Angel was waiting for Suho to show up already because her parents were out of town and she was alone and kind of scared. Not that she thought her house was scary but her father had told her that her stalker was out of the jail, on parole, last night – so she would be extremely vigilant and not go off alone anywhere – and it had brought back all the memories from that terrible attack.

She could almost feel the tip of the knife tracing over her skin and for some reason, the long faded scar on her neck started to throb. She'd been too jumpy at the university and would've been totally paralyzed but for Lay, who made sure to stick with her until Suho came to pick her up.

He'd dropped her off at home, made her promise to lock all the doors and windows and not open them until he showed up and call him if she needed anything. So now, she was inside her room – after checking and rechecking all the locks and windows – and wondering if she should call to tell him she needed him to serve as her plushie while she squished the real one to death. Not that he stayed through the entire night – in fact, she usually woke to an empty bed but he made sure to leave a note, a flower or something sweet like that behind.

She sighed, cupping her chin. He'd spoiled her too much. Now she couldn't even sleep without him and they weren't even married yet. Yes, he'd hinted at it – usually as a reassurance to Marissa's glares and nosy enquiries about their relationship status – but still, almost being together and being together together were two different things.

She sighed again, staring at her phone, really tempted to send that message. He would show up immediately but she didn't want to disturb him – he'd been busy or he wouldn't have left her alone in the first place. When he was so nice and considerate of her, the least she could do was wait while he finished his work.

Knowing sleep would elude her until he came, she got out of bed and took out her diary. It contained most of her ideas, song lyrics and some small compositions. She started concentrating on this new song she had but it was hard to focus when she so desperately wanted to just be next to him. She started doodling, sketching his face instead.

The slope of his nose, the curve of his lips, the slight dimple that showed up whenever he smiled. She didn't realize when her eyes closed but the next time she opened them, it was to the steady plink plink on her window.

Joy sang through her and she jumped up, rushing towards the window. Then she stilled – he didn’t need to climb up because it would be only the two of them tonight and there was no need to be secretive. Smiling, she headed for the door. She didn't bother to text him as they usually did, wanting to give him a surprise.

She rushed downstairs, straight at the door and unlocked it, swinging it wide open. A heavy gust of wind blew, pushing her hair into her eyes and she smacked them away, eyes seeking his figure. He wasn't in the doorway, so she headed outside.

He must still be in the street, waiting for me to open the window, she thought, smiling to herself and hurried down the drive to get him. The gust of wind blew again, slamming the door shut but she ignored it, footsteps loud against the concrete as she almost ran to his side. 

The dark figure that stood in front of her house was unclear, a silhouette because of the dim streetlights but he turned soon as she stepped forward. Even through the dark, she could see the glimmer of his teeth as he grinned.

Something nagged the back of her mind – like she was missing something vital but her desire to see him upclose was stronger than caution and she hurried on heedlessly.

When she was within three feet, the warning rose again – louder, more intense – and she stopped. The figure didn't move but his smile grew larger and a flash of dull red appeared – or maybe she was just hallucinating, being paranoid because she'd been given the news about her stalker. This was Suho, for heavens…

No, she realized with a flash of fear, this is not Suho.

This was what her mind had been warning her against. There was no tug inside her, no pull, no innate sense of being connected to him, being near him – their link, the connection between them, was absent. Whoever he was, this was not Suho.

She gulped and stepped back.

'Baby…' Another tremble went through her because he sounded exactly like Suho. Then he moved and a sliver of light fell across his face, highlighting his features – his familiar, lovable features, eyes furrowed in worry. 'What's wrong?'

'N-' She began, heart jumping right into , the urge to flee so strong she could barely keep her ground. 'Nothing.'

'Aren't you going to hug me?' He pouted, a half-smile appearing on his face. Unconsciously, she shook her head, then mentally groaned. Her instincts were screaming that letting him know she knew he wasn't Suho was the worst thing she could do. Best to act like nothing was wrong, head back to the door and bolt it before he could enter; then, she would dash upstairs, bar the door with everything inside her room and call the real Suho for help.

She was very clear about the actions, yes. Now, if only her feet would cooperate…

'Angel…' Crap. He sounded so genuine, she questioned herself. After all, wasn't the link something she'd imagined? Sure she was a sappy romantic but could true love really forge a bond like that? The one she had with Suho? What if she was wrong???

She looked up at him in confusion. He smiled gently, opening his arms and inviting her to rush straight into them – just like she'd wanted to when she'd rushed downstairs. 'Come to me, baby.'

Hesistantly, she stepped forward.

And then, she felt the most amazing sensation she'd ever had – a tug against her heart, an overwhelming sense of fear and worry tinged with panic but most importantly, feelings not her own, poured inside her, accompanied by a mental voice, Angel, please be safe!!!

She took a step back, then another and another, feet suddenly springing into action. 'Angel?' He sounded confused, 'Where are you going?'

'You're not Suho.' She told him calmly, even though her heart felt like it would burst with fear. 'You're not Suho…' she repeated.

He stared at her a moment, then smirked. 'Figured that out pretty quick, doll.'

Before she could blink, he disappeared and reappeared right in front of her. He – whoever or whatever he was – had dropped his façade and she glimpsed a horribly distorted face underneath it but she didn't stop to investigate.

As he lashed out, trying to grab her, she turned and ran. She'd never been much of an athlete but she could've beat a track star, the way she sprinted.

Sadly, whatever it was, it did that thing again and suddenly, she was looking into dead, dull red gaze of her stalker as he attacked and latched onto her neck, pulling her into a choking hold. 'You're coming with me.' He hissed in her ear, drool dribbling against her skin and making her shudder.

She struggled to free herself but his grip was too strong and she felt her airway getting blocked; a couple of seconds later her head began to pound, sounds vanishing as dizziness overtook her.

'Su…ho…' she gasped out, fingers grappling with his chokehold.

All of a sudden, she felt something slim, slightly wet wrap around her waist and with a mightly tug, she was yanked out of his stranglehold. His nails dug into the skin of her neck, tearing it away but then, she was crushed into a familiar embrace, warm hands coming up to cup her cheeks as she gasped for breath.

'It's okay, I'm here.' Suho whispered and she collapsed. Her knees gave out completely and she completely collapsed, then. He didn't let her fall, though and softly set her down before stepping beside her.

'Don't look.' He told her gently. She nodded but he'd already moved away.

The sounds that followed would haunt her dreams forever, she was sure of it, the wild snarling nothing like the mild, sweet tones Suho used with her. It was like he was a crazed animal, a wild beast hell bent on tearing its prey to pieces. And whatever that prey was, it was in a terrible state, going by its pained screams.

Instinctively, she knew it was the same thing that had led Suho out of the country over the summer, the same thing that had landed Chen in his present condition, responsible for giving Suho his scars; it was the reason Suho rarely spent the night with her, always going off, doing something – he'd been looking for it, Angel was sure of it. How? Because that link, the true love's bond, wasn't a joke. She recalled the prophecy Kyra had given her, way back at the funfair.

There is darkness looming ahead… overpowering and sly, it will try to get to you when you're at your weakest… your link with your partner is strong…stronger than you think and it will use that to lead you to harm but it is also the only thing that will save you…

Well, it had come to pass hadn't it? This darkness had indeed used her affection for Suho to draw her out but it was also her link with Suho had brought him to save her.

She wasn't surprised when it started raining soon as Suho started fighting, nor that there was a ball of water gathering around her, drops refusing to fall on her. She'd always known – her dreams had shown her enough of it.

There were running steps in front of her just when Suho's snarls turned wilder and the screams got significantly louder.

'Burn.' Suho hissed and the sizzling sounds sounded like blood boiling inside body, literally. Or maybe, she was assuming that because of the screams. She closed her eyes, scared by the intensity of his anger.

This was not the Suho she knew – he was calm and collected, even when everyone else lost it. He was sweet and kind and this was not at all like him; he was too angry and his thoughts resounding inside her sounded more and more like bestial growls, tinged with flashes of murderous thoughts. Die bastard, you dare to touch her, I'll kill you!!!

'Suho…' she muttered in a small voice, hoping to bring him back. The steps slowed to a stop and a shadow fell across her. She glanced up, realizing when the person appeared blurred, that she was crying. She didn't need to see his face to know who he was though – she had a special bond with him as well, that of friendship.

'Stop him, please!' she begged.

Lay patted her head. 'I will, don't worry.'

…………………………….

Lay had been getting ready to leave for the coffee shop – it was late but Baekhyun had told him they were having an all-night party and that he had to show up because there was dance floor and someone needed to rock that.

Lay had agreed because he'd been in a great mood. His powers had been getting progressively stronger ever since he'd first managed to heal Raina's hands around a month back. She was still the only person he could heal completely – for whatever reason, his powers flowed naturally when he was with her but today, he'd managed to almost-completely heal a withered flower; only a few burnt edges had remained and it had put him in a great mood.

But soon as he'd stepped out, he'd felt that tug, accompanied by the nausea and roiling tummy he associated with Evil along with a vision. He didn't try to push it away and then, he saw Angel being attacked by Evil, just like he'd seen it before.

He immediately fumbled around, searching for his phone. Suho had left less than five minutes ago to meet with Angel – he was spending the night with her, exceptionally glad that it wasn't his turn to keep watch tonight. And from the intensity of the vision, whatever he'd seen was happening right now and Suho needed to get there ASAP.

'Angel's in trouble!' He yelled into the phone as he started running in the direction the tug kept pulling him.

Suho didn't reply, just hung up and Lay sped up, knowing he had to get there on time. He could completely annihilate Evil and after what he'd done to his family, Lay had no mercy in his heart. Good thing his powers were back too.

When he reached the lane that led to Angel's house, the fight had already begun. Suho had Evil – who'd taken over Angel's stalker's body, apparently – in a vice hold, using water whips. Something he hadn't seen in a long while – Suho mainly used his powers to deal with the aftermath of Chanyeol's fire, provide water to dry lands or as had been recently the case, to vent off excess power in form of rain.

The whips, long ropes of water twisted like a screw and flowing at such high speeds that touching it would cut and cut deep, were wrapped around the Evil's vessel, holding his legs and arms apart. Blood was oozing out sluggishly from the cuts, indicating the guy had been in Evil's clutches for some time now and most likely, dead from the inside but that didn't seem to matter to Suho, who was attacking Evil relentlessly.

Maybe his power was too strong or the pain too much to bear but Evil hadn't abandoned the body yet – probably the latter; it hadn't given him the chance to gather his wits to even attempt an escape.

As he started running towards the duo, Suho's hiss reached his ears. 'Burn.' Steam suddenly clouded around the captive as he screamed and screamed in pain. Another one they hadn't seen since the initial war had ended – making the water inside the body boil – according to Temple Elders, one of the most painful tortures a Legend could bestow. Suho really had lost his , hadn't he?

Angel was crouched on the road, head down and eyes closed – trying to distance herself from the situation. Instinctively, Lay knew she didn’t want to see Suho like this, didn't want to witness this sort of cruelty – for a gentle creature like her, this sort of thing would be unaccpetable even if it could be justified.

'Stop him, please.' she pleaded soon as he stepped in front of her.

'I will, don't worry.'

He crossed her and dashed at Suho, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him back from physically tearing the guy apart – he'd just lunged with every intention to color the road with Evil's blood. Suho struggled in his arms and growled – Lay's instincts demanded that he yield to the alpha but he was the healer too and it was a healer's previlige to veto alpha's orders. He shook his head and bared his own teeth, growling. At the same time, he dug his fingers into Suho's sides and forced as much healing energy as he could out of himself.

It moved sluggishly, barely making it out him but it was still enough to calm Suho down, enough to stop the boiling torture, to pull back the whips. The body slumped on the ground, flopping around like a dead fish as darkess poured out of its orfices – Evil, once again abandoning his vessel.

He sighed because that meant he couldn't kill him now but at least Suho was calmer now.

He was still wild, his eyes red and teeth bared in an almost permanent growl but when he looked at Lay, it was with a recognition that went beyond bestial. 'Let me go.' He spat, yanking himself out of his hold.

'Why did you stop me?' He demanded, dragging a rough hand through his hair. Lay nodded over his shoulder. 'Because you need to think of her before you do anything like this.'

Suho's glance landed on Angel's hunched form and his eyes immediately softened, the scowl vanishing. He sighed, rubbing his face. 'Yeah.'

Lay nodded again. 'I'll handle this, you go on.'

Nodding his head, Suho headed towards her. Lay just hoped he would retain enough sense and not do anything rash because his eyes hadn't returned to normal and there was a fluidity to his movements that only came out once the beast took control. The beast would need reassurance that its mate was indeed alright and its ways might be a little… intense.

But the way Suho crouched in front of her, extending his hand to softly tuck her hair behind her ear and pulling her into a gentle hug reassured him. Satisfied, he turned to deal with the dead body.  

……………………………….

A/N

YAY! Early update :D Well, it IS Lay's birthday and I can't just skip on that, right? Also, alpha Suho is hot AF and I really, really wanted to post this chapter sooner. I tried to turn it a bit creepy so it'll have more of an impact so I hope you guys get the chills - or something. Anyway, do comment and let me know what you guys think, okay?

And check out my other stories if you get the time or motivation or a sudden urge to read crack or see Baekhyun being a dramatically hot vampire or see EXO dressed up in old-fashioned clothes, speaking with accents and going to balls and smoking pipes.. okay, so maybe not the last one but the rest, okay? The links are as follows (I updated, yay!): 

Chen/Lay/OC - Inaccurate Historical!au -  Yours to Choose: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1020576/yours-to-choose-romance-chen-lay-exoxoc

Baekhyun/OC Vampire!au - Bite Me: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1023237/bite-me-fantasy-fluff-romance-vampire-exo-baekhyun-baekhyunxoc

I'll see you guys later, hopefully soon. Ciao.