Before Sehun can begin his next sentence or allow Kris to intervene, Kyungsoo stands up and slaps both palms on the lunch table to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone get their lunch and then meet back here as soon as possible. Sorry Anna, but this excludes you."

"Seriously g-" Iridessa begins.

"Dess," Kris interrupts sternly, "no."

"That is such bull and you know it!" throwing her hands up into the air.

"Hey Dess, it's okay. I was going to eat lunch and then go meet up with the student council. I'll be fine." the girl dismisses with a wave of the hand.

   The dryad throws out an irritated ugh! and crosses her hands over her arms. Anna was kind enough to show maturity but she wasn't blind to notice the discourage in her face. Irritated, she meets Kris' strong gaze and stares back, challenging him. He hunches his shoulders forward and she can just tell that he is wanting to let out another growl. She rolls her eyes in response, annoyed with his rudeness.

"Everyone get lunch that hasn't and meet back here." Kris reaffirms.

"Why don't you order them to not let me have any friends at all while you're at it!" she adds, just as loud.

"Dess," he says after over half the table leaves, "you know why we can't allow it."

"I think it's a stupid reason!"

"Dess, as soon as we tell her the life she once had will be different. She will be put in danger everytime something happens." Baekhyun reasoned, which wow, Baekhyun reasoning?

"She's known about me since I've discovered what I can do and she always been just fine!" Iridessa argues.

"That's different! What us as a pack does is more dangerous than what just you does." Kris responds.

"I am going to disregard your demeaning superiority-complex and focus on the real problem at hand." she spits.

"And what's the real problem, Dess?" He says venomously.

"That she loved me before any of you cared about me."

   Kris goes to responds and ends up snapping his mouth shut. When he tries to continue he just ends up closing his mouth again. The pack members that are already at the table look away knowing that the argument is getting deep.

"She calmed me when I was controlling my abilities. She was the first one at the hospital with me when I was in labor, not you. She was there for me years before you were and you won't even let her in pack meetings. Or tell her what you are. Jesus Christ, she already knows the supernatural exists!" 

"Don't guilt trip me. You knew why I couldn't be at the hospital sooner! I was there right with you through your entire pregnancy!" Kris barks.

"Guys, this is getting too personal." Yixing calmly says from his seat.

"All you did was complain while I was going through my pregnancy with the twins! She has the most years of loyalty given to me! She deserves to know!"

"It's not that simple, Iridessa!" he abruptly sits back down, slamming his arms onto the tabletop. 

   The other boys jump from being so startled. Kris never calls Dess by her full name unless it's bad. Small tears start to well in her eyes. Her good day she was hoping for was swirling down the drain. 

"Why not?" she pouts.

   The rest of the pack by then returns with their food. They remain quiet as the argument trailed on, mutely eating their food and daring not to interrupt any further. They know what kind of argument this is, they see the alpha and dryad have it often. The one where nobody wins. 

"For hundreds of years humans have been the most valued in clans. They have no way to properly defend themselves and that hurts the strength of a pack. Humans don't understand the bond we have, and they will never be able to feel it like we do."

"You're calling her weak? You know that I'm human too! I feel the closeness and intimacy of us, you can't use that!"

"No Dess," he sighs, "you're different. You are human too but only slightly. You can protect yourself, she can't. Even you being a dryad still makes us worried. Why do you think I tried sending Sehun out to get you this morning? A human is too precious to lose in a pack, we would feel more despair in our soul rather than it happening to one of us."

"But-"

"And not to mention we consider the twins pack. That's a lot on our conscious."

   Dess sighs. She thinks of her boys and it makes her miss them. She pulls out her phone to see if she has received any messages from Ms. Kim. The pack stares at her in sorrow.

"I couldn't bear losing them." admits Suho, shaking his head.

"Guys, we need to talk about the real reason why we're here." Luhan says softly.

"Luhan is right. Let's start." Kris agrees.

"Fine," Dess surrenders, "As I was driving to school this morning I saw a group of kinds standing on the side of the road near the service alley of the water department. It was like they were all shocked, that's what made me pull over. I made them leave and then when nobody was around I executed a short-term solution."

"What? How?"  Xiumin asks.

"Easy. Ambrosia artemisiifolia." She grins.

"Brosha artem-what?" he returns.

"Speak a language we understand Dess." Kris snorts.

"Ambrosia artemisiifolia. The common ragweed. It's an invasive species here and over twenty years ago it was used in a scientific phytoremediation study to remove heavy metals from the soil. It can draw out toxic substances and absorb it."

   The group stares at her as if she grew a second head. She sighs.

"To dumb it down for you puppies, I made one grow and it the black tar in. Now it just looks like a dying plant."

   Murmurs of oh! and why didn't you just say that? are uttered around the table and she rolls her eyes again. She's seriously contemplating if it's a new record.

"Okay great, so situation controlled." Tao shrugs.

"No, you idiot, not situation controlled." Chanyeol mocks. "Whatever it is tried breaking into the water facility. Didn't Dess say that stuff was toxic?"

"Geez, lighten up." Tao mutters.

"Hold on," Kyungsoo intercedes, "why would it be in the forest if the plan was to poison the water supply? The forest is on the outskirts of town and the facility is in the next neighborhood "

"I agree with 'Soo. We're missing something here." Chen says right before shoving his mouth with his noodles.

"If this thing is planning an attack we need to find a pattern." Kris hums, fingers against his chin.

"How about a map?" Kai suggests.

"How is that-"

"No wait, I think he's onto something Kris." Dess cuts off.

   She stands up abruptly with a rumble from her stomach. The dryad jogs to the nearest vending machine and buys a quick snack and drink to avoid waiting in the lunch lines. She comes up with an idea by the time she sits back down.

"Do you have any maps of the town? Detailed?" she asks the alpha.

"Of course."

"Great so let's act like we're on a crime fighting show. Whenever they are tracking down something bad and trying to figure out where they are next-"

"They get a map and mark the places they've been!" Chen exclaims.

"Exactly! We mark down where it was spotted at what time. If we don't end up catching it soon, maybe we can find out where it's staying." Dess finishes.

   Chen lets out a hoorah with a fist pump before standing from his seat to lean over and high-five Iridessa. Everyone else around the table looks at their leader for confirmation and is met with a curt nod. The alpha then clears his throat to signify that the meeting isn't over yet to the two standing. They sit back down and give each other a quick smile.

"Since you're coming to my place tonight Dess, why don't we look at the map then?" Kris suggests.

   Iridessa's cheeks flush red and Kris pointedly looks down at his food, realizing what he said. Chanyeol's ooo is combined with Tao ironically wolf-whistling and Dess looks down to avoid them seeing her cheeks grow even redder. Out of the corner of her eye she watches Suho lean over the vacant seat next to him to punch Tao in the shoulder. He yelps and looks at Kris as if he was a child telling on Suho. The leader sighs.

"Guys," Kris starts, clearly at the end of his rope, "her and I talked about it this morning-"

"Oh, I bet you did." Tao sneers and Suho punches him. Again.

"-and we decided due to human safety her and the twins will be staying with me and some of you will stay the night at her mom's for protection."

"Why not just have them stay at my place since my mom watches them?" Suho questions.

   The table goes silent and the alpha sputters.

"Well...I..Uh...It's not practical to have them stay the night at the same place day after day. That makes them easier to track if this thing comes after them so I think the boys should only be at your house during the day."

"You just said 'staying with me' as if it was meant until further notice." Yixing quotes with raised eyebrows.

"Well it doesn't," Kris snaps, "so this afternoon Sehun is going with Dess to work and afterwards Chanyeol and Xiumin will meet us at my house. Suho will transport the boys back and forth and he will stay at his place with his parents and Yixing. Tao, Kai, and Kyungsoo will stay at Dess' house with her mom. The rest of you are on stand-by."

"Baekhyun, Chen, Luhan? Can you keep company with Anna or at least stay in contact with her?" Dess begs.

"Sure." they say in unison.

"Hey, it's Friday. So what's the weekend plans?" Sehun pipes up.

"Dudes we have been so uptight lately, why don't we have a small get-together at my place? Like a cookout or something." Chanyeol inputs.

"I was actually going to ask if you can help me fix the nursery." Dess says meekly.

"Then it's settled," Kris decides, "we help fix the wall Saturday morning and then afterwards we have a party at Chanyeol's. Invite Anna and we can have the twins there to make sure everyone with us is safe for the day."

   Everyone nods or utters statements of agreement right before the bell rings. They each rise from their spot and walk to the closest garbage can to dump their trash. The wolves that were put into pairings split off and talk about what they are gonna do for the night. Chen asks Dess if he can bring his game system for them to play in her room at night. She approves and as soon as she is about to approach Kris to ask what she should make for dinner, he huffs in her direction and then glares. After doing a one-eighty degree turn he heads out of the cafeteria. Iridessa frowns and heads to her class alone.

 

~~~

 

"A party?" Anna questions.

"Yeah, kind of. You'll come won't you?"

   Anna and Dess were whispering to each other in their environmental science class while everyone was watching a nature documentary dedicated to the fragile biome of the rainforest. Well correction; not everyone. The teacher fell asleep ten minutes after it started and the students didn't care to wake the administrator. Some kids were texting, a few were actually doing the assigned worksheet (that Dess already finished two minutes in, Anna copied), and some were sleeping along with the teacher as well.

"I mean, of course. Are you sure they will want me there?"

   Iridessa feels guilt settle into her heart. She doesn't quite know what to say to make the situation better. Dess believes that Anna deserves to know, and even though Kris is an utter , she doesn't want to disobey an alpha order. She's not a wolf, she knows that she didn't have to be accepted into the pack and it is a risk for them, she just doesn't want to admit it. If she disobeyed an alpha in her own pack things could get bad. This is more serious than wolf tantrums, attitudes, and dented lockers.

   Yet the girl sitting next to her is unlike anyone she has ever met. No woman has ever been so loyal, so friendly, so true like Anna. It feels like tug of war using the dryad's heartstrings; disobey the alpha and break pact order or possibly lose the best friendship she's ever had. Sometimes she believes her life has been jipped with all the heartaches of an absent father, her twins' absent father, and her emotionless mother. When will it stop? Will the cycle ever end?

"They do. Trust me, they do. Things are just...strained right now." she says sadly, knowing she can't give out any more information.

   Her best friend sighs.

"Strained with the boys or strained with Kris?"

   Iridessa turns red and it's comical enough for Anna to cheer up and chuckle. She elbows her once, then twice for good measure, and points at the dryad with her pen.

"You are in it deep, girl."

"In what?" She ploys innocently. 

   Her best friend gives a knowing look and she pouts.

"Even if I am, I'm not. I can't. I already had my chance and it's gone. I'm a single mother with twins. Nobody wants me, not when I come with an extra-full package.

"Your chance with Kris or your chance with...him? Dess those are two different kinds of chances. The other didn't work out, and that's okay. You guys were from two different worlds."

   Way more different than you would believe Iridessa thinks. She still holds a lot of self-hatred for being so careless. But how could she regret what gave her life's most precious love? Her children?

"And Kris?" Anna continues, "He adores the boys. He genuinely loves them and would do anything for those two. I think you're too busy stopping yourself from reaching happiness. Like you think you don't deserve it. You do, Dess."

"I can't Anna. They boys come first. I can't be running around on dates when I have kids to raise, and...and-" a town to protect, she keeps to herself.

   Anna insists to argue once more, and Dess waves her hand in front of her dismissively.

"Please say that you'll come? I want to have the best weekend at the best hangout with my best friend." Iridessa pleads.

"Fine."

   Anna then turns away to grab her completed assignment. While she walks to the teacher's desk Dess can't help but let her mind succumb to the stress. She knows protecting her and the pack is one of the most important decisions she has ever made, so why did it feel so wrong? Everytime she knows her best friend is upset, because of her, a pit in her stomach grows. Anna was there through it all, they even were bullied together at one point. They were even made fun of together for being mixed, asian and white. They went through grades together, heartbreaks, you name it. Why can't they just be pack together?

 

~~~

 

"Is your boss going to be okay with this?" Sehun asks.

   Dess jumps, shutting her locker door to reveal his face. The teenager grunts, becoming really tired of sneaky wolves.

"Sorry." he adds, showing his hands in surrender.

"Lucky for us, he's on vacation this week."

"Greenhouse owners make enough money to go on vacation?"

"He's not going out of the country. Just to the countryside in a cabin."

"Wow, and I thought you were the tree hugger."

   Dess scoffs and rolls her eyes. Without a word, she grabs her backpack off the ground and her work uniform needed for the day. Sehun follows her closely as she walks through the long hallway.

  The dryad rolls her shoulders in effort to finally relax. Everything else may be up in the air but at least she doesn't have to commit eight hours of her time to assignments and bullies until the following Monday. She pulls out her phone once more as she receives a test from Ms. Kim, giving her an update on how the day went with the boys. Not paying attention, again, she's startled as a bunch of football players turn the corner and nearly stampedes them.

"Hey! Watch it!" Sehun yells, only for it not to be heard.

   He grabs her hand to ensure that they won't be separated as they weave around tall egos and broad shoulders. The football team is too busy laughing and cheering to notice or care. Iridessa squeezes the wolf's hand much tighter, knowing that she will never know that feeling. The anticipation of the homecoming game, dress shopping with her friends for the dance that follows, being so carefree; those were never meant for her life. She stopped being a kid years ago, maturing when she ended up having two of her own. There is no way she could ever be untroubled as a normal high school student, not with having the knowledge that magic exists. Sehun notices her change in attitude and takes the hand that was holding hers to wrap around her side.

"You okay?" he asks, opening the front double doors for her to walk through.

"Yeah. By the way, we need to stop at my mom's first, I want to do a quick check in. And then after work we need to go to the grocery store to get food to make for dinner. I'm not exactly sure what to make."

"Sure, whatever you need Dess."

   It's peacefully quiet as the two of them walk to her car, he rode with Luhan earlier this morning so he didn't have to worry about a vehicle of his own. Sehun notices Dess worriedly peaks through the window of the driver side backseat, as if she was expecting to see someone there lying in wait. Remembering what she told him the morning he makes sure to get in the car swiftly. Dessa starts the car and asks the wolf if there was a genre of music he preferred they listen to. He absentmindedly tells her that he doesn't care and while he clicks his seatbelt in he does a quick scan of the parking lot. The dryad freely sings to the track that is flowing through the speakers and rolls down both windows slightly, permitting a nice airflow. A couple blocks away from the school Sehun can't stop glancing out of the side mirror, waiting to see any hint of a suspicious vehicle. His phone vibrates, and if it weren't for his wolf ability to be graceful Dess is sure he would have jumped. He quickly glances at the phone before putting it away.

 

From: Kris

I'm trusting you to keep an eye on her.

 

   Sehun understands what he means. The alpha must have heard what Iridessa confessed at lunch, and he's surprised that the leader didn't act so...abrasively as he normally does. Sehun concludes that maybe Kris wants to verify that it's actually happening. With what's going on right now due to the tar problem he knows that they should remain focused.

"Kris, I'm guessing?" Dess says smugly from the driver's seat.

"Yep." popping the 'p'.

"He does that constantly whenever I'm with one of you guys. It's like he has to keep tabs on me at all times."

"He just wants to make sure you're safe."

"I know." she sighs.

   Eventually they pull up to her mother's driveway and Sehun offers to stay in the car as a watchdog. Dess calls him dramatic and walks to the front door. Unlocking it, she steps inside.

"Mom?" she calls out.

    She approaches her mother in the hallway. She's in front of the twins room, door open, staring at the nursery. Dess follows her stare and sees that plastic has been put over the large hole in the wall where the window use to be. Meaning that the plants angled themselves far enough away from the house, directed towards the sunlight.

"You went out of the house to buy plastic?" she gasps.

"We are in desperate times, Iridessa."

"I'm sorry, Mom. This was my fault. I was careless."

"What you're careless about is being in that pack of his." she retorts with distaste in her tone.

"Pardon me?"

"Out of all the culture lessons I have been taught by our elders, I have never seen a dryad in a pack. It's not normal."

"Not normal? Mom, we aren't normal."

"You are so blinded that you don't realize what you are doing."

"I'm the one so blinded? You are too scared to walk out the front door!" Dessa snaps.

"Dryads are peaceful beings!" her mother raises her voice. "We must preserve our race!"

"What are you talking about, Mom?" Dess yells.

"Dryads do not harm! Dryads do not cause violence! We are suppose to help others! Be resilient, and healing!"

"I help them protect people!"

"Being in a pack will get you killed. The twins will be killed. They are creatures of war!"

"Well these creatures of war are sending some of themselves here to stay the night to protect you! To help you and keep you safe!"

   Ms. Kwon can hardly oppose before Dess continues.

"I'm going to stay the night with Kris, you better allow them in or so help me you will never see my face back in here again. Because that pack is more family than you are."

   Iridessa stomps her way into her bedroom in true teenager fashion to grab clothes. Unsure of where she will be staying after, she packs a bag of extras for her and the boys. Her mother remains in the hallway watching. The younger dryad passes by her, slinging the bag over her shoulder.

"Oh I forgot. My creatures of war will be over tomorrow morning to fix the nursery."

   When she opens the front door to leave Tao, Kai, and Kyungsoo are at the door. Sadness is all but written across their faces. She knows that they heard the argument.

"Fridge should be stocked. My bedroom is open and there should be extra pillows and blankets under the bed. I'm sorry about all this."

   The three reassure her that everything will be okay and gives her tight hugs before she gets back into her car. Sehun waves at them from the passenger seat. 

"You know, she's kind of right." he says.

"No she's not, she's just-"

"Dess, werewolves have been in countless wars over the past few centuries. Whether it was to protect the world or just to claim territory over other clans. Not once was I taught that dryads fought along with us. Or at all."

"You're not helping Sehunnie."

"Sorry."

 

~~~

 

"So who's the shift leader today?"

"The schedule said Dahee. But she's always late."

   Iridessa had already changed into her work uniform and was is front of the greenhouse in the store section watering plants. She would do a once-over and determine approximately how much the plant would need. Sehun found it incredibly interesting.

"I honestly think she won't care if you're here. Like what's the worst you could do, steal a fern?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

   A teenager walks into the store and Iridessa takes her place behind the register. Sehun decided to check out the shelves lined with packaged seeds. He noticed that there weren't only flowers, but vegetables as well that one could buy. He then wonders if Dess buys her own veggies or just grows them on her own. He'll ask one day.

"Hey there." the stranger says smoothly.

"Hi, how can I help you today?" Dess replies in her high-pitched customer service voice, making Sehun snort.

"Yeah, I'm from the next town over and I've been to every arboretum and greenhouse except here. My mom told me to pick up an order but didn't tell me where."

"Oh, why don't you ask her?"

"She's out of town for the weekend, won't pick up as usual."

"Oh okay. Well if you give me what name it's under I'll let you know if it's here."

"Thanks darlin'."

   Sehun's eye twitches. The kid looks sixteen at the most, is he seriously trying to hit on her? Sehun watches them exchange order details and Dess confirms that the order was placed over the phone through here. She turns away and heads into the back to grab the flowers ordered and the kid watches her, staring at her...assets. Oh good grief the wolf thinks. This isn't going to end well.

   Dess walks back holding the potted plants and the dude has the audacity to cat-call her.

"You're fine from the front and the back. What did you say your name was again?" the kid flirts.

"O-kay, that's enough!" Sehun marches over.

   Iridessa turns from looking annoyed to embarrassed, because she knows things are about to get ugly.

"Sehun-" she starts.

   But it's too late, Sehun pushes the kid with a little wolf force. The teen slides several feet back, nearly knocking down a display.

"What the , dude?"

"Back. Off." Sehun snarls.

   Iridessa has to set down the potted plants on the counter and run to Sehun, pulling his shoulders back. Wolves are incredibly territorial, especially when it comes to humans in their pack. It's not that Sehun is in love with her, but he does love her. As pack. It's a different kind of dynamic. Nobody is allowed to bother Dess. Plus if Kris scented an unfamiliar man on Dess he would flip his lid. Pack members, wolves included, aren't supposed to smell like anyone outside their pack. Sehun really doesn't want to go through that.

"I am so sorry," Dess apologizes to the teen, "here. Take your order and please go."

"What, is this guy your boyfriend or something?"

"No, no, no! He's not my boyfriend! He's just...he's...-"

"Her brother. Her big, scary brother. Now get out." Sehun orders, pointing towards the exit.

   The boy turns around and heads out of the store holding the plants,muttering under his breath. Dess can't hear him but she know Sehun can. The wolf growls low in his throat and heads towards the door until Dess orders him to stay.

"But he's a creep!"

"So help me Sehun, if that guy calls corporate and complains I'm going to tell Kris you tried leaving me alone at work."

"You wouldn't." Sehun gasps.

"I totally would. And you know what kind of control freak he is."

"Who's a control freak? And who was that guy?" Dahee walks in the door, her thumb pointing behind her.

   Iridessa groans, she decides she has to be the most unluckiest person on earth.

"Hi, I'm Sehun." he cuts off the shift leader, bowing.

   Thankfully the topic changes and Dess goes back to work. A hour passes after and Sehun is in the back room with them, feeling bored out of his mind. Dahee excuses herself for the bathroom and the wolf asks Dess if there's anything he could do. She says no, and goes back to analyzing their inventory, checkboard in hand. Sehun groans and slides down the wall he was leaning against until he's sitting on the floor. Dahee comes back shortly and he hears the dryad ask her if she knew where an abundance of cedar and pine trees would be located close by. The shift leader shakes her head no, and before she can ask why a little bell rings from the front of the building. Dahee exits the back and heads to the store area to greet the new customer.

"Why do you want to know where certain trees are?" Sehun asks.

"Cedar and pine branches are what's used in making arrows. I lose way too many and I don't have the money to keep buying more. Plus the ones I save have to be purified in rainwater afterwards and that takes time."

"Why don't you just ask Kris or Suho? They got money."

"How dumb would it look, a dryad asking someone for wooden arrows? They'd never let me live it down."

"What about Anna?"

"She only knows that it's a hobby for me, not that I chase monsters with it. She'd grow suspicious on how much I would ask for."

"Good point."

 

~~~

 

"Dess, pull over!" Sehun exclaims.

   Iridessa yelps in surprise and squeals the car into the grass (there's no sidewalk or parking space) slamming on the breaks. Work just ended ten minutes ago and they were on the way to the grocery store to pick up dinner.

"What? What's wrong? What did you see?" Dess cries out, looking around.

"Isn't that a pine tree?" Sehun answers, staring out his window.

   Dess has the audacity to yell at him for scaring her so badly. In a world full of magical creatures and monsters, it wouldn't be the first time she had to pull over to face one. He points his finger at a tall tree fifty feet away from them and looks back to show a wide grin. Dess does a scan top to bottom and slugs his shoulder.

"It is, nice job Sehun."

   The sun is starting to set, turning the sky into a canvas of watercolors. Hues of pink, orange, and red are blended together to present a beautiful scenery against the greens and browns of the trees. Sehun takes a picture of the gorgeous display of colors laid out in front of him, planning to post it on social media later. Dead center is Dess with her back turned, staring up at the large pine.

"Wow." he says to himself.

"These branches will do. They look thick enough for how long they are." Dess calls out.

"That's what she said." Sehun mocks.

   Dess looks over her shoulder, eyebrows raised, Really? written across her face. She then turns back and reaches out her arm, and a tree branch bends at her will. The creaking and sudden splintering of the wood actually makes the wolf jump. The branch flawlessly snaps off and falls into the palm of her hand. She then walks to the other side of the tree, spots another branch with the right dimensions and does the same motion again. Catching that one as well, she then walks a complete circle around the base of the trunk.

"I think that's all I can get from this one." she says aloud, mainly to herself.

"How long does it take to make an arrow?"

"A lot longer than you would think." Dess replies, looking deeper into the forest to see if there were more applicable trees.

   The dryad lets out an A-ha and waves to Sehun to follow her deeper into the lush greenery. Several more yards away is another tree, younger and more lively appearing. Some of the branches are even short enough for Dess to jump up and reach. Iridessa is admiring the leaves on a certain branch when Sehun hears a sound in the forest to their right. He snaps his head to that direction and tries to focus on hearing more. He quickly glances at Dess from the corner of his eye and notices her bending another branch; she must not have heard.

   Not wanting to scare the girl, he keeps quiet and closes the distance between them while walking backwards, scanning the treeline. Iridessa breaks a branch off and Sehun wonders if whoever is out there will come closer after hearing it. His phone vibrates a couple seconds later and he actually yelps from the sudden feeling against his leg.

"Uh, you alright 'Hunnie?" Dess asks, giving him a concerned look.

"Uh, yeah. Somebody texted me, that's all."

"Five bucks says it's Kris." she jokes.

   She's right.

 

From: Kris

Where are you guys? Why aren't you here yet?

 

   An affirmative look from Sehun makes Dess roll her eyes, but he sees her smile as well. She quickly spots another branch and collects it before telling the wolf that she's ready to go. They walk out of the forest back to the car and head off down the road.

"Dess, somebody is calling you I think." Sehun says as they're two blocks away from the store.

"Hmm? Check it, who is it?"

"Chanyeol, I guess you have a missed call from Suho too."

"Ah, I bet the twins are at the Wu's then."

   Dess says no more so Sehun doesn't answer it. Less than a minute later the phone vibrates sharply, notifying a text message.

"It's Chanyeol again. He's freaking out." Sehun says.

 

From: Channie

Dudes, where are you??? The twins are here and I recant my statement about ever becoming a father!

From: Channie

How do you do this?!?!?! We need reinforcements stat!

From: Channie

Why aren't you answering, are you guys okay??????

 

    Iridessa pulls into the parking lot of the local market and gives Sehun the go-ahead to answer so they don't start searching for them. She drives slowly up and down through each lane trying to find a parking spot, partially surprised with how full it is.

"Well it is a Friday night."

"True."

 

To: Channie

It's called grocery shopping to feed you mongrels c:  -Sehun

To: Kris the Gigantor

We're fine. What do you want for dinner? -Sehun

 

   Sehun then hands the phone back to Dess as they get out of the vehicle and head inside. 

 

~~~

 

"Alright, here are some maps I found in my dad's study." Kris says.

   He's carrying several rolled up papers tied with cord and drops them onto the coffee table that Iridessa, Sehun, and Chanyeol were sitting around. Everyone has already been fed and River and Phoenix were asleep in their playpens in Kris' bedroom. Dess has been texting Anna back and forth since she finished making dinner earlier and she's relieved to see that nothing has happened. Suho and Yixing are are standing in the entry way from the kitchen into living room, suggesting that they will head back to the Kim's place after they glance through the sheets with them.

"My dad will lose his if we ruin these, they look old." he warns, untying and unrolling the large maps.

"How about we use pencils then?" Chanyeol suggests, already reaching for his backpack.

"Okay, so there is the forest which means my house is right...there." Dess points, Chanyeol following with an 'x'.

"And there's the water department facility, it's even labeled." Sehun chimes in with Chanyeol following up with his pencil.

"Alright, these two locations are pretty far apart. Is there anything in common around them?" Kris asks, causing Suho and Lay to join them at the low rising table.

   With Kris and Chanyeol's long legs it's pretty cramped. Everyone's knees are touching and Iridessa's shoulders are smashed between Kris and Lay, with Chanyeol's feet against hers under the tabletop. For a full minute they each sit in silence, scanning the map to find anything that maybe sticking out.

"I don't really see anything." Sehun finally gives.

"The only thing maybe worth mentioning is there's a really small clearing here," Kris points, "-north of the spot in the forest where we first saw it."

"What is that- a couple hundred yards away?" Suho questions.

"Well we didn't go farther than where we were at, it was too much for me." Dess says disappointedly.

"It's alright Dessy, health is most important." Lay nudges her with a warm smile.

"It is, but I think we should go and take a look. We can't be too sure. Dess will stay behind." Kris says with his hand wrapped around his chin, full of thought.

"What? No, I'm coming with!" Dess insists.

"No you're not, look what happened last time!" Kris barks.

"No one is better at tracking than me! And I know my way around my forest!" Dess continues.

"Do you know if there's anything in the clearing?" Chanyeol inquires.

"No not that I know of. It's difficult to get to it though. There's no path back there and there's a lot of shrubs and foliage. Bushes with thorns too."

   Sehun's nose almost upturns at the thought.

"What if there's poisonous plants or something? I think she should come with."  Suho inputs.

   Before Kris can put up a worthy argument the other pack members join Iridessa and he's left with no choice but to give in. They decide to do it tomorrow afternoon when Chanyeol's party/cook-out is finished.

"Alright, it's settled then. We're going to head out." Suho says through a yawn.

   Everyone gives each other hugs before the two of them leave. Kris then orders everybody to start getting ready for bed and offers the dryad his bedroom since the twins were already asleep in there. Dess wants to ask if we will sleep next to her, she really does and the king-sized bed should be enough room, but she doesn't. She holds back, as always. It wouldn't be awkward for one of them to be curled up to her, it's a pack thing, but still. With how Kris keeps glancing at her from time to time after she walks around the house, showering, brushing her teeth, saying goodnight to the others, she can't help but wonder. She lays down in his bed, that smells like him, and her heart sinks. She let's out one small tear before the twins' steady breathing lull her to sleep.

 

~~~

 

"Hey." says a gruff voice.

   Iridessa groans. She doesn't want to know how late it is and expresses that by yanking the pillow over her head.

"Can I sleep in here with you guys?"

   Only then she can tell that it's Kris. Her mind finally syncs up with her body and she flails around, half-awake, trying to get out from under the covers. The lights are still off and she faintly sees moonlight peaking through the window. The moonlight outlines Kris' tall figure as he's leaning up against his own doorway nervously. Her heart jumps to and she doesn't know what to say, so she just reaches her arms out towards him. He reveals a bright shining grin, the moonlight reflecting off his perfect teeth, and embraces her. He crawls in close and full-on hugs her nice and tight and sighs into her hair. The dryad wonders if she could possibly be dreaming.

"I touched base with everyone. We're all good so far." he says softly, directly leaning into her ear, his lips brushing.

"Good." she croaks, because it's the only thing she can get out.

   When her heart rate slows and she comes down from glee she comfortably passes out in his arms. It's the best sleep she's had in weeks.