It was a dark night; the sky was a blanket of black, the moon hidden by the clouds. Not a soul dare to venture out into the darkness less they wish to encounter the creatures that prowl the night. A lone figure was perched on top of a building, hidden by the shadows. He was perched dangerously at the edge, sharp eyes focusing on the ground before him. His white hair ruffled against the breeze as he stepped fully on to the roof and walked to where a mysterious dark liquid gathered. He crouched down and extended a pale hand to examine it. Bringing it up to his nose, he growled as the scent invaded his senses.

Wolf blood.

Sharp teeth glistened in the dark as thoughts of revenge overtook his mind. Anyone foolish enough to harm his pack will die. He straightened up and without hesitation, leaped off the roof.

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The creature, named Donghyun, was a werewolf. Half man, half wolf. He was chosen as the Alpha, after the demise of their leader Hyung Soo. It was a devastating news to all of them. How could their brave and strong leader succumb to a witch attack? The pack grieved but at the same time, had to prepare to leave their residence. It was no longer safe; the murderous witch had known too much. Thus, Donghyun made the decision to relocate his pack consisting of 5 males to a new, faraway city where the citizens were unaware of their existence.

It was three in the morning when Donghyun made it back to their house. He was relieved to find that none of the boys waited up for him. He didn’t want to worry them over the recent murder cases. Walking into his room, he loosened his coat and threw it carelessly onto a desk chair. Much to his shock, a voice groaned out in pain. Donghyun quickly the lights. Perched on his chair, was No Minwoo, the youngest of the pack.

“Yah, what do you think you’re doing in my room?” the leader questioned.

Minwoo flashed him a sheepish smile. “I was waiting for you. I got worried when you didn’t come back at midnight.”

Donghyun felt the tension left his body and smiled softly at the boy. “You don’t have to worry anymore; I’m home now. You can head to bed.”

The younger boy didn’t budge from his seat, instead he began clutching the coat tightly. “Hyung, I know something happened and you're keeping it from us," he murmured. Donghyun remained silent, much to Minwoo’s frustration. “Please hyung, you have to tell us too! We’re a pack, remember?”

The older man’s face was set in a tight line. He turned away from the boy to stare into the moonless sky. “Tomorrow, once we all have had rest, I will call for a meeting.” Minwoo felt fear run down his spine at the sight of their grim leader. Something very dangerous was lurking, he was sure of it.

Donghyun tilted his head at the silence from the boy. “You can go to bed now, Minwoo,” he spoke softly to reassure him.

“Ne, hyung.” Obediently, Minwoo put down the green coat and retreated to his own room.

As his door shut with a quite click, Donghyun released a heavy sigh. How was he going to break the news to the innocent boys that their species were being hunted? He stayed rooted at the same spot until the sky turned pink and the sun rose.

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Hyunseong, second oldest of the pack, was the first to awaken. He went to the toilet first to freshen up before heading to the kitchen, leaving behind the deeply slumbering twins in the same room. Hyunseong started rummaging through the refrigerator, looking for ingredients to start breakfast. Believe it or not, werewolves still enjoyed human food amidst their fresh meat diet. Deciding for waffles, he began gathering the necessary ingredients.

The waffles were cooking when Youngmin stumbled into the kitchen bleary-eyed. Behind him, his identical twin followed suit, looking all but awake. Hyunseong had to chuckle at the sight.

“Yah, before you can eat, you have to wash your face first,” the older man warned. The twins groaned.

“But hyung,” Kwangmin whined, “Jeongmin hyung used our toilet and you know how long he’ll stay in there.”

“And we’re really hungry,” Youngmin added. Hyunseong rolled his eyes, but had to agree with their point. Jeongmin did tend to hog the toilet in the mornings.

The twins grinned in delight when they were handed plates of freshly cooked waffles. As they began eating, Jeongmin joined them with a typical smile, greeting them cheerfully. Minwoo woke ten minutes later at the loud sound of Jeongmin’s voice and Donghyun was the last to join them in the kitchen.

They were quite taken aback at the guarded expression of their leader and Minwoo’s worried face. Donghyun, noticing the sudden quietness, spoke up quickly and as normal as possible. “Can you pass me the waffles, Hyunseong? And Youngmin, don’t hog all the syrup again.”

Youngmin blushed in embarrassment while Hyunseong happily handed over the waffles. Their happy chatters resumed once again. Once the food has been eaten and all the plates have been washed, the boys went to the living room to lounge about. They looked up when Donghyun strode into the room, his eyes hard and piercing. The boys immediately straightened up as the alpha’s aura radiate over them.

Donghyun cleared his throat and began talking. “Guys, I have serious news to inform you. Remember those strings of murder cases lately?”

 

“Yeah, there were about seven victims now.” Jeongmin answered. “Why, hyung?”

“Those victims weren’t just normal humans. They were magical creatures; they were wolves.” Donghyun paused. “We are being hunted.”

The twins gasped in fear, while the rest looked puzzled.

“But hyung, the creatures live in peace here. We have brought no harm whatsoever to the humans,” Minwoo voiced out.

“I know, Minwoo, I’m confused too. Why would a human, seemingly unaware of our existence, hunt us?” Donghyun answered honestly.

There was a pregnant pause before Hyunseong spoke suddenly. “Perhaps, hyung, the witch who murdered Hyung Soo hyung followed us here.”

“It can’t be!” Kwangmin protested. “Witches are not allowed to leave their village of origin. She would be burned at the stake first before she could find us.”

Donghyun’s eyes widened, as a sudden realization struck him. “Maybe she’s not a witch after all. Maybe she’s just a normal human.”

 

“A human that can kill werewolves?” Jeongmin asked skeptically.

“That’s not impossible, Jeongmin. With proper training, humans have the potential to harm us.”

Silence befell the room again. The boys felt scared, enraged and everything in between. “We have to be extra careful from now,” Donghyun warned. “No one can leave the house at night unaccompanied and without informing me beforehand.”

Five heads nodded in unison. A careless mistake might cost them their lives.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hyung!”

Donghyun’s book almost flew out of his hands when Minwoo came barging in through his door. He sent the boy a stern glance, to which Minwoo replied with an innocent smile.

“We’re out of meat,” Minwoo said. Donghyun rolled his eyes before returning back to his copy of ‘How To Be A Human Being’.

“Does that sound like a reason to barge into my room like your tail is on fire, No Minwoo?” he reprimanded the boy. “Go buy some, then.”

Minwoo shuffled on his feet nervously. “But hyung, Masie just came over and invited me to the library. I thought maybe I could do some research there. The rest went out to stretch in the woods.”

Donghyun glanced up at Minwoo’s serious expression. He sighed and dog-eared his book. “Fine then. I’ll get the meat. Just don’t make your ‘research’ so obvious and remember,” he ordered, staring at Minwoo's eyes. “always be aware of your surroundings and be home before dark.”

Minwoo nodded and gave him a brief hug before going to meet a girl waiting for him by the front door. Donghyun changed into a casual, ‘human’ clothes and placed a pair of sunglasses over his eyes to cover his white and brown irises.

10 minutes of walking and Donghyun had arrived at the local butcher shop. “15 kilograms of beef, please,” he ordered. The butcher, having had the boys as his customers for two years now, was unfazed by the order.

While waiting, Donghyun began looking around the store idly, when his eyes landed onto a newspaper behind the counter. The image on the front unsettled him.

“Sir, can I see the newspaper for a while?”

The man handed it to him without hesitations. Donghyun felt his blood turn cold at the headline. A corpse with BF mark discovered and red riding hood was also spotted at scene of crime. He studied the picture of the crime scene closely. Beneath the plastic covering the body, he could make out strands of familiar brown hair and tips of tan fingers. He nearly morphed right there and then.

Bora

Ignoring the outraged protests of the butcher, Donghyun ran out of the shop. The safety of his boys was the only thing in his mind. Their family has been murdered and the killer was fast approaching them.

To be continued