A/N: Hoho, just one or two chapters remaining!

Jeongmin crouched low, blending in the shadows of the alley. He threw his nose up in the air, sniffing for a trace of Hyunseong’s scent, but to no avail. The boys had split into two groups; Donghyun and Minwoo patrolled the outskirts of the town while the twins and he searched the city for Hyunseong. It has been an hour since they had begun their mission but still no trace of the missing man.

“Jeongmin hyung.” Jeongmin spun around as the twins emerged from a smaller alley. “There’s nothing back here.”

Running a frustrated hand over his face, Jeongmin suppressed a growl. He stepped out of the shadows, the pale moonlight enhancing the silvers of his eyes.

“Let’s get moving then,” he grunted and promptly scaled the wall of a building in front of him. The twins threw each other nervous glances before following Jeongmin’s steps. They were equally worried for Jeongmin as they were for Hyunseong. Never had they seen the older boy, who was usually all sunshine and laughter, as agitated as he was tonight.

Jeongmin started leaping from roof to roof, escaping the safety of the shadows. Witnesses be damned. He did not have an ounce of care for them at the moment. He whipped his head left and right, searching every dark alleys from above for signs of Hyunseong. Memories of their first meeting suddenly flashed through his mind. Jeongmin had arrived at the village Bateau D'étoile two months after leaving home. He was thrown out by his parents after it was discovered that he was a wolf. It wasn’t a choice really, not like he wanted to be a wolf. Rather, Jeongmin was the only wolf in the pack that was made. He was bitten by a crazed wolf while out exploring the forest. Just two days later, he burst out of his skin and into a wolf’s when he laid eyes on a full moon.

‘Leave immediately. You are an abomination; a monster!’ His father’s words still rang clearly in his head. With nothing but the clothes on his back and a few spare golds, Jeongmin began bouncing from village to village. Each time the villagers would welcome his human self with open arms but once they find out the inevitable truth about his other half, they chased him out. Classic mob style; with pitch forks and all. He still remembered stumbling into Bateau D'étoile at night, barely suppressing his impulse to morph. It was at the moment when he had collapsed onto the dirt, gritting his teeth against the pain, that he had met Hyunseong. The older boy had laid a gentle hand upon his shoulder, causing Jeongmin to flinch in both surprise and pain. He looked up and saw Hyunseong’s empathetic and knowing eyes. He out immediately; his memory was completely blank from that moment.

‘Kid, are you okay?’ A gentle yet strong voice jarred him awake. The first sight that greeted him after his fainting was that of the beta Donghyun, though he didn’t know yet. Next to Donghyun was Hyunseong, who had dragged his unconscious wolf form back to their den. They started explaining to him that suppressing his wolf was a bad idea; it would cause the animal to become more and more agitated and angry. That was how werewolves become crazed; they lose the fight with their internal beasts.

‘You’re welcomed to train with us here. We’re wolves like you,’  Donghyun had offered. Upon hearing those words, Jeongmin began lashing out. He absolutely refused to accept that he was a monster and will not associate himself with similar creatures.

Jeongmin suddenly stopped on top of an unfinished building. The memories of the past became too painful for him to remember.  He kicked at an innocent plank of wood, willing the images to leave his mind but they continued to bombard him.

‘Yes, you’re a werewolf now Jeongmin but that does not make you a monster’ Hyunseong had comforted him in the midst of his rage. ‘Human beings are just as capable of acting like a monster. It’s not what your body is, Jeongmin, but what you do with it that determines who you are.’ He broke down upon hearing those words, all the frustrations and sadness over his situation overpowering him. Hyunseong silently wrapped an arm around his trembling body, allowing the boy to release his pent up feelings. From then on, Jeongmin had sworn to himself to not let the world bring him down again. He viewed the world differently now. He will wake up and end the day with a smile on his face, never letting negative feelings to take over him again.

Jeongmin shook his head roughly, dispersing the last of his impromptu flashback. Several feet behind him, he heard soft thuds, signalling the twins’ landing. He purposely kept his back turned while he regained control of his emotions.

Kwangmin shuffled closer carefully. “Hyung, really,” he started. “Are you okay?”

Jeongmin tilted his head to face his younger brothers and threw them a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to find Hyunseong hyung as soon as possible.”

Youngmin stepped forward. He opened his mouth, ready to try and comfort the older boy but Jeongmin quickly intercepted his attempt. “Well let’s get going then!” Jeongmin chirped. “We don’t want Donghyun hyung to scold us again, do we?”

Ignoring the twins’ concerned stares, he approached the edge of the building. Jeongmin bent his knees, preparing to jump across the short gap to the adjacent building. The sudden wind that blew across his face caused him to halt his movements. Carried with the wind was the metallic scent of blood and….Hyunseong.

“I caught Hyunseong hyung’s scent!” Jeongmin exclaimed, straightening his form. “But where is it coming from?”

Youngmin and Kwangmin tilted their heads back, sniffing the air for traces of the scent. Kwangmin pondered for a while before speaking. “It arrived with the wind, didn’t it? Then that must’ve meant that he’s somewhere north of us since the wind blew south.”

“North?” Jeongmin muttered. He spun to his right, facing the northern direction. The tallest building in the city caught his eyes and everything seemed clear now.

“Hyunseong hyung is at the Corée Tower!” Jeongmin suddenly remembered that the tower was Hyunseong’s favorite spot; he would always go there to clear his mind or think. The werewolf slapped his forehead over his own stupidity. How could that fact had escaped him?? They have wasted an hour searching aimlessly.

Without waiting for the twins’ reaction, Jeongmin leaped down from the building to the street below and began running towards the tower. He darted pass startled pedestrians and reached the tower, ready to climb it when two pairs of arms suddenly pulled him back. Jeongmin began trashing about, enraged that someone dared to interfere.

“Hyung, will you calm down?!” Youngmin hissed in his ear. “You can’t just scale the tower like an animal. There are a lot of people in this part of the town that will report us.”

Jeongmin stopped flailing but was still angry. He glared at them until they released him and with a huff, he entered the lobby of the tower to take the elevator like a human. He bounced on his feet restlessly as they waited to ascend 45 floors. The elevator finally stopped with a ping and the three wolves rushed out. The smell of blood was overwhelming as soon as they stepped foot on the roof top. Jeongmin scanned the vast area when his eyes landed on a crumpled form near the ventilation unit.

“Hyunseong hyung!” Jeongmin shouted as he ran to where the man lay. He skidded to a stop on his knees, hands automatically pressing on Hyunseong’s neck, searching, praying for a pulse.

“Call Donghyun hyung and tell him we’ve found Hyunseong hyung!”

Abiding by his order, Kwangmin pulled out a mobile phone from his pocket and began dialing the familiar numbers while Youngmin kneeled on the other side of Hyunseong, silently assessing his injuries.

Jeongmin let out a breath in relief upon feeling the steady thuds beneath his fingertips. His hands moved downwards to clutch his shoulders.

“Hyunseong hyung, can you hear me?” he murmured, gently shaking him. “Hyung, please wake up.” Carefully, Jeongmin slipped his arm under Hyunseong's neck to cradle his head.

Youngmin began ripping the edges of his own shirt and used it as a makeshift bandage to wrap around Hyunseong’s bleeding bicep. His eyes drifted downwards and saw the injuries on his chest. His eyes widened in surprise.

“Jeongmin hyung, look,” Youngmin gasped. “It looked like--claw marks on his chest!”

Jeongmin’s eyes narrowed at the sight. It indeed were claw marks on Hyunseong’s chest. What could have attacked Hyunseong to leave such a mark? Unwilling to waste anymore precious time, he abandoned the thought and focused instead on the man he was cradling in his arms.

“Hyunseong hyung, wake up,” he tried again, patting his face lightly. Much to his relief, a groan was emitted from Hyunseong. Slowly, his eyes cracked open. Jeongmin’s smile greeted him.

“You’re going to be okay, hyung. We’ll take you home now.”

Turning to Kwangmin, Jeongmin asked, “What did Donghyun hyung say?”

Kwangmin slipped his phone back into his pocket and shrugged out of his long coat to cover Hyunseong’s shivering body. “He just told us to bring Hyunseong hyung back. He’s currently searching for a sorcerer.”

Jeongmin nodded. With the help of Youngmin, he slowly stood up while holding the injured man. Both of them supported Hyunseong’s weight by his arms as they began trudging back towards the elevator. Hyunseong’s painful groans were the only sounds heard throughout their journey back home.

Youngmin and Kwangmin studied Hyunseong’s resting form from afar. They had managed to wrapped up all of his external injuries and they seemed to have stopped bleeding. All except for the peculiar claw marks on his chest; they were still oozing blood. Youngmin wanted to stitch him up but they were out of alcohol to sterilize the equipments, so he could only stick a gauze on him, in hopes that the werewolf’s speedy recovery would take effect. It has been 30 minutes since they’ve arrived home, and more than an hour since they’ve found him, but the wound was still bleeding. Youngmin was truly scared at this point.

He pulled Kwangmin silently to exit the living room, away from Jeongmin who was sitting at the foot of Hyunseong’s bed. Kwangmin allowed himself to be dragged albeit somewhat reluctantly.

“What are you doing?” he asked suspiciously as they entered the spacious dining room. Youngmin began pacing back and forth while wringing his hands in front of him.

Kwangmin’s eyebrows rose at the obvious sign of his nervousness. “Youngmin?”

Youngmin sighed heavily and stopped his movements. “How can you be so relaxed?” he voiced out. “Hyunseong hyung’s wound won’t stop bleeding and it’s driving me crazy thinking about it!”

Kwangmin’s eyebrows rose higher on his forehead, disappearing beneath his blonde fringe. “It won’t? But--werewolves heal fast.”

“I know, that’s why I’m so worried! I’ve changed his bandages at least 5 times now and he might have bled through the current one as we’re speaking.”

Youngmin pulled out a chair and collapsed on it tiredly. Kwangmin mirrored his twin’s action, sitting next to him on the velvet chair.

After a few moments of silence, Kwangmin spoke up. “The only creature that can inflict such a wound on us is--”

“Witches,” Youngmin completed. Feeling of dread befell upon them. They were frightened, confused and everything in between. In their whole 19 years of life, never have they had their lives threatened in such a way. Youngmin and Kwangmin lived somewhat a sheltered life. They were raised by the whole pack and showered with love and affection. Having twins was a rare occasion for a wolf so their pack was fiercely protective of them. No outsiders dared to mess with the twins.

Although their lives had been comfortable and filled with love, Youngmin and Kwangmin still felt something was amiss. It was when they reached the age of 15 and were still babied by the pack that they came to a decision; leave the old pack and start a new one. The twins wanted to be independent because they knew that they cannot rely on the adults all the time and if they don’t start learning to live now, they never will. Their parents tearfully agreed to let them go, under the condition that they will contact them every week and if things go wrong, they will return to the pack.

So at the tender age of 15, Jo Youngmin and Jo Kwangmin ventured out of the safety of their pack for the first time. It didn’t take them long to find a new one. They unknowingly stumbled into the territory of a new pack and received threats from the young leader. Youngmin and Kwangmin wanted to join the pack but the leader was skeptical. The beta wolf, a young man with white hair that matches his pale skin, stepped up and urged the alpha to give them a chance. The twins then showcased their abilities; Youngmin’s skills in treating injuries and Kwangmin’s enhanced senses that can detect small animals from a mile away. With a nod that signalled his consent, the twins were accepted into the pack and their story began anew.

Kwangmin rose from his chair when he detected the sound of the front gates being opened followed by the familiar scents of Donghyun and Minwoo reaching his nose.

“Donghyun hyung is back,” he informed his twin. Youngmin stood on his feet and together they made their way back into the living room, ready to face him.

However, the twins were not prepared to see their furious leader marching into room, followed behind by a tearful Minwoo. Donghyun immediately went to Hyunseong’s bedside and kneeled next to him. His mismatched eyes raked over his form, scanning the various injuries he had sustained.

“How is he?” he asked gruffly. Jeongmin lowered his gaze to the floor before answering, “He just regained consciousness but there doesn’t seem to be any serious injuries.”

Kwangmin pulled Youngmin to stand closer to the foursome. “Um hyung,” he started. “I thought you said you were going to find a sorcerer?”

He nearly squeaked when Donghyun’s blazing eyes focused on him. “I tried, Kwangmin, but for some reason those idiots were all too afraid to help us,” he spat through gritted teeth.

Hyunseong suddenly coughed, his body bending forwards from the force. Jeongmin hurriedly reached for a glass of water but Hyunseong shook his head.

“She--she gave me something,” he croaked out. Raising a shaky hand, Hyunseong opened his fist to reveal a crumpled piece of paper.

With a frown, Donghyun took the paper and smoothen the wrinkles out. The rest of the boys leaned over his shoulders to read the words inside.

I’ll be waiting at rooftop

Donghyun snarled. This person was purposely toying with them. He threw the paper to the ground and focused his attention to the man still coughing on the bed.

“Who wrote this Hyunseong?” he demanded. “Who did this to you?”

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Hyunseong opened his mouth.

“It was Masie.”