***

Chen's strong and warm hand felt like a reassuring anchor amidst this crazy storm. At one point I grabbed it with both my hands and he still managed to easily pull me along, making it easier for me to keep up with his pace. 

I wondered whether I should tell him that when I turned around just now, I thought I caught a glimpse of a white wolf watching us. He'd probably think that I was starting to hallucinate things due to being knocked around by the storm too much. 

Because we were somewhat in a state of emergency, i hardly had the time to gawk in awe at the gigantic mansion that loomed up in front of us. Chen and I kept each other balanced as we ran up the slippery, sleek black, granite stairs that lead up to a set of heavy ebony doors. Chen pushed against them with remarkable strength, considering the wind was fighting against him. His biceps flexed as his shoulders tensed. His tank top had desperately stuck to his body and let's just say that it left little to the imagination. 

That was apparently the thought I needed to wake up from my daze and decided to help him. 

"Together, noona! Hana, dul - set!" Chen counted, and we pushed. The door swung open not long after that, and I stumbled inside, letting out a startled gasp as the doors closed shut with a furious bang behind us. Chen wasted no time and started calling for Suho, his name echoing throughout the magnificence of the mansion. Honestly, its appearance reminded me a lot of our school and I felt a little embarrassed that I was dripping water all over the shiny floor. 

As I gathered my wits and made a poor attempt to straighten up my appearance, Chen was still screaming for Suho. I knew the kid was loud, but wow, his vocal chords are no joke. They must be massive! Like his biceps... I cringed and mentally slapped myself, purposely looking away from soaked-to-the-bone Chen and put my attention elsewhere. I successfully located a window and glanced outside. The rain slammed against the glass as though they wanted to break in and that wind...

I jumped slightly when Chen's voice boomed behind me, putting the rolling thunder outside to shame. 

"YAH! SUHO-HYUNG!" he yelled, and I cringed. 

"Chen, maybe we should go look for him instead? This place looks huge, he may not hear you," though I find that hard to believe, I added silently to myself. Seriously, I think I popped my eardrums just now. Suddenly I was reminded that Chen was an avid member of the music club, and with his voice, I wouldn't be surprised if he was a vocalist. 

"We don't have time for that, noona. This place has too many rooms. This is faster, trust me," he said gently before turning around swiftly to shout for Suho's name over and over again like a freaking siren. Still, I couldn't help but chuckle slightly as I covered my ears, seeing Chen turn red by shouting so loudly. 

It didn't take too long after when one of the doors opened with a loud bang, an angry Suho appearing in sight. 

"Chen! What the heck is wrong with you?! Do you wanna die?!" our fearsome leader spat out, followed by him examining his younger brother from head to toe. "You went outside?! I told you not to, did you not see the storm raging outside, babo!" he fumed in disapproval of Chen's ragged, soaked appearance. 

"You'll be happy I did, hyung," the younger teen answered a bit out of breath. "We need you to hurry. Get the others as well; it's the lake," he explained a bit chaotically. I was standing further away, only vaguely nodding at whatever Chen was saying, while suppressing my own agitation at the culprit who forbade everyone to communicate with me. It seemed like he hadn't even noticed me standing here. Rude...

"The lake? What's wrong with the lake? And- what do you mean, "we"?" Suho questioned and I took this as my cue to step out. 

"Hi, Chopped Liver, at your service," I piped up bitingly, sarcastic smile on my face. Suho looked at me like he's never seen me before. His eyes went wide, and to my surprise, he looked concerned first before that changed into agitation. 

He turned around sharply towards an innocent-looking Chen. 

"Chen...!" he started warningly. 

"Don't you dare blame him, Kim Joonmyeon!" I retorted before Chen had a chance to open his mouth. "You think that radio silence was going to scare me away? If you bounce back each time I throw you away, why would you think I wouldn't bungee jump right back towards you as well? If you want to be angry, blame yourself!" 

Suho looked shocked for a moment, before the wolf inside of him emerged, the old Suho that I once knew appeared before me. The Suho that wanted me to stay away when we didn't know each other that well. He had been pleasant and more himself around me lately, but I came to realize that I somewhat missed the banter I had with old, grumpy Suho. You want a fight, right now, wolf-boy? Bring it!

"Jae, you need to leave," Suho said, his red eyes gleaming furiously at me. 

Oh. No. He did not!

"Um, guys, I really don't think that this is the right time for-,"

"Shut up, Chen!" we exclaimed simultaneously, glaring at each other. He let out a soft groan, but kept quiet.

"Don't you shine those red eyes at me, buddy," I retorted, feeling my energy awaken as well. Something told me my eyes had shone a golden amber, but Suho didn't step back when I stepped forward. "You don't have the right to be upset with me being here! What did you expect? You think abandoning me is helpful? In what world is that helpful?!"

"And what right do you think you have to barge into my house after knowing that we specifically stayed away from you for a reason?!" he growled stubbornly back. Argh! Honestly, sometimes I was confused about Suho's identity. Was he a wolf or a mule?!

"Are you kidding me right now?! I walked through a freaking storm to find you!" I exclaimed. 

"No one asked you to, did they?" Suho yelled back. "Go back home!"

My eyes went wide with astonishment and anger. "And do what?! Pretend like none of this is happening? Pretend like I don't know you, hm? What do you think there's to gain for abandoning me, Suho?!" 

"Your safety, Jae!" he shouted, his voice bouncing off the tall walls in the large foyer, the silence that ensued was so sudden that all we could hear was each other's heated breathing. The atmosphere changed, as did Suho. Had he been filled with rage and obstinance at first, he now looked a bit defeated. And not the good kind of defeated, which would result in me feeling triumphant for winning an argument, but the awkward, serious kind of defeated. The one that made my own rage douse away to be replaced by feelings of regret. 

"Kris-hyung, Mommy and Daddy are fighting again," Baekhyun's voice suddenly broke the silence in an attempt to lift the mood, but it was ill-timed. 

"Shut up, Baekhyun," Kris replied quietly, firmly, but gently. While Suho and I had been arguing, the others had gathered in the foyer, probably to see what all the ruckus was about. I was so focused with yelling at Suho that I hadn't even noticed that they were standing there. It seemed that the leader didn't realize until now, either. 

"Your safety," he repeated softly. "What else could we do? We thought we knew something, but we know nothing, and after what happened to you, only because you care about us and we about you- it was unforgivable, atrocious! If I'd been an adequate leader..." he trailed off, letting out a deep sigh. I watched Suho as he avoided making eye-contact and heaved a deep sigh myself. Why was it so hard for me to just stay angry at these guys?

Looking at Suho, I recognized myself in him, from not so long ago. The guilt and the burden were clear on his face and it was difficult not to sympathize with him. Strange how the roles became so reversed so quickly.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" I started, doing my best to keep a straight face when I was met with Suho's lost puppy-look. "This was no one's fault. You're seriously going to let that woman win by allowing her to scare you and drive us apart? If anything, wouldn't it make more sense that we stick together to stay strong?" I hope I was speaking gently enough to show Suho that I wasn't scolding him. "I mean, I know I'm the weakest member in the pack, but at least give me a chance to prove myself before you decide to throw me out," I added more lightheartedly, which got a small smile out of him. The silence in the room now, was luckily not as tense as before. Did it mean that we settled things now? Hm, kinda waiting for an apology here... But maybe that was pushing it a bit, hehe. 

"And on that note," Chen shuffled towards us, hopping from one foot to the other to signal his impatience and urgency. "Hyung, noona, the lake!" 

My eyes widened again when Chen reminded us why we were here in the first place. "Oh, crap!" I exclaimed. 

"What's all this with the lake then?" Suho asked Chen, in a tone of that of a father merely doing his child a favor by pretending to take him seriously. 

Chen audibly clacked his tongue. "Hyung!" he whined. "This is serious! You have to come with us!" Chen grabbed Suho's hand, but his older brother didn't move a step, thinking he was pulling a prank. 

"This isn't a joke, Suho," I started, when the leader had started chuckling at Chen's attempts to pull him along. 

"What's going on, Jae?" asked D.O., who seemed happy to see me. 

"When we were outside, the dam of the lake was leaking. I think it might seriously collapse," I explained quickly as Xiumin and Kris looked out the window. 

"Sheesh, it's that bad outside?" Kris muttered, Lay curiously coming to his side to take a gander as well. 

Tao stood on his toes behind them while leaning on Xiumin, his mouth slightly agape when he saw the rain pour. "But that dam's been there for years. It's never broken before, noona," Tao interjected. 

"There's a first time for everything, Tao. That dam looked like it was going to bust open any minute," I looked at Suho. "You coming?" I extended my hand towards him as a sign of reconciliation. He blinked back at me, that dorky grin appearing on his face as his skin was dusted with a red hue. He nodded and was about to accept my hand when another hand appeared out of thin air. I was taken by surprise as Sehun clamped his hand around mine, turning me away from Suho. 

"I'll come with you, noona," Sehun stated, a wide smile on his face as he led me to the door. 

"Oh-kay, Sehun," I muttered, a little overwhelmed. 

"Yah, Sehunnie..." Suho mumbled behind us, though he followed as did the others.

I thought I had gotten used to being knocked around by the storm, you know, considering that I'd been walking through it for a good hour or so, but it seemed the storm had worsened. I was grateful for Sehun holding onto me, and the boys in general having somewhat huddled close together to brave the storm. Kris stood behind me, towering over me and giving me the support I needed to keep steady. Everyone got soaked in no time and even though Sehun managed to divert most of the wind away from us, it often came knocking us back down again. There simply was no battling with nature. 

"Whoa! What in the world?!" Suho shouted over the howling wind and I was stunned myself at seeing the excess of water already flooding the part where Chen and I had fallen before. The landslide dam creaked and protested at the wild water it was trying to contain. 

"There's too much water," Luhan noted, trying his best to keep his eyes open. "We need to call the authorities, Suho!"

"There's no time for that," the leader shouted, stepping towards the water. 

"Suho, don't be an idiot! You can't solve this! If you fail, this whole place will be under water!" D.O. yelled. 

Suho turned around to look at his younger brother, glancing briefly at me. "I won't be doing this on my own," he replied, a determined look on his face. "That dam is going to break any second! When it does, I'll try to stop the water. D.O., you'll have to try and strengthen the dam, do what you do best," he instructed. "Tao, you act in case of emergency. If I'm too weak to stop the water, support me, try stopping it in time, can you do that?" 

Tao blinked at his brother and gave a firm nod, despite of the worry in his eyes. 

"Heck, all of you are on reserve if this doesn't pan out the way I planned it," Suho chuckled at his brothers, before facing the dam. 

"You're insane, hyung!" Chanyeol shouted. "You can't expect this to- I mean, you've never done something like this before!" 

"We can do this!" Suho said, placing his hand on a nervous D.O.. "We have to try," he stated, but it was obvious that all of us were nervous. I bit my lip while my leg twitched. The way Suho took the reigns and remained so calm in a dire situation was admiring, and there was no doubt that he was the leader. The concern and anxiety everyone was feeling now, wasn't because they didn't trust him. It was because they cared about him and didn't want him to get hurt. 

I gasped when the dam broke, slowly, but steadily, unable to protect us from the tsunami wave that rolled towards us. To make things extra dramatic,- because, hey, why the freaking heck not? -, the lightning clapped and the debris of the broken dam were the first things that rushed towards us. 

It felt like all of us were suddenly thrown into a bad disaster movie. As if standing outside in the middle of an apocalyptic storm wasn't enough, we were staring at a steady river racing towards us, bringing with it chunks of rock and mud, fallen trees with huge branches and thick trunks. The noise alone was enough to make a person sink to their knees at such massive, unbridled destruction. 

To put it simply: I was scared out of my mind. Kaka in nine colors, I swear to cow! Still, despite of my fear, I forced my feet to stay planted on the ground. I refused to move an inch. It was dangerous out here and the consequences were fatal, should Suho - for whatever reason - fail. But I had faith in him. I had faith in all of them. So, I stayed. 

I watched in awe as the wave rolled towards us, and I let out a startled shriek when Suho moved his hands and another wave from the opposite direction crashed against it. With this wall of water, Suho pushed the oncoming wave back. It was like witnessing a clash of titans, battling it out. I wasn't surprised that Suho's eyes gleamed red. He needed all of his strength for this. 

"D.O., now!" Suho said with a strained voice. The smaller teen nodded, his eyes already glowing as he took a firm stance, the earth beneath him rippling and waving like the water Suho so desperately tried to stop. 

I fell against Sehun when the earth quaked and luckily for me, the maknae put his arms protectively over me to keep me from losing my balance altogether. I felt breathless as pillars of mud and stone rose from the rushing waters, like awoken giants being called up to arms to defend their territory. 

As impressive as this was, I could tell that both Suho and D.O., were struggling. They could only focus on their task and couldn't permit shifting their attention elsewhere. But, as I soon came to witness, that was where the rest of the brothers fit in. 

Kris noticed how some of the debris were moving rapidly towards us. A large, uprooted tree eagerly approached as it rode the waves to squash us like bugs. I felt the urge to turn around and run, but still kept standing where I stood.

"Huh?" I exclaimed, as I saw how the water and the debris couldn't touch us. It clunked against something - an invisible force field that protected us...? As I looked around, I saw Lay's crimson eyes, a focused look glazing over them. Luhan stood beside him, a hand on his shoulder as his eyes shone as well. With a flick of his hand, the debris moved towards a different direction, so they wouldn't bang against Lay's protective shield. 

"Wuah! It's working! Daebak!" Baekhyun shouted encouragingly, standing firmly behind D.O., a hand on his younger brother's back to support him and steady him against the rain and that blasted wind. 

"You're doing great, D.O.!" Suho said, his brow furrowing due to having to use his strength. 

"Suho, I don't think I can keep going," D.O. huffed with strain as his earth created a new dam to contain the water. 

"Yes, you can, I know you can!" Suho replied with confidence despite being obviously under a lot of strain himself. 

"Here, this might help for a bit," Xiumin stepped up, slowly freezing the newly constructed, earthly foundations by solidifying it with ice. 

"Argh!" Suho exclaimed, pushing forward to stop the water from overwhelming us and to make way for D.O.'s and Xiumin's constructions. The wind picked up and beat against him. It was him against nature, an unfair fight in my opinion, as I gnawed nervously on my bottom lip. Chanyeol stepped forward out of the blue and put his hands on Suho's shoulders. His hands were faintly glowing. I could only assume that he was trying to keep Suho warm. 

"Suho-hyung, let me help!" Tao then shot forward bravely, focusing on key points where he could tell that the water was too heavy for Suho to control by himself and froze it in time, so D.O. and Xiumin could work on fortifying their makeshift dam. Meanwhile, Chen would try to divert the lightning away from us as best as possible when it came too close. Despite all of them doing their best to control the water, a lot of it had spilled out through the forest. Any critter without wings were helplessly washed away with the water and it was painful to see them struggle. I wasn't the only one who thought so. 

"Luhan-ge! Don't let anything hit those animals!" Lay called out in distress as Luhan tried his best to comply. But between safeguarding animals or his brothers, Luhan prioritized the latter, which made it difficult for him to stay focused. 

"Yah, Kai!" Kris suddenly called, tapping the teen on the shoulder. "Follow my lead. We'll try to save as many as we can and put them on higher ground," he instructed and Kai nodded, his eyes flashing red before he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. I could only barely see swirls of black appear and disappear. Kai was teleporting those animals to safety and Kris went up to fly to do the same, except he had the wind to worry about. He fought hard to fly through it, but the harsh gale could not be reckoned with.

"Noona, sit down close to me. I have to help Kris-hyung," Sehun told me, gently letting me go when I complied, sinking to down as I watched the youngest of the pack blow Kris steadily forward while moving the wild winds towards a different direction. Honestly, even though the whole situation put the fear of God in me, seeing these twelve guys do their best to battle nature was astonishing. Amazing. But also very worrying. It wasn't that difficult to see that all of them were struggling. Could they keep this up until D.O. and Xiumin were done with the dam? The water from the lake was so strong, the rain only adding to the difficulty of keeping it under control. The wind was just as powerful, and me? I could only sit and watch. Useless...

"Woah! Hold on, Lay!" Luhan called out in warning and I gasped. Another wave of debris and water crashed against the protective shield Lay had put up, causing him to sink his heels into the dirt as if he was the one that was being pushed back. 

"Sorry, Lay!" Suho apologized, out of breath. Chanyeol was doing all he could to keep the leader on his two feet. "I'm trying..." The water rushed and spilled over the dam D.O. and Xiumin tried to create. Suho wouldn't be able to keep this up, none of them could. 

"Oh my God," I muttered to myself. What do I do? Do I run back to the house to call for help? What if help came too late? I can't leave them here, can I?! 

My eyes flashed towards Chanyeol who exclaimed when Suho's knees buckled, which caused a chain reaction for the others as well. 

"Jae-noona, get to higher ground!" Sehun told me and my body automatically complied, but I didn't move when I got back to my feet. I looked around me, feeling the world move in slow motion. I watched Suho fighting, watched how he was doing his best to give his all. Unfortunately, his energy and powers lacked compared to his determination. When I saw him, beaten up and exhausted, I moved forward. To be honest, it felt like I was gliding forward, as if my body floated through water to get to him. I gasped lightly as images of a strange past flashed before my eyes. 

I saw a younger version of Suho, feeling proud and strong when a voice appointed him to become a leader. I shook my head and stood next to Suho, whilst reaching out for his hand. I wasn't going to leave them. Time to put my so-called power to good use. 

The moment we touched, I felt every neuron in my body buzz with energy, unlike I had ever felt before. Was this what the boys felt when they connected with me? Had I been able to control it myself, this time? Did it matter right now? 

Suho had a look of stupefaction on his face as he looked at our touching hands, but when our eyes met, he nodded at me. We didn't need words to communicate. I looked at the water and held out my other hand. The waves did as I commanded and while Suho held back the water behind the dam, I was responsible for moving the flood of water that had escaped it back to the lake. To actually consciously control the rapid waters blew my mind, but I couldn't get excited over the thrilling sensation. I moved my hand as D.O.'s and Xiumin's dam solidified and perhaps it was my imagination, but the earth seemed to move on my command as well. The ice crystallized with ease and soon, most of the water of the lake was contained. 

The storm seemed to have calmed down somewhat as well, the wind blowing milder as though something had tamed it, while the rain no longer whipped against our skin. It drizzled from the sky, very much in the way big flakes of snow would float down. Everything around me seemed to buzz with energy. The world seemed stiller because of it, compared to the chaos from before. 

"Alright, just a bit more!" Suho yelled as D.O. and Xiumin nearly finished their construction. I would have loved to say that it was easier to combine my strength with that of Suho to control the water, but I could feel the fatigue and strain overwhelm me. I had never done anything like this before, and the way my power works- well, I guess I really was a batterypack the boys could tap into. 

"Okay, last bit! Everyone let go on my command!" Suho announced, while I gulped at seeing how high the wave of water loomed over the dam. Were Suho and I really holding all of that up? 

He waited patiently for D.O. and Xiumin to finish and once the dam seemed strong enough to contain all the water, Suho gave the signal. "Hana, dul, set! Let go!" 

You could literally feel the buzz in the air disappear like a punch in the gut, while at the same time it felt like heavy anvils had been lifted from my shoulders. The wall of water crashed down behind the dam, safely contained into the gigantic lake it was before. However, due to the impact of water being rather carelessly dumped, a considerably large amount of it still spilled over the dam, which rushed towards us without hesitation. The wave approached and neither of us were fast enough to respond. I closed my eyes and braced myself as the water slammed against us. I was pulled away by the current, losing contact with Suho, until I felt a pair of arms grab me before the wave decided to smash us against the side of the hill. 

So, that is what it feels like inside a freaking washing machine...ow...

We were a tangled mess of limbs and heavy, wet clothing, but at least we stopped a disaster from happening. That was something, right? The boys sputtered and let out groans of protest and pain as they got up from the ground, trying to catch their breath.

"Wah, that was way too close!" Tao squeaked, lying sprawled across a disgruntled Sehun. 

"Get off, you panda, you're too heavy!" the maknae complained, pushing against the lanky teen, who wouldn't budge, while Kai managed to laugh at his younger brother's misfortune, despite of looking beaten down himself. It was one of those rare moments when he seemed carefree enough to just show his emotions instead of hiding it behind a stoic mask. 

I found myself panting as well, half still in utter disbelief that this actually happened and that we actually survived, despite the odds not being in our favor. 

When I attempted to lean back on the ground, it dawned to me that I was resting my head against someone's chest, and my eyes widened. I felt the heat in my cheeks rise as I came to the realization that I was sitting between a pair of very long legs and it was only now that I noticed two large hands resting on my chest...! My jaw dropped in utter shock, while my mind tried to push away a certain memory from resurfacing. 

"Oh man, that was close. Are you okay, Jae?" the owner of the hands asked, seemingly completely unaware of the situation and position we were in. 

"You know, only because you got away with it the first time- doesn't mean that you get a free pass to touch them whenever, Kris!" I yelled, looking over my shoulder so that I could glare at him. 

Kris frowned at me at first, until he finally noticed where his hands were resting and his eyes widened to epic proportions. "AH! Omo, not again! Sorry! Sorry!" he exclaimed in shock, quickly moving away from me. He rolled off and jumped to his feet, groaning out of embarrassment. The sight of it was too hilarious not for me to laugh, and I just shook my head, too tired to be bothered by it anyway. 

I blinked when a tiny, white rabbit suddenly hopped between my legs and looked up expectantly at me. The poor thing was as soaked as we were and it seemed to be looking for shelter and warmth. It must've been one of the animals Kris and Kai had managed to save from the water. The bunny rabbit jumped when the thunder faintly rolled in the distance and I smiled. 

"Come here, little guy," I carefully scooped the animal up in my hands, amazed how a fluffy creature like that still felt so nice and warm despite of the cold and horridness of the weather. I wanted to drop myself back on the wet earth to rest for a bit, when I was suddenly enveloped in back-hug, someone wrapping his arms around me, pulling me closer to sit between the gap of his legs so I could lean against his chest and he could rest his head comfortably on my shoulder. 

I felt pleasantly warm and safe in the embrace, and oddly enough, absolutely energized and refreshed. There was no soreness left in my body, no fatigue to speak of. I didn't have to look behind me to see who was holding me. 

"Lay," I spoke quietly and I could sense him smiling. 

"I couldn't heal you before, Jae-yah. So I'm making up for it now," he simply replied, and I was more than happy to see that dimpled smile grace his face. 

"Yah, Lay-hyungie! What do you think you're doing with noona?" Chen whined, pointing an accusing finger at him. 

"I gave Jae-yah a healing hug. Why? Do you want one too?" Lay rose up as if he had accepted a challenge that Chen never provoked out of him. "Come here, Chen-Chen, my hugs are free you know!" he chased after a protesting Chen and I was utterly baffled at how easily the boys relaxed after such a huge ordeal. With the bunny still in my hands I laid flat on the wet ground, fluttering my eyes as it still drizzled down on me. 

My view was blocked by the silhouette of a person towering over me, looking over me. 

"Are you okay, Jae?" 

I propped my elbow up for support and smirked. "I should be asking you that question, Suho." 

The leader grinned shyly before sitting down next to me. He was still out of breath and looked like hell- but, him being who he was, he still looked damned good despite his wet and disheveled appearance. I knew I couldn't say the same thing about myself, but at the moment I honestly couldn't give a crap. 

Suho petted the rabbit with one finger when he noticed it and looked at me. "Weakest member, huh?" he suddenly started with a sarcastic scoff. "You sure about that?" 

"Inadequate leader, huh?" I replied in a similar fashion, surprising him. "You sure about that?" That earned me a chuckle and a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Jae," he said quietly. 

"I didn't do anything," I shrugged since I felt that was somewhat true. The boys did all the heavy lifting, after all.

"You're gonna play that game, seriously?" Suho asked skeptically, an eyebrow raised at me, condemning me. "Just accept it when a guy thanks you, huh?"

I chuckled. "You're welcome," I conceded, taking a deep breath. I looked at D.O.'s and Xiumin's handiwork, looked at the destruction that could have been, but was luckily prevented. "So, what now?" I wondered out loud, glancing at Suho.

"Rest," he answered quickly. "And then, we'll need to talk. We're in this together, so we'll figure it out," he stated and I agreed. That seemed like a good order to do things as well. I wasn't frightened anymore when the wind howled again, and the lightning flashed across the insanely dark sky. Perhaps we had only been lucky this time, but I have witnessed the great, amazing things the pack is able to do when we work together. 

I couldn't help thinking about that woman, and how even more determined I was now to confront her. With the steady beat of the rain tapping against my flushed skin, I was overcome by a strange sense of reassuring foreboding. 

Hm... 

Maybe...

Just maybe...

It wouldn't be so bad for me to wake up...

But - my heart clenched - ...how?