some stuff at school, that's all. I've a lot of catching up to do and all of that, but no biggie," I stammered but the look of disappointment on my mom's face was gut-wrenching. 

"Alright. If you don't want to tell me, then I'll just have to ask, and I want you to be honest with me," she said. 

Crap, crap, crap, crap! There's no way she could know. I was at the point of sweating bullets when she sighed, looked me straight in the eyes, and asked, 

"Jae, are you pregnant?" 

The burden of guilt and anxiety washed away in that instance and I let out a deep breath of pure relief before laughing out loud. Thank God, she has no clue. Her Mom-instincts were strong, but not on point. Oh, I feel like I'm about to get an aneurysm. 

"It's not funny, Jae, I need to know! I wasn't born yesterday, young lady, I know teens are ually active and I-,"

"Oh my God, Mom! Seriously, you have to stop," I laughed again because this accusation I could handle, but ask me if I was a freak of nature that could change into a wolf? Nope, I'll crash and burn. Suspected of being pregnant? No problemo, I can deal with that. Oh, what a life I lead today, ladies and gentlemen...

"I'm not pregnant and please, I never want to hear the word 'ually' or anything remotely related to that come out of your mouth again, okay?" I shook my head, still happy and relieved while eating the strips of bacon. 

"Well, we still need to talk about this. If you're not pregnant then what is going on in your life right now? It's okay, honey, you can talk to me, I'm worried," she slapped my arm though she seemed genuinely relieved to hear my answer. Still, she checked my stomach and scrunged up her face in worry each time I took a bite from the juicy bacon. 

"Mom, we've been living here for barely a week and you think I'm the kind of girl that immediately picks up the first dude I come across to have babies with him? Come on," I commented skeptically. 

"Well, it could happen! There are a lot of cute boys on this island that could be interested in an exotic, new city girl like you! You don't tell me about your love life then this is the only way I have to ask about it," she protested, pouting in a way only mothers could. 

"Mom, are you hearing yourself? Dear lord," I chuckled and knew that this was the moment to both reassure her and get her to stop being suspicious of me at the same time. "Mom, I don't talk about my so-called love life because I don't have one. Your daughter is bland, boring and dating her homework, sorry to disappoint. Secondly, there's nothing for you to worry about. If I'm in trouble, then you're the first person I go to." 

Okay, so that last part made my stomach twist into a knot of simmering guilt, but take away the wolf-thing and it was the truth. It did bring some relief that my mother just wanted to look out for me, though. It was nice knowing that she'd back me up and that she'd be here if I needed her. But I couldn't tell her about the secret I suddenly had to keep. I barely had an explanation for myself, so how could I possibly make her understand? 

"You're sure?" she asked me again, her hand caressing my face. 

I can't lie to her again. "Do you trust me?" I asked instead so that I don't have to answer her question. 

"You know I do, baby," she smiled. 

"Then there's nothing for you to worry about," I pecked her on the cheek and let her hug me as long as she wanted. In my heart I told her everything I couldn't say out loud and promised that I'd keep smiling, just so that she wouldn't worry. Maybe I should try and control my more wolf-like behavior as well, such as eating a lot. I have got to be more discrete from now on. I'll ask the boys if they have some tips on how to still the ravenous hunger. 

"So, where's Dad? I haven't seen or heard him at all," I asked, changing the subject. 

"Dad is right over here, having a heart attack. What is all this talk about you being pregnant? Who's the guy I have to shoot?" On cue, he appeared in the doorway, still a sleepy look on his face as he stole a bacon strip from my plate. 

"Whoa, don't you look rough? Work giving you grief, Dad?" I couldn't help but tease, seeing the dark circles under his eyes and the messy hair. 

"Not as much as my darling wife and teenage daughter. Again, what is this about me becoming a grandfather? Your baby will understand that I have to kill its father first, right?" he grumbled, lazily chewing on the bacon. 

"Will you get real? I'm not pregnant. I just drink a lot of alcohol, smoke cigarettes and occasionally do some drugs, but I'm still totally a ," I told him, trying not to burst out in laughter at seeing his sleepy expression. He blinked a few times, taking my words into consideration, up to the brink that he was going to worry and make a fuss, but then he shrugged and kept on eating. 

"Okay, cool," he stuck up his thumb, grinning sheepishly at my mother who rolled her eyes at him. "So, what are the plans for today, sweethearts?" he asked, stretching himself. 

"Well, that depends. Are you working today?" Mom asked him and he sighed deeply. 

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to, I'm afraid. There's a bunch of stuff I have to take care of, so I'll be staying at home, working," he said. 

"Are you still working on those security systems?" I blurted out since I've bad memories concerning those things. 

"Amongst others," he replied, vaguely, as usual. "Look, about those fences, I want you to stay away from them, okay? If you see them in the forest, let me know and I'll have them removed. They're not as safe as we thought they were and adjustments have to be made for future developments," he murmured. 

"No problem," I said easily since there was no way I was going to go near those things again. "That electric shock is no joke, dude," I spoke before I realized what I just said. Uh-oh...

"How did you know about that?" Dad asked, snapping awake. I swallowed. 

"I, uh, saw an animal get shocked by it before it ran off. It looked really painful, though," I quickly lied. 

"Ah. Sorry you had to see that, Jade. We're working on the kinks. The electricity will have to be removed, especially if we want to start tagging the wildlife here," he said, gesturing at my bacon. "Are you going to finish that?"

"Wait, what? Tagging wildlife? Since when is E.T. Corp interested in preserving wildlife?" I asked. Why did that sound suspicious?

"Apparently the wolves on the island still get hunted on now and then and E.T. wants to protect these creatures so that they can safely live in their natural habitat, that's all," he said, but he didn't sound convincing. Dad looked to be a bit worried about it as well, but I didn't like it. What kind of company tags wildlife by capturing them with an electrically charged net? That thing would have probably killed me if the Majestic Twelve hadn't been there with me. Hm. Maybe it really was just a bug in the system, but having experienced it firsthand, I felt like I should warn the others about it. Should one of us get caught by accident, then the jig was up. 

"Either way, just stay clear away from them, okay?" Dad warned and made me swear it. 

"Well then, you stay at home and work and Jae and I will get out of your hair. What's your plan for today, sweetie?" Mom looked at me with a smile on her face. 

"Actually, I just thought I'd go and explore the town a bit. See what people do around here on free days," I said. Plus, I would totally appreciate some alone time to clear my head. 

"That's a good idea! Maybe you'll meet more friends, get the hang of the local teenage life," she stated cheerfully. "As for me, I'm going to have some tea with a bunch of ladies I met at the market the other day. Everyone here has been so welcoming. It'd be nice to make connections," she decided. "Do you need a ride into town?" she inquired. 

"Nah, that's okay. I'm gonna walk, weather is nice today," I told her. 

"Alright, be careful and let me know if I need to pick you up or something. Dad is home as well," Mom instructed automatically and grabbed for her bag. "I'll be off then, my darlings," she greeted happily. "Don't work too hard, you," she told Dad before kissing him quickly and then turned to me. "As for you, have fun, but not too much fun, okay?" she prodded my side before leaving and I grinned at Dad when he squinted his eyes at me. 

"Tell your boyfriend I've a gun and won't be afraid to use him as target practice," he joked and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

"Love you, too, old man," I greeted. "See you later!" 

"Yeah, yeah, and stay away from those fences, Jade, I mean it!" he shouted after me, but I was just happy to be outside. I could let go of my worries here, just for the moment. It was a close call with my mom, and hearing Dad talk about the fences and what they're planning to do with the animals here, was a bit worrying, but nothing that the twelve couldn't handle. They just had to avoid the fences from now on, and I had to take extra care when running with them, being the clumsy newbie and all. 

While walking in the sunlight and breathing in the fresh air, I looked up at the sky, my hands comfortably folded on the back of my head. Since Hanwol was a tiny town, there wasn't a lot of traffic here, and only a few people walked out and about. I couldn't get used to the peace and quiet here, but it was nice for clearing the mind. 

Memories. Different memories that were somehow tied together, assembling a group of unrelated people with each other. How was that possible? Where did I fit in, in all of that? Luhan was so confident when he suddenly exclaimed that I was one of them, that I belonged in their group, but how could he have been so sure? Was it because of my dreams he saw? What was the decisive turning point for him?

Their memories had been short, but vivid, scenes that they actually remembered. I didn't have those kinds of memories. What's more, was that they may have had memories of each other, but they didn't remember me. So, what did that say? What did that mean? They also thought that me dreaming about twelve stars meant something, but I wasn't sure. Looking up at the clear blue sky like this, I imagined that those twelve stars were there again, except here there were thirteen of them.

"What does all of it mean?" I murmured to myself, trying to make sense of it all. Still looking up at the sky, instead of the road where I should've been looking, I suddenly clashed into someone before I knew what was going on.

"Aiyah," the person exclaimed, startled by the sudden impact whilst I promptly staggered back and landed on the ground with my bum. 

"Ow," I groaned, rubbing my backside. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was- huh, Lay?"

The boy responded immediately with a brilliant smile, his hand still rubbing the back of his head. He blinked when he saw me and then he met me with a cheerful grin. "Jae-yah? Where did you come from? Are you okay?" he asked, casually extending his hands to help me up. I noted his collarbones from the low-neck black tanktop he was wearing and my treacherous mind flashed back to that one time I was trapped in the boys' locker room with the bunch of them. I flushed red at the memory and quickly tried to think of something else.

Lay's gentle smile seemed to match well with the sunshine and pleasant weather and I wondered whether there were times when he didn't smile.

"Sorry," I apologized again. "I was just headed into town, I didn't see where I was going," I told him, feeling a pleasant tingle pulsating from his fingertips into my own. "But I'm okay." Right. Lay's power was healing. Apparently that meant that no matter what, his touch would be healing as well. I cleared my throat softly and gently pulled away from his hands, though the effects of his ability were noticable. I didn't feel a hint of pain anymore. 

"Thank you," I whispered, pursing my lips together shyly when he winked conspiringly at me. "So, uh, where are you going?" I asked a little awkwardly, since there was a part of me that still felt it was too soon to call any one of the Majestic Twelve my friend yet. I guess I just didn't feel all that comfortable yet. Lay seemed to sense that, but he didn't show it. 

"I'm going to the animal shelter. I work as a volunteer there," he told me. "Wanna come and walk with me? It's in town," he then offered, picking up a box he dropped when I bumped into him. 

"I, uh, I guess so," I shrugged since it would be super awkward if I declined the offer and walked the same direction anyway. Plus, I didn't mind Lay's company. Had it been Suho or Kai, it would have been a different matter. "What's in the box?" I then asked to break the ice. 

"Oh, these are just some old stuff that I collected from people that they didn't use anymore. The local charity organizations are always asking for stuff like these, so I thought I'd go bring them what I have so far. It's just a bunch of old toys and clothes, but it makes other people happy, so that's nice," he explained, looking as though he was a little lost in his own world when he summed up the items in the box he was carrying. I smiled at him because I honestly can say that I've never met a person like him before. He spoke so sincerely and nearly innocently, as if the kind things he was doing in his free time were the most normal things to do in the world. 

"Aha, so your using your wolf-powers to play hero, I get it," I teased, but Lay looked genuinely confused. 

"No, Jae-yah, you know that no can ever find out about what we can do," he whispered, taking my words seriously. "It's a secret between all of us," he said with another wink and I chuckled. 

"Alright, fair enough. But still, I mean you guys are capable to do things that others can only dream of. You can't tell me that all you do is run around in the woods at night, hunt for food and just hang out in wolf-form, do you?" I was actually curious about this. It was cool and all being a wolf, but they were wolves with actual powers. That had to count for something? They couldn't only have been chilling in the woods all this time, could they? 

"Actually," Lay started and my eyes widened. 

"No way," I interrupted. "You really haven't done anything with the things you can do?" I asked in disbelief. 

Lay chuckled heartily at this. "Well, what is there for us to do, Jae-yah? We can't expose ourselves, after all." 

"What? Come on, you seriously cannot tell me that you weren't tempted to play superhero," I exclaimed, not caring that he was utterly amused at my astonishment. "I mean, if it were me and I could heal like you could, I would be visiting hospitals and sick people and work my magic, you know?" 

"I wanted to do that," he confessed a little sheepishly, "but then I also found out that things don't work that way. You have to understand, Jae-yah, just because we're able to do something that others can't, it doesn't mean that we suddenly have to change the natural flow of things. There are rules and limitations to what we can do. The most important one being that we can never, under any circumstance, disrupt the natural balance of things." 

"So, instead, you hang out in the forest running wild and playing around?" I hadn't questioned this before, but now that I thought of it, it seemed rather ridiculous. Why would a dozen guys be able to do amazing feats, but not do anything with them? I bit my lip when I looked at Lay, resisting the urge to poke his cheek where the dimple deepened. 

"Why are you laughing?" I asked, chuckling myself, because damn it, there is something about this boy that just makes you smile. Maybe it was his dazed and carefree aura, or the fact that he was so... pure? I guess that was the word for it. At the same time I couldn't help but wonder whether there was another side of Lay that the outside world didn't get to see. 

"I think you've watched too many movies, Jae-yah. We're not super heroes, even though some of us claim to be," he said, thinking about his brothers. "We're just regular guys who happen to be able to do extraordinary things, like moving water and teleporting, playing with fire, ice and wind." 

"And donating stuff to charity and volunteering at animal shelters," I added, smiling at the humble guy. Lay seemed surprised a moment, but then he actually blushed and scratched his cheek. We smiled at each other for a moment when I looked around and saw that we chatted our way into town. This place really is small. 

"You're coming tonight again, aren't you, Jae-yah?" Lay asked, leaning in a bit to keep the conversation private. We were standing near a bookshop and a small cafe, where people could hear us if we weren't careful. 

"Yeah. Suho said that he planned on hunting that pulse he had mentioned before. Whatever that means," I shrugged. 

"He seems to believe that the source holds the answers for all of us," Lay disclosed in a quiet tone, the two of us standing close. "And that's probably thanks to you," he added. 

"Luhan said the same thing, though I'm still not sure how that works out," I smiled like a criminal trying to hide something, when an elderly couple walked past us. 

"Good morning, Lay-sshi. Who is your lovely lady friend?" the old man asked. 

"Good morning, Mr. Song, Mrs. Song. This is Jae-In Miyano, she's new in town," he introduced and I bowed in response. 

"Nice to meet you, ma'am, sir," I greeted. 

"Oh, so polite. Nice to meet you, Jae-sshi," the woman replied, her wrinkly face all smiley as she looked at us. "So cute," she hummed. "Take good care of him, Jae-sshi, it'd be nice for this one to have someone look out for him for a change," she winked, patting my hand amicably while the two of them passed by. 

The two of us started stammering since the old lady obviously drew conclusions that weren't necessarily right, but the couple laughed heartily and went on their way. 

"They're, uh, sweet," I commented, glancing away. 

"Y-yeah, sweet," Lay repeated, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his head again whilst holding onto the box with the other. 

"Um, so, anyway," I quickly continued. "Hunting tonight. I'll be there," I confirmed and Lay nodded. "Great. Well, then I guess I'm going to do some exploring now, and you can go drop that heavy box off at the charity organization," I started. 

"Yes, um, Jae-yah?" Lay called before I'd walk away. 

"Hm?" 

"Did you, by any chance get some more memories since last night? Anything new that came up?" 

I shook my head. "No, sorry. Why do you ask?" 

Lay pursed his lips together while he pondered on it and then gave a tiny smile. "No particular reason. Just curious. Maybe you'd remember more after talking to us."

"Who knows? Maybe," I nodded. "It'd be nice to find the answers." I looked at Lay, trying to read his expression, because I could've sworn I saw just a flash of concern in his eyes. "Right?" I tried and at this, he quickly nodded. 

"Right," he confirmed. "Well, I guess I'll see you tonight then, Jae-yah," he gave another wink and stuck up his thumb. 

"See you tonight," I winked back, playing along with him. He waved as he went his way and I walked to the opposite direction. I'd only just parted ways with Lay and had only taken a few steps when a group of women had come out of a lunchroom chattering happily with each other, but one of them was standing still and looked at me in utter amusement. 

Her eyes followed Lay who was walking away and she lifted an eyebrow at me, still smirking. I rolled my eyes when I approached her and while her new friends had started walking, she took the opportunity to lean towards me. 

"Bland, boring and dating your homework, huh?" Mom grinned, looking over at Lay again. "That homework must be a fascinating subject, sweetie," she teased, when she was called over by one of her new gal pals. "He's cute, but remember; not too much fun!" she said in a hurried whisper, quickly waving at me before she joined her tea buddies. 

I shook my head in utter defeat. Of course she had to see that. You know, I'm really starting to think that fate has it in for me...