Liminal: Part 2
Pairing: EXO x Female Reader
Genre: Witch!AU, Mystery AU
Word Count: 4.2k
Warnings: Some strong language
Summary: Magic. Murder. Mystery. You don’t know when this became your life, but your choice in the matter is long gone. Someone is after you, someone is killing witches, and when a coven approaches you and tells you you’re one of them? You’re sure they’re crazy. What’s so magical about a girl stuck working at a greenhouse?
Previous Chapter
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The words that just left Kyungsoo’s mouth have you sitting in stunned disbelief. You? You’re in danger? A part of you has to stop yourself from laughing at how dumb that sounds. Why would anyone want you dead? You aren’t important, and you certainly haven’t done anything to piss anyone off, so why would someone want to hurt you?
There’s only one logical explanation. Kyungsoo and his friends are crazy. That’s it.
“Right…” you slowly say before you gesture towards Kyungsoo. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of the car now.”
“I’m serious,” he says, refusing to move.
“Seriously messed up,” you can’t help but mutter, causing the man on the other side of you to laugh. You side-eye him for a minute - wondering who these people even are - before looking back at Kyungsoo. “Look, I’m sure you believe what you’re saying is true, for some reason, but it’s not. I mean, why would I be in danger?”
He looks at you like you’re stupid. “I’m sorry. Do you have selective memory? Have you managed to forget the last ten minutes?”
You meet Kyungsoo’s stare for a moment and then tear your gaze away from him. Have you forgotten the people that were just following you? No, but you would certainly like to. You’d love to move on and pretend that everything that has just happened is a wild dream, but you know that isn’t possible. Deep down, you know a part of what Kyungsoo is saying has merit, but you’d rather continue to live in denial.
“Just tell her the truth.”
The man in the passenger seat looks at your unknown seatmate with furrowed brows and asks, “In the car?”
Following his gaze, you look at the man next to you. His response is to shrug his shoulders like he couldn’t care less if they tell you whatever it is they want to in the car. Taking in his aloof expression for a few seconds, you then turn to look at the two men in the front of the car - who seem to be having their own silent conversation - if the head tilts and eyebrow raises tell you anything.
With a sigh, you turn to face Kyungsoo and try to process everything. Should you stay and hear them out or demand he move and let you out of the vehicle? If those people really are after you… you need to know why, but then again, this could all be a giant lie. A prank even, who knows.
Kyungsoo must notice the lost look on your face because his expression softens. “Just hear us out. Then, you can run away and think we’re crazy.”
You take a moment to answer before quietly asking, “Us?”
Kyungsoo nods to the two men up front. “These are my friends Junmyeon and Jongdae, and behind you is Sehun.”
Your eyes follow his hand as he points out each man. Junmyeon offers you a kind smile from the driver’s seat while Jongdae sends you a wave. Sehun nods his head at you before looking back out the window. You’re not entirely sure if he’s watching for those people to come back or avoiding looking at you.
“Will you go somewhere with us?”
Your head snaps back toward Kyungsoo as alarm bells start blaring in your brain. They already have you trapped in the middle seat of their car. Now, they want to take you someplace else? Why? So, they can dispose of your body when they’re done with it?
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at you, probably seeing the exact path your mind is taking.
“We’re not kidnapping you, Y/N. You’re free to leave whenever you want to, but it’d be pretty stupid if you left before hearing what we have to say.”
You give him a hard stare as you debate what you should do. Kyungsoo has never given you creepy vibes before, but that doesn’t mean you know him well enough to say he’s not a weirdo. Then again, if they’re so sure you’re in danger, then you want to know what they know and why they think that.
“Okay. I’ll go with you,” you tell them, already thinking of ways to attack if necessary. If they have ulterior motives, there’s no way in hell you’re going down without a fight.
Kyungsoo looks relieved as he nods at Junmyeon to go ahead. Junmyeon looks at you, making sure that you’re positive about your decision, before turning around in the driver’s seat and putting the vehicle in drive.
The ride is silent as they drive you out of the city. Your heart is beating wildly in your chest the further you go, and you wonder if you’re doing the right thing. Those people from earlier were definitely following you, and it’s not the first time you’ve felt like someone was. Maybe there’s value to what Kyungsoo is saying.
Then again, what does he have to do with anything? Why was he even there tonight, and how does he know someone is after you? The questions are continuing to pile up. You just hope that you’re finally going to get answers when you arrive wherever it is they’re taking you.
Another twenty minutes pass, and you notice you’re now officially in the middle of nowhere. Fields surround each side of the vehicle, only to be broken up by sporadic bunches of trees. The full moon is high in the sky, offering the only source of illumination outside of the headlights of the car.
A dark shape begins to grow as you travel further down the road. You squint your eyes like it’ll make your eyesight better, but quickly give up when it does nothing besides give you a headache. Junmyeon begins to slow down when you get closer to the structure, and you can finally see that it’s a giant, wooden pole barn. Horror movies you’ve seen in the past quickly poke at your mind, but you try to shut them out. You’re already freaked out. You don’t need help to make it any worse.
Junmyeon pulls onto the gravel drive and heads straight up to the barn. When he parks the car, all four men throw open their doors and get out, but you remain seated, or more accurately, you remain glued to the seat because you’re too afraid to get out.
You’re an idiot. You’re an idiot, and you never should’ve come with strangers to a barn in the middle of freaking nowhere, at night no less!
Kyungsoo leans back down to look at you in the backseat. “You’re not coming out of there, are you?”
“I am most certainly not going into that barn,” you indicate towards the giant, ominous building with your head.
Kyungsoo looks at the barn for a moment, then looks back at you and shrugs his shoulders. “Alright. Then, let’s talk out here.”
You narrow your eyes, trying to see if he’s playing any games. His companions stay off to the side – wisely giving you your space – and you think about your next move.
You’re already out here, and it’s not like refusing to get out of the vehicle is going to stop them if they really plan on hurting you. There are four of them, and they could easily subdue you if need be. If you’re out of the car, you at least have a small chance of running away.
“For fuck sakes, Y/N. We’re not going to kidnap you. We’re not going to hurt you. We literally just want to talk to you without prying eyes,” Kyungsoo raises his voice in frustration as he moves away from the door.
“Fine! Fine.” You take a deep breath and scooch to the end of the seat. “I’ll get out of the car.”
A relieved look crosses Kyungsoo’s face once you tell him you’ll get out, and it makes your curiosity grow that much more. Why is this so important to him? Why do any of them care if you listen to what they say or not?
Placing your hand on the armrest of the door, you push yourself off the seat and stand up. You carefully eye each man until you’re satisfied they’re not going to ambush you or something. Then, you glance at the land around you.
Empty fields stretch out for as far as you can see, only to be broken up by lines of trees every so often. Your eyes adjust to the moonlight, and when you look up at the giant barn, it appears just the tiniest bit less terrifying. You still have zero plans of going in there, though.
“So, what’s so secretive and important that you had to drive me all the way out here to tell me?”
A look of hesitancy crosses Kyungsoo’s face like he didn’t think he’d actually get this far, and now he doesn’t know what to say. He looks back toward his friends for assistance, but all they do is stare at him and offer zero help. You see Kyungsoo roll his eyes, and the moment slightly softens your fear. They barely even know what the heck is going on.
“We brought you here because…” he pauses to carefully think over his next words. “We’re the ones who made that storm.”
You meet his stare for a long, quiet moment as you take in what he’s saying. They made the storm. They made the storm… The storm back in town with the weird-ass lightning, freak wind, and painful rain? Do they expect you to believe that they’re the ones who did that?
A laugh starts to bubble from your lips, and it soon turns into you loudly laughing and slapping your hand over your mouth when you see the looks on their faces. You can see the irritation and embarrassment clearly as they watch you attempt to not laugh at their claim. They’re crazy. They must be – or else you were right in one of your earlier guesses, and this is a prank.
“Right… You made a storm. Okay,” you sarcastically say as you try to wipe the smile off your face in case they actually are crazy. “Great joke, guys. Although, I don’t know why you had to drive all the way out here to tell it.”
Kyungsoo’s expression falls flat. “I’m not joking.”
You keep your face blank as you go along with whatever this is. “Then, prove it.”
From Kyungsoo’s side, you see the man named Sehun raise his right arm. All he does is twirl his fingers in the air, and a soft wind picks up. You’re unimpressed, assuming that he knew there would be wind, or maybe there’s been wind all along, and you just haven’t been paying attention.
The wind grows stronger with each passing second, and soon your hair is whipping into your face, but you don’t get long to think about it. A streak of lightning flashes across the sky, and you look up to see lightning arcs brightening up the sky and everything around you. You look down at the men to see which one is claiming to do it, but when you see Jongdae staring carefully up at the sky with his fist balled up at his side, trepidation starts within you.
When Junmyeon steps forward and begins moving his hands in a weird motion, you watch him carefully. He meets your stare as little raindrops begin to splash around you. You assume it’s a fluke, but then you see Junmyeon twist his hand harshly, and a sudden downpour starts. Miraculously though, you’re completely dry. It’s like the rain is avoiding you, and you notice avoiding the other men as well, but slamming against everything else.
Suddenly, it all stops almost as soon as it started, and you look at each man, noticing their odd hand movements have stopped. They each look at you as they wait for you to say something, but you don’t know what the heck to say. You can barely understand what’s even happening.
You clear your throat, trying to find your voice. “Freak storm. That’s what that was.”
Sehun scoffs at you while the other two either shake their head or look elsewhere. Kyungsoo carefully meets your stare, like he can’t believe you don’t believe they’re the ones who just did that before sighing.
You watch as he puts his hands out in front of himself, and then you feel something moving under your feet. You look down at the ground to see what you’re stepping on, but all you see is the earth shaking below you. Grabbing onto the vehicle behind you for balance, your eyes flash up to Kyungsoo, but his are still focused on the ground.
The tremors grow nearly violent before they suddenly stop, and he looks up at you, waiting for you to deny it now. How could you, though? Did you even get earthquakes here? You’ve never felt one, so it couldn’t be a normal occurrence. Also, how would it start and stop in perfect tune with Kyungsoo? Could they be telling the truth? Were they capable of doing such things?
Finally, logic clicks into place, chasing away the absurd claims. Of course, they couldn’t. This had to be the result of a streak of lightning hitting the ground close by or something, or maybe you did have an earthquake, and you have just been ignorant to them in the past. Yeah, one of those explains it.
Movement by the barn catches your attention, and you see a man that you hadn’t noticed leaning against the barn door begin to walk toward you. Before you can say anything or even ask who he is, he throws his arm out towards you, and a giant wall of fire erupts off to your side.
You shriek as you move away from the massive inferno and watch it with wide eyes. Over the roar of the fire, you hear one of the men – Junmyeon, you think – say the name Chanyeol in exasperation, but your eyes stay glued to the orange and yellow flames licking the air next to you. Ignoring their voices, you try to make sense of the ten-foot wall of fire staying perfectly in place, but absolutely no explanation comes to mind. This broke the laws of physics. It isn’t possible, yet you’re witnessing it with your own eyes.
Fear begins to prickle at your skin as you try to figure out what this means. How are they able to have control over the elements like this? Your brain scrambles to find a logical explanation, but it fails miserably. All you can do is stare at the wall of flames next to you until it dies down and eventually disappears.
It’s silent as they wait for you to say something, but your eyes are still glued to the spot where the fire was. The ground is charred in a perfect line following the path of the fire, and any chance you had at denying it happened is gone as well.
Slowly, you look at the group of men who patiently wait for your response. Each face holds a different expression: cockiness, indifference, anxiousness, worry, and acceptance. You blink a couple of times before your eyes seek out Kyungsoo. The only one you knew before all of this, and the only one you had even an inkling of trust in.
He looks at you with pity as he lets you process everything that’s happening and waits to speak until he feels like it’s the right time.
“We can do things like this because we’re witches.”
Feeling shellshocked from the myriad of weather you just experienced, you feel the weight of his words, but your brain is struggling to keep up.
Witches. They’re claiming to be witches. You’d laugh, but you didn’t have the energy. Instead, you meekly ask, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re one too.”
It’s silent for a moment as they wait for your response, but his words finally break through the spell that was weaved on you, and you scoff. “Yeah, right. I’m not a witch.”
All you want to do is laugh in disbelief at the ridiculousness of it all. You didn’t believe in things like that. Sure, you just witnessed something odd and unexplainable, and if they want to be witches that’s fine, but you’re not a witch. You’re a normal human being without an ounce of magical powers.
“If you would just – “
“No,” you loudly interrupt Kyungsoo. “You’re wrong or delusional, I don’t know which, but I’m not what you’re claiming I am. I don’t have magic. I can’t do the things you guys are claiming you can do, and it was clearly a mistake for me to come out here with you.”
As Kyungsoo opens his mouth to argue with you, all you want to do is escape. Unfortunately, your only ride was thanks to them, and you have no other vehicle here, so you do the next best thing.
You turn away from them and run down the gravel driveway toward the road. You hear a couple of them shouting after you, but that only pushes you harder to escape. You don’t want to be near them. You don’t want to hear any other crazy shit they have to say.
The only thing you need is to get away from these weirdos. You don’t care in the slightest if you’re in the middle of nowhere or if you have to run through some empty fields at night. If it gets you away from them and closer to safety, then you’re all about it.
Putting a little more power in your step, you try not to slip on any stones as you run, and you feel relief when the gravel drive finally meets the paved blacktop of the road. It becomes easier to run, and your worry of slipping and busting your ass on the ground slims.
You can’t tell how long you run for. It feels like hours, but it’s probably only minutes. Running never was your strong suit, so you’re impressed you’ve gone this far without slowing down. Although, that may have more to do with the fear of being caught than anything else.
The sound of a motor catches your attention, and you look around to see headlights coming up behind you, back from where the barn is. You don’t slow down as the vehicle approaches. You even go as far as to avoid looking at the driver as they slow down to your pace and drive alongside you. You assume it’s one of those crazy “witches”. However, the voice that greets you doesn’t sound familiar at all.
Curiosity gets the better of you, and you glance over to see a strange male. He looks to be around your age, and he watches you with kind and worried eyes as you run along the side of the road.
“It’s not safe to run on the road at night!”
“Yeah, well, it’s not safe to talk to strangers, either. Yet here we are!” You breathlessly shout back to him before glancing over to see a dimpled grin grace the man’s face as he lets out a “touché”.
You’re not stupid. You know that this man is one of them. He came from that direction, and as far as you can tell, there isn’t much else out here. A part of you is surprised that it’s not Kyungsoo, but they must’ve thought this guy would have a better chance than the rest of them.
“Would you like a ride home?” He asks once you don’t bother to try and speak again.
“Didn’t we just say something about not talking to strangers? I certainly think that applies to getting into cars with them as well.”
Most of your words are a joke because you know there’s no real way for you to get back to town on your own. You couldn’t walk back. You’d be out here until tomorrow morning if you did. While, normally, you’d be a lot more cautious about strangers, you feel like you’ve been hit with sensory overload to the point that you just don’t care. Maybe it was the people following you. Maybe it was the guy who made an entire wall of fire. Who knows?
With a sigh, you come to a stop, and he quickly follows suit. You wander around the front of the black car and find the passenger side door already unlocked for you. Dropping in the seat, you don’t even bother to put on your seatbelt. It’s the least of your worries right now.
“I’m Yixing, by the way,” he casually states as he throws the vehicle back in drive and continues down the road.
You introduce yourself almost immediately like his calming voice coaxes a response out of you. Your lack of fear or worry causes you to side-eye him and wonder what his power is. All you feel is peace and a sense of safety, which partially freaks you out. Does he have the ability to affect your emotions or something?
“Can I ask?” You look at him after you feel like you can no longer hold it in.
He only smiles at your question. “Ask what?”
“What your power is?”
Nodding his head, he says, “I’m, basically, a healer.”
When he doesn’t clarify further, you ask, “You mean you don’t have control over an element like the others?”
“There’s more types of magic out there than just elemental. You just happened to only stay long enough to meet those four.”
His words aren’t harsh or accusing by any means, but you feel like you have to defend yourself for some reason. “It’s a lot to spring on someone who doesn’t believe it even exists.”
He hums in acknowledgment, and the car falls silent for the rest of the trip, besides you giving him directions. He doesn’t push you to talk about it, and you don’t make any moves to ask about it. If anything, you’re grateful for his silence.
When you finally get back to your apartment, you attempt to process the day as you finally pull on your pajamas. You don’t believe in magic, but what you saw today made it hard to deny. You didn’t imagine a sudden earthquake or a nearly ten-foot wall of fire. There is no way they could’ve slipped you a hallucinogenic either, so you couldn’t blame it on them drugging you.
Nope. What you saw today had to be magic, right? There was no other explanation – no matter how hard you grasped at straws.
Accepting magic existed would just open an entire other can of worms that you aren’t ready for. You can hear your grandparents rolling in their graves at you even entertaining the idea of magic. While your parents didn’t really care and told you magic didn’t exist, your grandparents were a different story.
You can still hear their voices now saying how “evil” it was and how only “devil worshippers” messed with that sort of thing. You recall how against it they were as you grew up. The one time your grandma caught you watching a supernatural show, and she turned off the tv and took the remote with her, or the time your grandpa caught you reading a fantasy book. He ripped it out of your hands and threw it into the fireplace in the living room – library be damned.
It was always weird to you how against it they were, and after tonight, you wonder if it’s because they knew something you don’t. Curiosity getting the better of you, you move into the middle of the living room and put your hands out in front of you like you saw the others do. When nothing happens, you attempt to think of the powers the others have and focus on them specifically, but you still get nothing.
Dropping your arms to your side, you confirm your original thoughts. You’re not magical, and nobody is out to get you.
Kyungsoo’s POV
When they discovered it was you that was being targeted, Kyungsoo wasn’t too sure about it. You didn’t seem magical, or like you had any idea that this world even existed.
The only thing that changed his mind was the group of people following you and hanging outside of the greenhouse. They had been there when he left earlier and were still there when he came back at closing. With you being the only one still there, that made his other options disappear.
Clearly, he’s correct in his assumption about you being ignorant of this world. When they showed you their magic, you looked confused, terrified, and had disbelief written all over your features. When they told you that you are a witch, it was obvious you thought they were all bat-shit insane.
You took off running into the night like a fucking idiot after – frustrating some of the coven. The others said you just needed some time to come to terms with it, which he could understand if they had any of it.
Yixing went after you to keep you safe. The added benefit of his healing aura would calm you and hopefully help you accept the truth soon – because you’re in this for life now, and another war will be coming.
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Blood & Bond
Genre: Angst | Fluff | Supernatural!au | Werewolf!au | College!au | OT12 (altho you only get to see Tao....)
Pairing: None....yet....
Length: 16.4k
Warning: OC | Language
Summary: Kai and his little pack of werewolf cubs’ lives get a lot more interesting when a pretty foreign girl with special abilities decides to befriend them.
Author’s Note: I finished reading Running With Wolves (debatably one of the best werewolf exo aus ever written and maybe even the best werewolf story ever written idk read it if you havent I swear it doesn't matter who your bias is you will fall for kai!!!) and was like ‘I wanna write a werewolf!au’, but this doesnt touch a candle to the genius that is that story which is why I kinda stopped writing it. I want to make it darker, a bit more mature, so here is this! If I ever decide to humor myself and rewrite it, it will be completely different. So, enjoy this, cause, I mean, its pretty good!!! also who else misses ot12???? Just me??? ok....
MASTERLIST
1. The Witch…Kinda Sorta
“I’m open! I’m open!”
The crunching sound of sneakers against gravel could be heard around the area as a small group of young men ran across the basketball court at a park. It was an intense game, the boys were snarling at one another, not afraid to push and shove to gain the upper hand.
After ten minutes, one of the boys jumped up and with the flick of his wrists, scored the final three points.
“We win,” he grinned after the echoing swish of his victory faded into the trees.
“You cheated,” one of the boys from the other team muttered, wiping the dripping sweat off of his forehead while others around him fell to the floor, breathing hard and exhausted.
“You always say that when you lose,” one of the guys who was on the ground whined, yanking the boy’s ankle, causing him to stumble to the asphalt. They all chuckled around him.
He just sighed.
The young man who had scored the winning points tossed the sore loser a bottle of water, which he took gratefully. “Thanks, Kai.”
“No problem, Chanyeol. Also, I didn’t cheat.”
“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes and chugged half of the bottle.
The six boys sat around in silence, drinking, snacking, and just enjoying the chilling wind dry their damp skin.
“Do you smell that?” One of them asked the others, his big eyes widening.
They all paused, sniffing the air and shaking their heads.
“It smells like a fire.”
A different one shrugged, “it’s probably a forest fire or something, Kyungsoo. Nothing to worry about.”
Kyungsoo shook his head. “No, Tao, it’s close.”
He stood up and brushed off his shorts, heading towards the smell that only he could distinguish.
The boys that he had left glanced nervously at each other before standing up as well and following their somewhat peculiar friend.
They trudged around the trees, past the playground and the water fountain, until they were surrounding the restrooms that were on the opposite side of the park.
The cement wall that was around the tiny building was covered in graffiti, and the two doors were slightly ajar.
As they approached the deserted restrooms, one of the taller boys began to cough, “ugh, Kyungsoo, you were right. Someone definitely started a fire.”
“And it’s coming from the back.”
Slowly, the group began to circle the building, and once they were at the back of the structure they paused with shock.
In front of them was a young woman. She was kneeling, her back facing them, and in front of her was a pile of black char.
“Uh….” One of the boys named Jongdae was able to muster. His rumbling voice startled the girl, and she spun around in surprise, nearly falling into the pile of black.
The boys gulped once they saw her face. She was a foreigner, which was easy to tell with her deeply tanned skin and big curly brown hair. She was wearing a pleaded skirt and a black tank top with a green plaid shirt on that was hanging off her exposed shoulders. She also had a gray sweater tied around her waist, torn black stockings and dirty combat boots.
“What are you doing?” Kai asked her with raised eyebrows.
“Uh….” She mimicked Jongdae as she slowly climbed to her feet. Her shock seemed to fade once she was standing straight, and she grinned while shrugging, “nothing?”
“That doesn’t look like nothing,” Jongdae said with narrowed eyes, his arms crossed over his chest.
“It doesn’t smell like nothing either,” Tao added with his nose scrunched with disgust. Sehun, who was right behind him, made a show of waving his hand in front of his nose.
The girl laughed nervously, “Well, it’s nothing that you boys need concern yourself with.”
She began to turn back to her work, but froze once she realized something. Her lips curled knowingly as she returned her gaze to the group of males, placing her fists on her hips, “you all are werewolves.”
That startled the group, and the six boys began talking loudly at once, trying to dismiss her wild accusation.
She sighed, “It’s alright, calm down.” They all stopped in unison and stared at her with awe. “Well, I guess since you all are a part of the super realm… I’ll let you in on my doings.”
“Super…?” Chanyeol’s eyebrows scrunched together with confusion.
“I was casting a spell,” the girl informed the group. “I’m trying to… well, recall some things… I guess you could say. I read a book earlier, and it said that burning a certain type of branch could bring suppressed memories to the forefront. But, as you can see, it didn’t work like it should have.”
Everyone eyed the pathetic pile of burnt ash.
“Anyways,” the girl began, twirling back to the werewolves. “I’m Sloane.”
“And you’re a witch,” Tao inferred.
Sloane’s eyes narrowed at the tall boy, “I am not a witch!”
Static surrounded the cramped space and a second after the six males were on the hard ground, on top one another, unconscious.
Sloan smirked at her handy work, brushed her hands together and hopped over the bodies lying on the floor, strutting away from the restrooms.
~*~
“Yesterday was weird,” Sehun pouted the following morning. The six friends were huddled on the lawn in front of their university. It was a small and rather prestigious school with only four hundred students. Unlike most universities, the students were required to wear uniforms and a lot of the rules were similar to high school.
“I feel like I dreamt the whole thing,” Tao said, adjusting the strap on his shoulder.
Kai groaned, “I really don’t want to be here.”
“Aw, come on!” Jongdae cheered, ruffling Kai’s silky brown locks, making his hair look messier than it was prior. “School’s fun.”
“You only say that because your super power is sweet talking teachers to give you good grades,” Chanyeol rolled his eyes, but the huge grin on Jongdae’s face stayed planted.
“I like school,” Kyungsoo mumbled, causing the other boys to sigh and head inside.
The six of them were only freshman, yet they already held a reputation. As they walked the halls, others stopped and stared—some with envy, others with lust. They were easily the best looking in the school, it also helped that they had a strange rebellious aura that made girls swoon over them.
“They’re staring,” Kai, who couldn’t handle the fame to save his life, whispered to Jongdae, who loved his fame all too much.
“They always stare, Kai. I’m surprised you aren’t used to it by now. Nothing’s changed since high school.”
“Don’t they have something better to do?” He asked, voice rising with exasperation.
Jongdae shrugged and tapped Kai’s chin. “Enjoy it while it lasts, Kiddo. We only have three more years of this.”
“You’re literally three months older than me!” The younger yelled, his hands curling into fists.
“Blah, blah, blah!” Jongdae replied just as passionately.
“Kyungsoo!” Kai whined, wrapping himself around the smaller boy.
“Jongdae, leave Jongin alone, would you?”
Jongdae gulped as Kyungsoo glared at him and nodded quickly, running towards the front of the group to avoid the dark energy emanating from Kyungsoo’s eyes.
At lunchtime, the six schoolboys trickled into the cafeteria and sat around their usual table in the middle of the room. They ate quietly for the most part, some doing homework, a couple were playing cards and betting their chips, Kai was complaining to Tao how much he hated his math class while Tao slowly ate Kai’s rice.
A loud plop on the end of their table startled them, and once they all whipped around to where the noise came from, they jumped. The witch from the day before, Sloane, was standing at the end of their table, hands on hips and eyes slightly narrowed as she scanned the werewolves.
“So it wasn’t a dream,” Sehun muttered, gawking at the figure hovering over their table.
“Mind if I sit, fellow classmates?” She asked and slid into one of the last remaining two chairs before anyone had time to object. She began scarfing down her rice nearly frantically and the boys sat frozen, staring at her with wide eyes.
“The food here is to die for,” she moaned with her mouth stuffed with food. That seemed to knock some sense into the others, unpausing them, and they all began to eat their food as well—all while keeping an eye on the new girl that was currently sitting right beside Kyungsoo.
He scaled her lean body with his eyes, and couldn’t help but to grin at how she was wearing her uniform. The skirt rolled up, so that it ended slightly above her mid-thigh, her dress shirt half tucked, a few buttons at the top undone, her jacket sleeves pushed up to her elbows. She still wore black stockings, but these ones ended above her knees and her scuffed combat boots hugged her feet comfortably. Her hair was still wild and free and she was covered in jewelry—her neck, fingers, ears and wrists wrapped in gold and black.
The dishevelment of her uniform resembled Kai’s.
“How… How are you here?” Tao finally sputtered, the other guys seemed to all let out a collective breath of relief with the question finally out in the open.
Sloane glanced at all the people at the table and giggled softly, “I enrolled.”
“Are you stalking us?” Sehun asked her rudely, his usually soft features hardening into a glare.
She flat out laughed at that, it ringed mockingly, “of course not! I enrolled about two weeks ago. It’s a coincidence that we bumped into each other yesterday. Either that or fate. Most likely fate though….” Her last few words were muttered, her talking more to herself then the boys, but they heard it regardless and they seemed to tense at the word.
“Is today your first day?” Kyungsoo quietly asked the young witch. She nodded. “Mind if I see your schedule?”
She smiled shyly before digging into her bag until she found the slip of paper she needed. Kyungsoo scanned it, nodding here and there and finally gave it back to her, “we have english together, along with Chanyeol. You and Chanyeol also have biology together. You have history with Jongdae and Sehun and trig with Kai.”
She nodded slowly, digesting what he just said before opening her mouth to ask, “So who is who?”
“Oh, right, I forgot we haven’t introduced ourselves,” Kyungsoo chuckled, scratching the back of his head. One by one, the werewolves introduced themselves to Sloane.
Except Kai.
He just watched the strange girl as she blinked at him expectantly.
Finally Kyungsoo sighed and gestured to the broody male, “that is Kai. Don’t mind him, he doesn’t bite.”
“Depends on the time of day,” Jongdae added, causing them to chuckle.
“It’s nice meeting you all,” Sloane grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve stumbled across someone from the super realm.”
“The super realm?”
“Yeah, folks with supernatural abilities. Such as werewolves, vampires, and wi—” She seemed to choke on the last word.
“Witches? Just like you are?” Kai finally broke his silence, studying her intently.
Her eyes darkened as they met his, “I’m not a witch…Kai?”
He shrugged and chugged his milk. Their lunch break came to an end and Kyungsoo and Chanyeol lead Sloane to their next class.
~*~
“She can’t hang out with us,” Kai informed his pack. Class had finally ended and the six of them instantly headed up to the rooftop, where they usually went when they had to talk about something serious on school grounds.
“Why not?” Sehun asked his leader, he tilted his head like a curious puppy.
“There is something off about her,” Kai elaborated. “I get strange vibes from her.”
“It’s her power,” Chanyeol shrugged. “She’s very powerful. I’m surprised we didn’t notice it yesterday.”
“There are a lot of things you didn’t notice yesterday,” Kyungsoo muttered with an eye roll, remembering the fire only he could smell.
Kai shook his head, “I don’t think that’s it. I mean, yeah she’s definitely powerful, but there is something else about her that puts me on edge.”
“Is it her sense of fashion?” Tao asked with true concern. “I mean, her uniform was like the female version of yours—”
“No it wasn’t!” Kai snapped, huffing as the others started laughing. He pinched the bridge of his nose, “I’m being serious. She can’t be around us.”
A few of the boys sighed, but had to obey their alpha’s order.
As they walked out of the school, Sloane was leaning against the stairs. Once they were close enough, she went up to fall in step with them.
“So, where are we going? Are we doing some supernatural stuff? Are you going wolf? Or can you only do that when there is a full moon?”
It took everything in Kyungsoo not to answer her questions. He could admit to himself that he had taken a quick liking to the foreign girl. The six boys continued walking, attempting to give her the cold shoulder.
She appeared to not register their attempt as she continued. “Maybe something boring, like homework, huh?” Tao could hear laughter in her voice. “Werewolves doing their homework? Isn’t that comical?”
“Sloane,” Kai began, slowing down so that he was walking beside her. She glanced at him, noticing his dark beautiful features. “Stop following us. We don’t want you to hang out with us.”
She stopped walking, “what?”
She glanced at the rest. They were a few steps in front of her and Kai, half circled and turned towards the two.
“You are not a member of our pack,” Kai continued with a voice cold and sharp as icicles, catching her attention again. “What? You thought you could get an in with us because of what you are? You’re nothing special. You’re just another girl. No. You’re just a weird witch.”
He watched her jaw clench and her thin fingers tighten against the strap of her bag, “I told you already that—”
“All the same,” he smiled politely at her and she wanted to slap it off him at that moment. What a typical pretty boy!
She took a step away from the group, “fine. I won’t interfere with you or your math homework. Good luck trying to get that D up.”
Kai arched an eyebrow as she spun on her heels, and winced as her brown curls slapped him viciously across the face as she stomped away.
“That was harsh,” Chanyeol admitted with a sigh. All the boys were watching Sloane’s form blend into the crowd.
Kai didn’t reply, instead he touched his cheek where her hair hit him, when he pulled his hand away he noticed blood on his fingertips.
~*~
True to her word—and much to Kai’s relief—Sloane left them alone.
For the rest of the week, they didn’t see her in the cafeteria, and in the classes they shared, she sat as far as possible from any one of them. She must not have taken it too badly, because whenever they crossed paths in the hallways she appeared chipper. She appeared to bounce when she walked, as if she had zero cares in the world and it caused a lot of stares. The student population were all extremely curious of the foreign new girl who came out of nowhere and was able to eat lunch with Kai and his group of hot friends—even if for a day.
On Saturday, the six boys lounged around Kai’s house, doing homework, studying, playing videogames, whatever to pass the time. The weekend was their favorite—especially Kai’s—they didn’t have to deal with the stress of being stared at and judged for seven hours of the day.
“Who wants to play another round of ball?” Tao asked suddenly, spinning the dingy basketball that he found resting on the floor on one of his fingers.
“I’m down,” Chanyeol said. His eyes turned to slits as he glared at Kai, “plus, we need a rematch.”
“Why?” Kai scoffed. “You want to get your ass handed to you again?”
“Shut up!” The two boys started wrestling around the living room while the others gathered everything needed for their trip to the park.
Once there, they spared no time splitting into teams and beginning their vigorous round of basketball. On one team was Kai, Sehun, and Kyungsoo while Jongdae, Chanyeol, and Tao played against them.
They were tied; Kai had the ball and was about to score the winning point when a strong wind blew the ball out of his grip. They all watched as it rolled off the court and into the semi muddy grass.
“What the—?”
Strange growling noises could be heard from the trees surrounding the park. The six werewolves huddled together, listening intently, trying to figure out what was going on.
Slowly, they made their way towards the trees. Hairs sticking up like the fur on a frightened cat, eyes shining colors that were not the usual brown, fingers curling into claws, they anticipated an attack.
They were not disappointed.
Something flew from out the shadows, crashing roughly into Kyungsoo, dragging him down to the ground. It appeared human, but had bluish-gray flesh with long limbs, fingers, and fangs. It was literally skin and bones and the noise that came out of its mouth when Kyungsoo lashed at it with his claws was chillingly inhuman.
Kyungsoo pushed the corpse off of himself and sat up with wide eyes glowing ice blue, “What the fuck was that?!”
He wasn’t able to get an answer. More of the bizarre looking creatures sprang from out of the shadows, all running towards the six werewolves. The boys did not hesitate to attack back; one by one they all fought against the monsters, but were outnumbered. Tao yelped in pain as one of the creatures slashed the side of his stomach, Sehun stumbled and landed hard on the ground, a crunching noise following suit. Jongdae was thrown across the field and hit a tree painfully, knocking him unconscious.
The werewolves were losing and Kai, the alpha, could feel it. He scanned the field, watching his pack mates battle the creepy beasts. There seemed to be even more coming out of the forest, Kai had to think quickly.
While he was preoccupied with his thoughts, one of the creatures saw its chance for a surprise attack and sprinted towards him, claws and fangs at the ready. Kai sensed its approach at the nick of time, but was too close to the monster to move. Something bumped into him from behind, and he landed hard on the grass. The creature twirled in confusion and froze when it saw whatever it was that knocked Kai over. Kai also glanced up and was stunned to see Sloane hovered over him eyeing the thing that would have killed him a second ago.
She pulled out something shiny from her belt. Kai noticed that it was a dagger with weird swirls engraved in the metal.
“Restitui quondam tibi,” she muttered with the knife over her head. She then dived the knife deep into the soil until only the hilt could be seen.
Bloodcurdling screams were soon heard, so deafeningly loud, Kai winced and covered his sensitive ears with his hands. He watched in confusion and shock as the creatures frantically ran away from the park, vanishing into the trees. The air seemed to still with the newfound silence.
Sloane leaned back on her heels, letting go of the knife that was still pinned to the ground with a relieved sigh. Kai and a few of the others who weren’t in critical condition stumbled onto their feet, glancing around them in awe.
“How did you do that?” Kai asked Sloane.
She let out a breathy laugh and shrugged tiredly, “looks like I can hang out with you after all.”
~*~
“Your nose is bleeding,” Kyungsoo stated, pointing at Sloane’s face. Her eyes widened as she dipped her finger in the warm liquid sliding down her cupid’s bow. With a soft chuckle, Kyungsoo slid her a tissue, which she took gratefully, placing it hesitantly against her face.
Tao, Sehun, and Jongdae were lying on the couches, all three of them unconscious from the pain. Tao’s side seemed to be ripped into shreds, blood running steadily onto the wooden floorboards. Sehun’s arm was broken at both the elbow and the middle of his forearm, while Jongdae’s head was bleeding and a few of his ribs were broken.
“What are we going to do? They’re not healing themselves!” Chanyeol asked desperately, his deep voice vibrating off the walls of the silent room. His arms were crossed against his chest and his eyebrows tried to unite at the center of his forehead.
Slowly and somewhat uneasily, Sloane stood up, “I can help them.”
“But you’re exhausted,” Kyungsoo said, standing up with her to make sure she didn’t fall.
She shook her head, “I can do it.”
She approached Tao first, since his condition appeared to be the worst, “Kyungsoo, can you sit him up for me, please?”
He silently did as he was told, and Tao groaned a bit, but his eyes remained closed. Sloane sat beside him and rested her forehead on his while she wrapped her arms around him, making sure one of her hands was firmly pressed against his wound. She started muttering under her breath and the three boys who were conscious to witness the ordeal stared in shock and wonder as his side began to glow a silver white. Sloane’s muttering became more urgent and she finally pulled away. She gently laid Tao back onto the couch and rubbed her fingers against his ribs that were now hidden by his unblemished flesh. Kai blinked and kneeled down beside Tao, staring at the side of his stomach that was, just a few seconds ago, torn apart with blood gushing out of it. It now was back together, as if it had not been touched at all. Kai ran his fingers across the boy’s skin and Tao began moving, coming too.
Sloane snatched Kai’s wrist and he lifted his eyes to meet hers with a threatening growl. The girl was unfazed, “let him rest.”
Kai yanked his wrist out of her grasp and Sloane walked away as if the encounter never happened, walking over to Jongdae. Kyungsoo again lifted the boy up so that Sloane could press her forehead against his, but this time, she wrapped one arm around his head and the other around his waist. She once again muttered some words, and Jongdae started whimpering silently.
“I know, honey, I know.” She broke her chanting to say and sighed, pulling him closer towards her. After a few minutes, she laid him back down. His breathing was back to normal and his eyes moved against his eyelids.
Chanyeol quickly went to Jongdae’s side, eyes full of wonder as he checked to see that his wounds were healed.
Sloane kneeled beside Sehun’s sleeping form and tilted his head toward her, placing her’s against his. She rubbed his arm as she started her chanting, and quickly finished with him. When she removed her head from his, his eyes fluttered open and he tiredly stared at her. His eyes saying everything his mouth couldn’t. His gaze remained on her as she stumbled to her feet and swayed a bit, his other hand rubbing his once broken arm like she was doing prior.
“Whoa,” Kyungsoo said as he caught Sloane’s now unconscious body.
“Let her sleep here,” Tao’s groggy voice was heard, and they turned to see him lazily blinking up at Kyungsoo, tapping the small space beside him on the couch. Kyungsoo glanced at Kai for approval and the alpha shrugged.
They both started chuckling at the image of Tao’s tall frame clinging to the witch’s body like a koala to a tree.
~*~
When Sloane’s eyes finally opened, she was welcomed with darkness. Something was pressed against her, pinning her down to the soft surface she laid on. She tried to move and froze when she heard a grunt in her ear and a tightening around her body.
A light came on and she blinked, not used to the brightness. She noticed Kai sitting on an armchair; he had turned on the lamp on top of the table beside him. He was gazing sternly at her with gold glowing eyes.
She turned away with a gulp and scanned the room. She was still in his living room, lying on a couch with Tao, who had wrapped himself around her, snuggling close. Jongdae was still resting on a couch, but Sehun and the other two boys weren’t present.
“What time is it?” Sloane asked the brooding werewolf, her voice rough from sleep.
“Eight thirty.”
She had slept for four hours. Sloane tried to sit up again, but Tao’s hold on her was unrelenting, she somehow was yanked closer to the boy, his nose digging into the crook of her neck. She sighed with frustration.
Kai chuckled at her despair, “he’s a cuddler.”
“I’ve gathered.” The two were quiet for a minute. “Are they alright?”
Kai nodded. “Yeah.” The humor left his voice. “You saved us.”
She could hear the question in his statement, and knew he would ask, but her stomach interrupted him with a loud growl.
He grunted, “Hungry?”
She rolled her eyes, “using so much of my power is draining. I need to regain my energy.”
She heard him shuffle around until he was hovering over her with an outstretched hand. His eyes were back to a deep chocolate brown, although she could still see the disdain for her in them, “Kyungsoo’s in the kitchen cooking. Let’s go.”
It was a battle trying to unknot Sloane from Tao, but with a few yanks, she was free and she gratefully smiled at Kai, it quickly turned into a scowl as he dropped her hand as if it burnt him and headed towards the kitchen without checking to see if she was following.
The first thing Sloane noticed once she entered the kitchen was Kyungsoo. He was standing in front of the stove, wearing a cute pale pink apron, which contrasted with his black clothing, singing softly to himself as he stirred around whatever he was making. Chanyeol and Sehun were seated at the island, Chanyeol messing with his phone while Sehun rolled an orange around the granite tabletop, bored and hungry as hell.
They all turned towards Kai and Sloane once they entered. Kyungsoo smiled at them and Sehun nearly fell off his stool as he tried to reach the witch.
When he was in front of her, he just stood there, staring at her intently. She returned his gaze, although a bit self-consciously—for he was just a few centimeters away—and they remained in that position until someone else came stumbling into the kitchen. Everyone turned again to see a groggy disheveled Tao leaning against the wall, “you left me!”
~*~
Everyone gathered around Kai’s dining table as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol set it, placing down the huge feast around the table. Kai woke Jongdae up, and he joined the rest of them, just as ravenous as the others.
Sloane learned something then, and it was that werewolves could eat, and could eat a lot. Kyungsoo had made enough food for about twelve people, and the werewolves scarfed down every bit on their plates as though it were their last meal. There was not a bone left once everyone was satisfied. Chanyeol burped obnoxiously as he leaned back on his chair, rubbing his protruding belly.
“Are you full, Sloane?” Sehun, who was sitting beside her, asked. She nodded and stood up, helping gather up all the dishes and setting up the sinks to wash them.
“You don’t have to do that,” Kai said, coming up beside her as she poured the dish soap into the water.
“It’s alright. I’d feel bad if I didn’t do anything.”
Kai sighed, Sloane felt he wanted to say something, but he refrained and she didn’t push him. The two washed in silence. A few of the boys had left to get ice cream and the other two that were left were laying around on the couch, watching television. Sloane could hear Chanyeol guffaw from time to time and it made her smile.
Once they finished the dishes, they joined the others in the living room. They were all gathered around, a pint per person, and now that they were settled, Kai turned the television off and they all turned to the stranger in the room.
She looked up at them wearily, “yes?”
“We have some questions,” Kai began. She slowly placed her ice cream onto the table and sighed, folding her hands over her knees. “What were those things?”
Her eyes widened in shock, “you mean, you don’t know?”
The boys all shook their head.
“They were—I can’t believe you don’t know—they were vampires.”
“What?!” The boys asked.
“We’ve seen a few vampires before,” Sehun started. “But none that looked like that.”
“There are three different types of vampires, and even calling them vampires is being generous. They are a type of immortal, the ones that crave blood. You have the Ancients, whose blood still runs in their veins because they were turned when they were still alive. Those are the stereotypical vampires that everyone knows. They appear human and drink blood and the like. The second type are the Medietas, they were turned at the brink of death, they are less human then ancients, but still can pass for human. They always have pale skin and dilated eyes; their fangs can’t be hidden….
“Then you have the last kind of vampire, the Mortuum, who were turned after death. As you saw, they are monsters. They don’t have any cognitive thinking, only hunger for blood.”
“Why did they attack us? Why were they here?” Jongdae asked.
“You don’t know much, do you?” Sloane asked, sparing them a judgmental glance. “Werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies, and this just so happens to be your territory. I highly doubt you all know, but this town is a supernatural goldmine! The power that flows through here is strong enough to pull many of us here—myself included. Those vampires were drawn here because of that energy, but they happened to run into you guys, and their instincts kicked in, so they attacked.”
“Why couldn’t we heal ourselves?” Sehun asked quietly, rubbing his once broken arm.
Sloane swallowed thickly, “That’s the thing about being mortal enemies. It’s easy to destroy the other. Vampires have the ability to disable your fast healing as well as your other wolf abilities, as do you to them.”
“How do you know all of this?” Kai muttered, somewhat frustrated by his lack of knowledge.
She shrugged, “I read. A lot.”
“What did you do back there? You spoke that weird language…”
“Latin, the language of the dead.”
“You mean the dead language.” Kyungsoo corrected.
She shook her head, “no, I meant what I said. Latin is the language of the dead. What I did back there was cast a vanquishing spell. It pretty much banned that coven from returning. But, like most spells, there’s a catch. The spell only works for that coven alone—meaning other covens may enter without a hitch—and it only lasts for a certain amount of time, ten years to be exact. After that, they can return and cause all the havoc they want.”
The boys were silent for a while, digesting everything Sloane had told them. Finally Tao spoke up, “….Coven…?”
Sloane groaned and fell back on her chair, “why don’t you guys know this stuff? You’re werewolves!”
“We’re young,” Jongdae defended. “And also, none of us like to read.”
She shook her head and laughed with disbelief, “how you’ve survived this long is a mystery.”
“We got guts,” Chanyeol grinned.
“And lack of brains,” she mumbled, but they all heard her.
She rose to her feet, “I should probably go….”
“Where are you staying? One of us can take you,” Kyungsoo applied.
“I, uh….” She shuffled her feet.
“You don’t have a place to stay, do you?” Chanyeol asked. The pack glanced at her.
“I’ve been staying at different hotels, using spells to trick them into thinking I paid, or forgetting I was even there. I don’t have any money on me.”
“So, you’re homeless?”
She shrugged, staring at her feet.
“You can stay here,” Kyungsoo offered.
“What?” Sloane and Kai asked at the same time.
Kyungsoo shrugged at his leader, “Kai lives here all alone, and he has two guest rooms. You’re going to school with us now, and it would be nice to have you around, being that you know a lot more about this stuff than us…. We have a bit to learn from each other.”
“I don’t want her living here,” Kai spat through clenched teeth. This place was his sanctuary; he didn’t want some strange girl with magical powers who he still didn’t trust to ruin that for him.
“Come on, Jongin, don’t be stubborn.”
“Don’t call me that in front of her. She’s not staying here and that’s final!” Kyungsoo suddenly pulled Kai into a headlock and dragged him away from the living room.
“We need a moment,” he informed Sloane as they disappeared down the hall, into another room. It was dead silent as they waited for the duo to return, Sehun and Tao’s grins never left their face while Chanyeol and Jongdae chuckled every once in a while.
Seven minutes later, the two reemerged. Kai huffing and pouting while Kyungsoo’s lips stretched into a heart shaped grin.
He nudged Kai forward, and with an eye roll, the leader trudged to the girl with his hands in his pockets and muttered, “you can stay here.”
“What was that?” Jongdae asked dramatically, his smile stretched evilly.
Kai rolled his eyes again and raised his voice, “you can stay here…Sloane.”
“Thank you,” she said but the other boys’ guffawing quickly swallowed it up.
He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, “Whatever.”
His pack left his place soon after that. As soon as Kai and Sloane were alone, he cornered her and sat her down.
“I still don’t think you being around us is a good idea,” he began. Sloane’s eyes were wide as she took in his words. “I don’t trust you. I know you are a witch, despite what you want us to believe, and I’m keeping a close eye on you.”
He sighed, “That being said, you did save my pack’s lives today, and that is something I’m indebted to. So, I promise to let you stay here, as a form of payment for what you did today, alright?”
Sloane nodded with understanding, “I promise, in return, Kai, that I’ll prove to you that I am no threat. As Kyungsoo said earlier, we have a bit to learn from one another.”
“That we do, Sloane. That we do. Let me show you your room.”
2. House Rules & Lone Wolves
“She carries this ancient looking suitcase and it is literally the only thing she owns. It has her clothes in it, and this book that looks just as old as the suitcase, and that is it,” Kai informed his pack mates as they were all walking up to the cafeteria.
It was a Monday, their first day back since Sloane saved them from the vampires, and Kai was having a rough time adjusting to the whole living-with-a-witch-that-may-not-actually-be-a-witch situation Kyungsoo unceremoniously thrust him into.
“Until then, I mean, she’s alright. She’s quiet, stayed in her room for most of the day, and only came out to eat or use the bathroom. We’re going shopping later tonight so she can buy a toothbrush and whatnot.” Kai shook his head in disbelief, “I can’t believe I have a roommate.”
“A really pretty magical roommate at that,” Chanyeol added with a nod.
“You think she’s pretty?” Kai asked, sparing the taller boy a judgmental glance.
“Well, yeah? She’s very pretty,” Chanyeol shrugged.
“That means a lot coming from Chanyeol,” Sehun snorted, nudging his fellow playboy friend.
“If she gives you any problems,” Kyungsoo said, as they all sat around their table. “You can always kick her out.”
Kai sighed, “You’re right, I just… what will my aunt think?”
“What will your cousin think?” Tao asked. “Once he finds out you have a good looking girl living with you….”
Kai’s eyes widened with horror, “he shall never find out.”
“Not to mention,” Jongdae began with a sharp curve to his lips. “What your little buddy downstairs will think about this situation.”
“Jongdae! I’ll have your head!” Kai pounced on top of the table, reaching for his evil friend’s neck, when the center of his problems finally joined them.
“What did I miss?” Sloane asked Chanyeol under her breath as she slid into the seat beside him.
The tall boy shrugged, chuckling all the while, “Kai’s having some issues and Jongdae is really bad at giving advice.”
The girl nodded with wide eyes, placing a spoon filled with soup into her mouth thoughtfully.
After Kai was satisfied with the purplish hue Jongdae’s face took from the lack of oxygen, he settled back down and Tao rubbed his friend’s back as he coughed a lung out.
Once everyone was settled, Kyungsoo began talking, “the full moon is this Saturday.”
All the boys seemed to grow tense once the words were uttered.
Sloane, on the other hand, gasped, “Does this mean you’re finally going to go all wolf?!”
She began squealing.
“Why are you so excited to see us as wolves?” Kai asked, baffled.
Her jaw dropped, staring at him in disbelief, “why wouldn’t I?! It’s not every day you run into werewolves! I can’t wait to see your fur. How big do you guys get? Do you still have your human mind? Is the shift painful?”
“Whoa whoa!” Sehun said chuckling. “One question at a time.”
“Um,” Kyungsoo began thoughtfully. “Pretty big, yes, and yes.”
“But,” Kai drawled out, sending a warning with his eyes to his pack mates before meeting Sloane’s. “You are not going to be able to see our fur. You’re going to stay in the house for the entire night.”
Sloane’s face fell, “What?”
“It’s dangerous for you to be out with us in our wolf forms. Yeah, we do keep our humanity, but the full moon pulls us towards our wolves, those instincts are quicker. You can get hurt if you are not careful.”
Sloane’s shoulders fell, “but… I really wanted to see your wolf forms. I bet you guys are beautiful.”
“We can just tell you,” Jongdae shrugged. “And we can always half shift, you know? Our eyes change colors and our claws and fangs come out. But during the full moon is when we shift completely and it’s out of our control, and aw you think we’re beautiful?”
“Let’s just show her!” Sehun yelled excitedly. Tao gasped loudly and nodded in agreement.
“No,” Kai said immediately. He used his alpha voice, so the others had no choice but to listen. That didn’t stop Tao and Sehun from whining.
“You’re no fun,” Sloane pouted, twirling her spoon in her food.
Kai just shrugged, “being the alpha means keeping a level head.”
“And which head exactly is it that must be level, huh, Kai?” Jongdae questioned with a wicked grin.
“Have you not learned your lesson?!” Kai barked, hopping across the table to choke Jongdae out again.
Kyungsoo sighed, while the others started making bets over if Jongdae would pass out or not, and Sloane lifted her hand from her spoon, even though it remained swirling around her soup.
~*~
“There are rules to my house that we haven’t discussed yet,” Kai informed Sloane as he pushed a cart through E-Mart. She walked beside him, well around him, running from one side of an aisle to the other, tossing things into the cart.
“Like what?” She asked as she studied the different types of deodorant.
“Like…” Kai began, thinking of something. “You can’t invite anybody over without my permission.”
“Well that’s fine. I only know you guys.” She finally settled on a deodorant and continued towards the hair products.
“Any food that’s in the fridge will be for the both of us, I don’t expect you to get a job or pay rent or anything, but if you could hold your keep, you know, cleaning after yourself, cooking dinner, washing dishes—”
“Making sure my hair doesn’t clog the drain. I get it,” she placed watermelon scented shampoo and conditioner in the overflowing cart and continued on.
“Respect my things and my personal space and I think we’ll get along just fine.”
She twirled around to shoot him a quick salute and returned back to leading the way towards the toy aisle.
“Why are we here?” Kai asked skeptically.
Sloane laughed and stopped in front of the board and card games, “We should have game nights.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I think it is. Come on, Kai, live a little.”
Kai rolled his eyes, but helped Sloane decide on a few games they could play.
After they picked them, they headed towards check out.
“How can you pay for all this?” Sloane asked, munching on a Slim Jim that had been rung already.
“My parents had a lot of money,” Kai stated, sliding his black card to pay for their items.
“I couldn’t help but notice the ‘had’ in that sentence,” Sloane pointed out.
Kai shrugged again, feigning nonchalant. He didn’t say anything as they headed to his car.
Once on the road, Sloane played with the radio for a minute until she found a song she liked. She started shaking her curls and Kai pressed his lips together to hide a rare amused grin. Once the song was over, she turned the volume down, “You are one of the younger members of the pack, right?”
“Yup. Sehun’s the only one younger than me.”
“Then how come you are the alpha?”
He winced, “I’m the strongest.” He left it at that.
“But…” She let her sentence carry; knowing that Kai didn’t want to talk about this either. “Never mind. Sorry I asked.”
Kai blinked at her in surprise, and for some odd reason felt guilty, “its fine. I’ll tell you…someday.”
She nodded at him, “I’d like that.”
Kai pulled into his driveway, and the two dragged their bags into the house.
“Thank you again for taking me in. It means so much to me, I don’t think you understand.”
Kai scratched the back of his neck, “You saved my life, this is the least I can do. Just know that I am waiting patiently for you to fuck up so I can kick you out.”
“And ever so charming,” Sloane muttered. She perked up instantly. “I’ll make dinner!”
“I have another question,” Sloane said, once she started cooking. Kai, who was still putting things away, groaned and Sloane took that as permission.
“Why won’t you let me be around you guys once you change?”
Kai clenched his jaw, “I told you, it’s dangerous.”
“I’m not a mere mortal, Kai. I’m sure I could handle it. I can help.”
“There’s no need for help, Sloane. We change, we venture the woods, and then we turn back into humans at dawn. He meet here, eat, shower, and then they all go home. That’s how we’ve always done it, that’s how it will go on Saturday.”
“But, maybe I can fold your clothes for you, or cast a spell to make the shift easier to handle, or something?”
Kai shook his head, “We can handle it. We’ve been shifting together for a few years now. Just stay here and wait for us to return, alright?”
Sloane sighed, “Fine.”
Kai let out a relieved breath. He didn’t want to tell her how they hunted and killed innocent animals. How they howled at the moon for hours. How he used the pain of the shift as a reminder of the monster that he was, of the burden his family and fellow pack members had to carry. She didn’t need to know any of that.
~*~
The following day, after school had ended, Sloane found herself at the nearest public library. She had decided that she would try to help Kai and his pack as much as possible without being a burden or upsetting the alpha, so she spent about an hour and a half searching for the right books about plants and glancing around at books about witchcraft—coming up empty on the latter.
Satisfied with her borrowed books, she bounced out of the building with a warm smile on her face. The sun was shining despite the chilly autumn breeze, and she could tell that things were finally looking up for her.
Those thoughts turned sour as her body collided with one in front of her. Her newly acquired books tumbling towards the asphalt, but before she could finish her blink, the person she bumped had them stacked neatly in his hands. They never even touched the ground.
Her eyes widened as she took in the stack before lifting them up to see a boy around her age, a stunningly bright smile on his just as attractive face, “here you go, miss.”
“Thank you,” she stuttered, collecting them from his grasp as he bowed and proceeded on his way before she could yell out an apology. She followed him with her eyes; he seemed in a rush, almost running as he crossed the street.
“Weird,” she pouted. His energy was off, and she couldn’t figure out why.
“What’s weird?” A deep voice asked from behind her and she jumped out her skin as Kyungsoo seemed to appear out of thin air.
“I…” She spun back to where she last saw the boy but he was already long gone. “There was a guy….”
Kyungsoo just arched an eyebrow up at her, as she slowly came back to her senses. “How did you find me?”
He shrugged, a smug smile on his face, “I’m getting really familiar with your scent. Also Kai sent me to look for you, he was getting worried.”
She scoffed, “Kai? Worried about me? I’m sure.”
“He worries about anyone he feels he has to protect.” The two fell into step, heading towards Kyungsoo’s car that was parked on the corner of the street.
“He feels like he has to protect me? I’m a magical being,” Sloane almost scoffed. The two settled into their seats, and Kyungsoo took off towards Kai’s house.
“But you’re living under his roof. That makes you his responsibility in his eyes.” He could sense her disbelief. “It’s the alpha in him.”
She nodded understandably at that, “I never got to thank you.”
“For what?”
“For making him take me in. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably still be mooching off hotel workers. I hated doing that.”
Kyungsoo smiled at her, “all in a days work. You’re the first wit—uh… magical being we’ve ever ran into. At least, one around our age, who didn’t want our heads on a platter.”
Sloane smirked at Kyungsoo stuttering over her title. “So you have dealt with witches before?”
Kyungsoo nodded, “yup. Ones passing though who had a dislike for us pups.”
Sloane cracked a grin at that, “you’re funny, Kyungsoo.”
He blinked owlishly at her, “that’s a first.”
She burst out laughing at his reply and shook her head with a sigh, “you’re also very refreshing. I appreciate that.”
“You seem to appreciate a lot of things.”
“I’ve had a past that allows me to do as such.”
Kyungsoo sensed the bitterness she tried to suppress and it piqued his interest. He knew better than to press her on it though, deciding instead to change the subject quickly, “what you got there?” He pointed at the books in her hands.
“Some books about plants. You know plants have a ton of magical attributes? Certain plants give us certain powers or take some away.”
Kyungsoo nodded, “like Wolfsbane.”
“Yes. Which, please remind me, I must read up on. Now that I’m living and hanging out with a bunch of wolves, I need to know as much as possible about you all.”
“Do magical beings like you have plants that are your kryptonite?”
“I’m pretty sure. I haven’t looked into it, but I know there must be.”
“You’ve really made me curious about all this supernatural stuff. We haven’t really worried about these things, I guess being young and powerful makes you really ignorant to certain things at times.”
They finally reached Sloane’s new home, and Kyungsoo held the door open for her as they entered the loft.
“Yeah, we both have quite a bit to learn, huh?”
“It seems so.”
“Sloane!” Tao squealed once she was in his vision. He hopped off the couch and leaped on her, causing the books she was holding to fall again. Kyungsoo quickly plucked them from the air, gathering them into a pile in his hands.
“Wolf reflexes,” he smirked once he noticed Sloane’s shocked expression.
“Is that so?” she sputtered.
“Sloane! Kai told us you bought games! Let’s play some!” Tao, who was still wrapped around the girl said, dragging her over towards the bookcase where the games she and Kai had bought the day before had been placed.
Something Sloane had noticed was the way Tao, Sehun, and Jongdae treated her. Ever since she healed them, they had seemed to hover around her, always needy. She wondered if her power had anything to do with that.
They decided on Apples to Apples, and the rest of the gang joined them in the living room. Chanyeol and Jongdae were both really good at playing, although Jongdae tried to make his answers as inappropriate as possible. They snacked and joked and relaxed for a few hours. Sehun and Tao had Sloane sandwiched between them and Jongdae constantly asked her if she needed anything. Kai was suspicious, but his thoughts on the matter speculated about the same as Sloane’s.
“Those three seem to be smitten with you,” Kai mentioned when he was able to corner Sloane in the kitchen.
She nodded, digging in the pantry for more snacks.
“I couldn’t help but wonder if your power had anything to do with that.”
Sloane stiffened at his tone and spun around, facing the wolf, “are you accusing me of something?”
Kai smirked and shrugged, “you didn’t cast a spell on them to make them act like that, did you?”
“Of course not! Why would I?”
“Because if some of my pack members love you, it would be easier for me to accept you.”
“That’s ridiculous, Kai. I think when I healed them it made a slight bond. They’ll get over it in a couple days. I already told you I’m not evil.” She walked towards him so that she could clearly look into his eyes and so that he could hear her heartbeat better. “I’m not out to get you and your pack. So you can relax.”
Kai blinked at her, noticing her heartbeat remain steady. He clenched his jaw and snatched the chocolate cupcakes from Sloane’s grasp. Spinning on his heels, he returned to the living room where the others were waiting for them to return.
Sloane sunk into a stool near her, holding her head in her hands, feeling slightly exhausted from dealing with Kai’s attitude and distrust.
She was going to win him over somehow.
“You alright?” Sloane lifted her head to see Jongdae watching her anxiously.
“Yeah. Fine,” she tried to smile, but it wouldn’t stay on for long.
“Don’t mind Kai,” Jongdae advised, walking over to the girl with his hands in his pockets and a warm smile on his face. “He’s all bark.”
She laughed at that, “He doesn’t seem to trust very easily.”
Jongdae shook his head at that, “nope. It took him ages to warm up to me, actually.”
“Really?”
Jongdae’s grin stretched mischievously, “I appeared out of nowhere, kind of like you did. He had no idea what to do with me, and I got on his nerves. It just takes him some time.” He worked up the courage to place his hand on Sloane’s back, rubbing it reassuringly. “Will you please come join us? I have to whoop your asses at Apples to Apples again.”
Sloane rolled her eyes and pushed him away, following him out into the living room.
~*~
“Sloane! Sit next to me!” Sehun called as soon as Sloane stepped into their shared history class. She smiled and took a step, but as soon as she did, Jongdae ran into the room, wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her away to sit next to him. Sehun stared in disbelief before he whined and began sulking, and a few girls that were sitting behind him started quietly squealing to themselves.
Jongdae began laughing hysterically and Sloane started questioning whether coming here was a good idea after all.
“Mr. Kim!” Their history teacher, Professor Park, barked once she entered the room. “Control yourself or I’m kicking you out… again!”
Jongdae waved his hand dismissively, but tried to contain his chuckles.
Their teacher began lecture and Jongdae leaned over to Sloane, “tomorrow’s Saturday.”
Sloane nodded her head; taking notes quickly before turning to Jongdae, “are you scared?”
He scoffed, “are you kidding? This is a part of who I am. I’ve been doing this for years now, it’s routine.”
“So why are you reminding me of it?”
“Because I can practically smell the tension on you. You’re not planning on going against Kai’s order, are you?”
Sloane blinked rapidly at her fellow classmate and shook her head vehemently, “no, no, that’s not it.”
“Well, what is it then?”
“I…”
“Sloane…”
She sighed, but before she could tell him what was going on in her head, Professor Park called on her. She answered her question correctly—annoying her teacher in the process—and returned back to her conversation, “I, uh, had a dream last night.”
Jongdae nodded slowly, “that usually happens when people sleep.”
“Jongdae!” Sloane grinned. “I’m being serious. I had a dream that… well, I can’t really remember what happened, but I remember my emotions, the urgency, the full moon, and fur… lots of it. Something is going to happen tomorrow, something out of the ordinary.”
“Are you psychic?”
“No, but I am incredibly intuitive. Also, I broke a vase yesterday!”
“What does that have to do with anything,” Jongdae questioned, truly concerned for the girl’s sanity.
Sloane grew distracted as the boy in front of her began answering a question. Jongdae watched as her eyebrows scrunched together and her eyes widened in realization, her eyes never leaving his neck.
“Earth to Sloane? You okay?” Jongdae waved his hand in front of her, causing her to come back to reality. “Did you just have a vision?”
“I… did I zone out?” Sloane seemed genuinely confused.
Jongdae pursed his lips. “You were staring at that kid as if he had a bug on his back.” Sloane tried to recall what she was thinking about, but came up empty.
“Great answer as always. Sehun, why don’t you elaborate on what Mr. Zhang was saying?” Professor Park said, staring at Sehun expectantly.
“Uh… I believe he covered it all, Professor?”
Sloane face palmed and Jongdae began his manic laughter again, causing both him and Sehun to get thrown out of class.
Sloane and Jongdae’s conversation was forgotten for the rest of the class.
~*~
“I made dinner!” Sloane’s voice was heard as soon as the door swung open. Six exhausted young werewolves stumbled into the kitchen with relief as the waft of stew overwhelmed their senses. The table was covered in plates and bowls and beside it stood Sloane with a nervous grin on her face.
“Sloane! You shouldn’t have!” Jongdae cried while Tao pulled her into a tight hug.
“You’re a life saver!” Chanyeol praised, quickly yanking a chair back to plop onto it. “Kai was promising us he’d cook and I really wasn’t in the mood for burnt kimchi fried rice.”
“Hey!” Kai barked, eyes slits with the promise of death as he glowered at Chanyeol.
“What? it’s true!” Chanyeol stuck his tongue out at his alpha.
“What did you make?” Sehun inquired, glancing around the crowded table. Kyungsoo smiled appreciatively at the girl before sitting down as well.
“Well, I cooked a stew with astragalus roots in it, some beef, a salad, and warm agrimony tea.”
Once everyone was settled, they all began eating, the moans of pleasure didn’t go unnoticed to Sloane, and she bit back a smile, pleased that her cooking skills were still up to par.
“This is, without a doubt, the best stew I’ve ever had!” Tao squealed.
“Sorry, Kyungsoo,” Kai grinned at the smaller boy, who just rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea.
“His stew is still better than your kimchi fried rice,” Jongdae muttered and yelped as Kai kicked him underneath the table.
“What did you say was in the stew and tea?” Kai asked Sloane soon after, acting as if he had not just given Jongdae’s shin a nice purple bruise.
Sloane slurped some broth before answering his question, “astragalus roots and agrimony.”
“Are those the plants that you found in your books?” Kyungsoo asked.
She nodded, impressed that he remembered. “Yeah, astragalus helps increase energy, both the body and mind. It will help you with fatigue and unclear decisions. While agrimony helps keep away negative energy and spirits as well as keeping a level head.”
Kai’s chewing slowed as Sloane continued talking. He blinked at her, and she must have felt his gaze, because she looked up at him.
“Is this your way of helping us?” He questioned. She nodded and quickly broke eye contact, awaiting a scolding.
“Thank you, Sloane,” his voice was strained, but Sloane could hear his sincerity. “I should have known you would find a loophole.”
“Aw! Our Sloane is so smart!” Tao gushed with a full mouth. He ruffled the girl’s hair.
“Our…Our Sloane?” She choked. Tao began laughing, murmuring a ‘how cute’.
“Are you still anxious, Sloane?” Jongdae asked soon after.
She glared at him and Kyungsoo cocked an eyebrow, “why were you anxious?”
“I…” Jongdae began his manic laughter and Sloane threw a carrot at him. It shut him up immediately and he pouted, feeling betrayed that Sloane would use violence against him. “It’s nothing really. I promised that I wouldn’t get involved…”
“But?” Chanyeol pushed.
“But… be on guard tomorrow. I feel something will happen, something different.”
“Good different or bad different?” Sehun asked.
She shrugged, “that’s up for you to decide.”
“She also broke a vase,” Jongdae added.
“Jongdae!” Sloane shook her head at him, and his lips seemed to glue together. His eyes widened and he pushed away from the table, causing him and his chair to stumble backwards.
“Now you get why I’m always beating him up, “ Kai sighed as the table burst into laughter.
Sloane just scratched her head and drank her tea, “I really did break a vase though, is there any way I can get you to lend me six dollars?”
“Mmm!” Jongdae yelled from the floor where he was practically convulsing, pulling at the pink flesh of his lips in an attempt to rip them apart.
“Shut up!” Kai ordered.
“It’s your fault you’re in this situation!”
“You really would try to act that way towards a witch and not expect her to retaliate?”
“Hey! I’m not a witch! You want your lips merged too?!”
“No! I’m trying to defend you!”
Outside the moon shown bright, nearly full with the promise of change.
~*~
“I’m curious,” Jongdae murmured sleepily the next day. “Why are we watching a movie about a werewolf hunter?”
“Van Helsing also killed vampires,” Sloane informed, running her fingers through Tao’s brown hair where his head sat comfortably on her lap. He began purring like a kitten.
“I still don’t get why we are watching it, regardless of what he murdered,” Sehun scrunched his nose at a particularly violent scene.
Kyungsoo sighed, “it’s an attempt at distraction. But… it really isn’t working very well.”
“Where’s Kai?” Chanyeol asked.
“He couldn’t stomach the plot,” Kyungsoo shrugged.
“He’s not the only one,” Jongdae muttered.
“Will you guys just relax?” Sloane asked. “You’re transforming in less then twenty-four hours. Eat, rest, and enjoy a cool action flick with both a hot leading and supporting role and horribly depicted werewolves.”
“The werewolves are a bit much,” Kyungsoo relented with a soft chuckle.
“I wish I was that muscular when I shifted,” Tao yawned.
“Those vampires don’t seem that far off though…” Chanyeol mentioned, causing a chilling silence to take over.
Sloane let out a gust of breath and a few of the boys glanced over at her.
“Don’t worry about us too much, Sloane,” Jongdae said. He threw her a reassuring grin after sensing her distress.
“Yeah, we’re big boys,” Chanyeol added, flexing one of his biceps and sending the girl a wink.
“I know. I don’t even know why I’m so worried, honestly. I hardly know any of you.”
“It’s because we’re so handsome,” Tao provided, his eyes still closed.
Sloane lightly smacked his arm and rolled her eyes, “and so dumb.”
“We’ll be okay, Sloane,” Kyungsoo assured with a warm smile. “We always are.”
~*~
“Look who has finally graced us with his presence!” Sehun yelled as Kai stumbled down the stairs a few hours later.
“Sloane made us have a werewolf marathon,” Tao informed his leader with a slight pout.
“All of them sucked, especially that shape shifting one,” Chanyeol added.
“Um, Blood and Chocolate was actually pretty decent. You have to admit that,” Sloane said. Chanyeol just shrugged.
“Well, I obviously haven’t missed much. It’s go time, you all ready?”
“But, the moon isn’t even all the way out yet!” Sloane said, her eyes widening with alarm.
Kai smirked, “we have to prepare some things. We shift pretty far from the house.”
“But—”
“It’s going to be fine!” Sehun drawled, throwing his arms around her shoulders. “You worry too much.”
“Can I at least—”
“Nope,” Kai interrupted, popping the P.
Sloane groaned with frustration, “then what am I supposed to do?”
Kai shrugged, “watch movies about witches. I heard that The Blair Witch Project is a good one.”
“Not cool,” Kyungsoo chastised as he walked past his best friend to grab some bags.
“What’s in the bags?” Sloane questioned, plopping back on the couch in defeat. She watched as Kyungsoo distributed the bags so that each boy got one.
“Snacks, extra clothes, first aid. Just things we will need if we change back early for whatever reason.”
“That happens?”
“Occasionally. It’s rare.”
“Usually, if we get wounded pretty badly or knocked unconscious, we’ll turn back to our human form,” Jongdae mentioned.
“Oh…”
“Oh great,” Chanyeol said, throwing his arms in the air. “Now she really is going to panic!”
Kai headed over to where Sloane was seated and knelt in front of her, “we do this every month. We will keep a look out for anything out of the ordinary, but until then, it will be just like always. You really need to chill, we know what we are doing.”
Sloane nodded, “I know, I know. Just be careful… all of you.”
Sehun saluted, “aye, aye, Captain.”
Kai rose to his feet, “I am the captain of this ship, and my first command is to head to the van!”
Sloane smiled as the boys said their farewells. Kyungsoo patted her shoulder, Tao gave her a slimy kiss on her cheek, while Jongdae kissed the top of her head. Chanyeol clipped her chin, Sehun rubbed her arm, and Kai walked out without so much as a wave—which was what Sloane was expecting.
“We’ll be back before you know it,” Sehun whispered to her before rushing to the others, closing the door behind himself.
Now alone, Sloane let out a shaky breath and played with her gold necklace, hoping that their confidence would get them through the night.
~*~
“She is really worried for us,” Jongdae mentioned as they all piled into the van.
Chanyeol jumped into the driver’s seat, Kai in the passenger, while the other four climbed into the back.
“It’s nice,” Chanyeol admitted as he pulled out of the driveway. “She’s like a mother. It’s kind of cute watching her fret over us like that.”
The guys in the back nodded in agreement.
“I just hope she doesn’t do anything stupid,” Kai muttered, closing his eyes and sinking into his seat, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.
The ride was mostly silent, as they made their way to the outskirts of the forest. The moon seemed almost reachable as Chanyeol haphazardly parked and they all filed out. They were in a small circular clearing; the trees in the area were easily fifteen feet, hovering high above their heads.
“You all ready?” Kai asked, locking eyes with each member of his pack and receiving a nod from each. “Alright, here we go.”
It took a few moments, as the moon slowly began to reveal itself. The wolves became anxious, hobbling from foot to foot, claiming to have to pee, and telling stale jokes to pass the time. But soon, they began to feel the shift.
Chanyeol was the first to change. He yelped, startling the other five, as he tumbled to the ground. With his last bit of sanity, he quickly yanked his clothes off, not wanting to destroy them during the shift.
Jongdae whistled, “looking good, Channie!”
“Fuck off!” Chanyeol roared before screaming in agony. Sehun winced as Chanyeol’s arms twisted in odd angles. The others undressed quickly, knowing their turn was soon.
Kyungsoo was the next to begin shifting. Tao, Sehun and Kai quickly joining him. Jongdae blinked in surprise, Chanyeol was practically full wolf now, his russet fur blowing in the breeze, as his snout started to form.
“I’m not shifting,” Jongdae spoke from the corner of his mouth nervously, knowing none of the others were listening, too distracted by the pain. “Uh…” He glanced around and glared at the moon, “what are you doing?! Let’s go! I’m on the clock!”
Chanyeol was full wolf then and his fire orange orbs stared at Jongdae, almost mockingly.
“Oh, shut up!” Jongdae snapped. He cursed loudly right after, feeling the bones in his feet break and expand.
“There we go!” He cheered with his signature laugh as he began to shift.
The shift took around ten minutes to endure, and slowly, the boys changed into wolves. Once Jongdae’s white and black fur fully covered his new body, the six wolves howled, quickly taking off through the familiar forest.
Quick as lightening, the beasts raced through the land, leaping over fallen logs with their tongues lolling out their mouths. A few roughhoused, snapping at each other’s necks, while others chased after squirrels and other small animals. The sense of freedom they felt while they were wolves was indescribable. Although the shift was painful, being a wolf brought a joy that made it somewhat bearable.
A couple hours passed with the six pups playing and running around. Jongdae and Sehun were play fighting, Kai and Kyungsoo were racing one another, Tao got distracted by a frog, while Chanyeol was chasing his tail.
While running, Kai suddenly stopped, causing Kyungsoo to become distracted and hit a tree. After shaking it off he studied his leader. Kai was stiff as a board, the chocolate brown fur on his back slowly rising and his gold eyes glowing brightly against the darkness. He began growling menacingly, and that’s when Kyungsoo smelt it.
He whipped his head in the direction Kai was glowering and joined his low growling. Kai let out a quick bark, and soon, the other wolves joined the two. Immediately smelling a threat, they all snarled dangerously low.
Finally, the threat came into focus.
Another wolf, about as big as them, hesitantly made its way towards the group. It had ashy grey fur and sapphire eyes. It made it clear it wasn’t looking for a fight…
But he was on Kai’s territory.
With a sharp bark, Kai charged the lone wolf, his pack following immediately. They began fighting with the wolf, but he was stronger than anticipated. He was able to ward off Chanyeol and Sehun, and dodge Kyungsoo and Tao’s advances, but Kai surprised him, coming at him from his right and causing him to land on his side.
He immediately rolled onto his back in surrender, but Kai was seeing red. He dug his teeth into the beast’s flesh, causing him to howl in pain. Somehow he was able to get Kai off of him and bite him back in defense. Once free, he turned to run away, but was wounded, and wasn’t as fast as he could have been. Kai, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo were hot on his heels, and once again pinned him onto the moist ground.
The exhausted animal closed his eyes, tired of fighting them off, and awaited the deathblow Kai was so eager to give.
Before he could finish the wolf off, Kai was knocked over. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol growled in surprise as Jongdae stood protectively in front of the other wolf. He huffed and shook his head. Kai got back on his paws and barked, ordering Jongdae to move, but the pup remained in front of the wolf, who was now unconscious.
Sehun and Tao joined the rest, ears perked with wonder, as they watched the confrontation.
Kyungsoo yelped in surprise as his attention was brought back to the strange wolf—who was a wolf no longer.
A boy around their age now lay were the wolf once had. Realization hit them all slowly—except for Jongdae, who had pieced everything together while Kai was blood hungry—and panic slowly took over the situation.
Another werewolf had shown up on their turf and approached them, probably asking to join them, and what did they do? They attacked him, nearly killing him in the process. Four out of seven wolves present were covered in blood, but the boy had bite wounds on his neck and belly, and blood was pouring profusely out of them. Almost without thinking, Kai dragged the boy unto his back and took off, rushing towards his house, to Sloane, who he knew could help the boy. He heard the pounding of his members’ paws against the rough earth as they followed him, some limping. It was a race against the sun, which was beginning to rise over the horizon.
It took about thirty minutes to get back to the house. Kai yipped once he saw the familiar wood of his home, but as soon as he left the clearing of the trees, he stumbled and fell, convulsing as his human form began to resurface.
One by one, the boys began to shift back to their human forms. Kai tried to crawl to the door, as he was still changing back with an unconscious guy still on top of his back. It was a struggle, but he was able to bang on the door, leaving blood stained handprints in his wake.
“Sloane!” He croaked, his voice was still laced with his wolf. “Sloane! Please help!”
Exhaustion got the better of him and he relented. He was aware long enough to see the door swing open and smiled with relief as a startled Sloane appeared before him.
~*~
Could it be possible for silence to be so loud it could startle someone awake? That’s what Kai’s first humane thought was as he jerked from his sleep. He was disoriented, still stuck between his wolf and human minds, but as he began blinking into focus, he realized that he was in fact human.
He sighed, running a hand over his face as the night’s events began surfacing. He was in his bedroom, clad in only a pair of black boxer briefs. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand—three forty-six. He checked the skin of his stomach, remembering he took a hit, but saw that his slight wounds were already closed in a fading pink.
He still had dried blood under his fingernails.
With a groan he climbed out of bed, trudging down to the living room. Once down there, he noticed that the television was off. Everything was off and it was silent. The silence made him feel incredibly guilty of his behavior, and he needed some type of distraction.
Chanyeol, Tao, and Kyungsoo were all in the living room, asleep. Tao on a couch, Kyungsoo siting up in the armchair, his chin resting on his bare chest, while Chanyeol’s tall frame was sprawled on the floor.
Kai headed over to the kitchen and saw Sehun sipping on a glass of milk. They locked eyes and Sehun bowed his head a bit in greeting, his face blank of any emotion.
“How long have you been up?” Kai asked the younger boy, his voice still rough with sleep.
Sehun shrugged, “about twenty minutes. The groaning woke me up.”
Kai cocked an eyebrow but didn’t question. “Where’s Sloane and….” He dropped his head, the guilt closing up his throat.
Sehun sighed, leaning back in his chair and drinking more of his milk, “in her room.”
Kai patted the wall before heading down the hall to his roommate’s room. After some hesitation, he knocked quietly.
“Come in,” he heard her say, and did as he was told.
Sloane was sitting on the floor in the middle of her room, Jongdae sat at her desk, looking the most serious he ever has, and on the bed laid the werewolf Kai tried to kill. He gulped, seeing him in the light. His wounds were closed, but the dried blood still remained.
“He was having trouble earlier, but he’s all healed now,” Sloane informed, her eyes never leaving the stranger’s sleeping form. “You got him pretty good.”
“I didn’t know,” Kai said.
“I know.”
“I did,” Jongdae admitted. His voice was hard with anger, and when he locked eyes with Kai, they were stern and shown a bright hazel—his wolf’s eyes. “I tried to get you to stop.”
“You did,” Kai sighed, looking down at his bare feet.
“There’s a question I can’t get out of my head, Kai. I keep wondering what would you have done if he hadn’t shifted back? Would you have killed me too? Just to get to him?”
“Jongdae! You know I wouldn’t.”
Jongdae shook his head, “how could you be so careless? How could you let your bloodlust take control over you like that? You weren’t you, man….”
Kai kept his head low like a scolded child, knowing he deserved this.
“You nearly killed someone, and for what? What reason, Kai? Because he was in your territory? Please, you don’t kill someone who approaches you with caution! You don’t deliver a deathblow to a wolf who has his fucking belly up in surrender!”
“Jongdae!” Sloane called. She spun around to see her usually casual and goofy friend. He was glaring at Kai, his chest heaving. “You’re going to wake him up.”
Jongdae stood up and walked out the room, but when he was in front of Kai he muttered, “I’m disappointed in you, Leader.”
Once he was out of the room, Sloane sighed and Kai sat where Jongdae was sitting prior.
“He’s right,” he confessed, running his fingers through his hair to yank on the strands. “What was I thinking?”
“You told me that it was dangerous,” Sloane began, after a small silence. “You being a wolf. You said that you don’t have complete control; that the wolf takes over. You saw a threat and proceeded to get rid of it.”
“But Jongdae is right. When he approached us, he was cautious, letting us know he didn’t want any trouble. Still, I attacked him. Even when he was surrendering, I was all too willing to end his life. I’ve never been like that before. It scares me.”
Sloane sighed, sitting a tad straighter. “I know this guy.”
“What?” Kai’s arms fell limply at his side.
“I mean, I don’t know know him, but I saw him earlier this week.”
Kai didn’t know what to say to that.
“At least you stopped,” Sloane continued. “At least you were able to get him here safely.”
“Not without him nearly bleeding out.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I’m here then, huh?”
They sat in silence, watching the boy sleep. He had pale skin and jet-black shaggy hair. His face was blessed with angelically soft features and his build was sturdy, yet lanky.
He began twitching in his sleep, and with a loud gasp, the boy sprang forward. His bare chest was shiny with sweat and was rising and falling quickly.
He sensed the two in the room and jerked his head towards them, “who are you!?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Sloane murmured with a soft, yet dazzling smile.
The boy looked confused, his eyes wandering back and forth between Sloane and Kai as his nose flared.
Finally, his eyes widened with realization as they bored into Kai, “You…you tried to kill me!”
Kai winced. Of course, he would recognize his scent.
“I—”
“Don’t worry about him right now,” Sloane interrupted. “As a matter of fact, he’s leaving.”
“I am?”
“Yes,” She said sternly.
Hesitantly, Kai left the room, shuffling back to the living room where the others were sitting, awake and aware.
“We heard him. Is he awake?” Kyungsoo asked.
Kai met his eyes briefly before nodding.
“Come here,” Kyungsoo ordered, pulling his leader down on the chair with him. “We’re not angry with you, Jongin.”
“One of you are.”
“Jongdae will get over it,” the shorter boy assured. “Don’t beat yourself up, alright?” Kai didn’t answer, so Kyungsoo punched him slightly on the arm. “Alright?”
Kai nodded again and sniffed, not wanting to cry in front of his members.
~*~
“Do you remember me?” Sloane asked the werewolf, who had relaxed somewhat since his attempted murderer left the room.
He studied her and slowly nodded, “the girl… I bumped into you earlier. You dropped your books….”
“And you caught them all before they had the chance to even hit the ground. I should have realized it then, but I still don’t know much about werewolves.”
He blinked at her.
“I’m sorry about what happened last night. I’m not even sure they all know what happened, but I know they are all incredibly sorry. Especially the one that was in here. He’s the leader of this pack.”
“And what are you? You’re definitely not a werewolf.”
Sloane grinned, “That I am not. I’m not sure what I am. I hope you don’t mind, one of your wounds was infected, so I took the liberty to help with healing you.”
The werewolf reached up to his neck, but was met with smooth flesh. He sighed with relief and glanced back at the girl, “you’re overflowing my senses with your power. Are you a witch?”
“No,” she answered, mostly out of habit.
He stared at her in wonder.
“Are you hungry?” He shook his head. “Are you tired?” He shook his head again. “Are you going to tell me your name, at least?”
He finally broke into a smile, and it was beautiful, “Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun.”
“Hello, Baekhyun. My name is Sloane Collins. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You as well.”
“One of the members brought you some clothes… It’s not much, but it would probably be easier on the both of us if you were clothed.”
Baekhyun glanced down at himself and his face turned an endearing bright red.
Sloane chuckled and placed the pair of shorts and plain white shirt on her bed, “I’ll be in the living room. It’s right down the hall.”
He smiled at her appreciatively as she headed out.
Sloane fell on top of the couch with a huff. Sehun and Jongdae quickly joined the others in the living room and they all stared at her expectantly.
She groaned when she realized all eyes were on her, “what?”
“You know what,” Kai said.
“He’s awake…”
“We know,” Tao sang, pointing at his ears. “What happened? Is he alright?”
“He’s fine… A bit disoriented, but fine.”
“Did he tell you anything about himself?” Kai asked.
“His name is Byun Baekhyun, but that’s all the information I have on him. He’s changing right now, I told him to join us once he is dressed.”
It didn’t take long before Baekhyun was shuffling into view. He nervously glanced around the room at the werewolves before making his way to Sloane, sitting stiffly beside her. He stared at her expectantly, blinking innocently, but jumped as a few of the boys groaned.
“Not you too!” Chanyeol complained, throwing a couch cushion in the air.
“W—what?” The boy asked, utterly confused.
“She healed him,” Kai informed his pack, although none of them realized what that meant.
“Anyways,” Sloane began, demanding their attention. “I believe there is something that needs to be said before we continue any further.”
She gave Kai a meaningful look and he cleared his throat uncomfortably, “I’m sorry, Baekhyun. About last night, I didn’t mean… it was not my intention….”
“It’s alright,” Baekhyun stated with a small smile.
“It’s not!” Kai countered, finally working the nerve to meet the stranger’s gaze. “I was going to kill you.”
“But you didn’t,” Baekhyun said with a shrug. “That’s all that matters.”
The other boys apologized as well, and Baekhyun accepted them graciously.
“Now that that’s all out of the way,” Sloane said. She turned towards the boy, “how did you end up in Kai’s forest last night?”
Baekhyun shifted uncomfortably, “well, I’d been in town for a couple weeks. I knew there was a pack nearby and was waiting to approach you, but I didn’t know what to say. I decided that the full moon would be a good idea, because you would see me as a wolf and not question it… at least, that’s what I had hoped for.”
“Why did you want to meet us?” Kyungsoo asked, handing the boy a glass of water.
“I don’t belong to any pack,” Baekhyun informed once he chugged half the glass. “I’m alone.”
“He’s a rogue?” Tao asked, the pitch of his voice higher with fear. Sehun, Chanyeol, and Kai’s eyes changed into their wolfs’ at the idea of a rogue.
“Calm down!” Jongdae barked. “If he wanted to kill us, we would have a while ago. Not all rogues are vicious anyway.”
The three relaxed, and Jongdae rolled his eyes.
“What happened?” Sloane asked, visibly concerned. “Why are you alone?”
Baekhyun stared at his hands that were wrapped firmly around his cup, his knuckles were snow white from how tightly he gripped it, “I don’t know. I’ve always been.”
“Were you bitten?” Kai asked.
Baekhyun shook his head, “no. I was definitely born a werewolf, but I’m an orphan. The first time I shifted, it was in front of my foster parents. They were so terrified they kicked me out on the spot. I’ve been wandering ever since.
“I told you all I have been here for a few weeks. In that time, I watched you. You seemed like a nice pack, and I was envious—especially of you, Sloane.”
His eyes flickered over to her and he chuckled lowly—self-consciously.
Sloane tilted her head, “why?”
“Because,” his kept eye contact with the magical girl. “You all seemed like a family. I knew you weren’t a werewolf, yet they had accepted you. I wish I could feel accepted.”
“You can,” Sloane whispered, and she smiled reassuringly at him. “You can. With us. Right guys?”
She scanned the six pack mates. They were silent, for whatever reason. All of them avoided her gaze.
“Kai?” She tried.
He scratched his chin and whined silently before meeting her gaze, “what? You want him to stay with us too? As if I have the room?”
The hostility in his voice caused Baekhyun to flinch and his shoulders to slump.
Sloane was unperturbed, “If he doesn’t have anywhere else to stay, I don’t see why not. He’s been alone all his life. He needs brothers, Kai. He needs you guys.”
“But I—”
“He can stay at my place.” All heads snapped over to the giant who had been sitting quietly on the floor beside the television for most of the conversation.
“You don’t have to feel obligated to do so, Chanyeol,” Kai assured.
Chanyeol shrugged nonchalantly, “Why not? I highly doubt my parents would mind another werewolf in the house. I don’t have a spare room, but my bedroom has a lot of space, and I wouldn’t mind sharing.”
“You would do that?” Baekhyun breathed in awe, slightly overwhelmed by the hospitality the giant shown.
The two locked eyes and Chanyeol nodded firmly, “I know what it’s like to be an outcast, Baekhyun. No one should have to deal with being a werewolf alone.”
“That’s our little Delta!” Sehun gushed, falling on top of Chanyeol. The two began wrestling on the floor, knocking over a lamp in the process.
“Are you alright with adding another member to your pack, Kai?” Sloane asked the tense alpha.
Kai ran through the events that happened not even twenty-four hours ago. Of him attempting to take Baekhyun’s life. He had no idea what the pup had been through prior to that night, and now the guilt seemed to pile onto his skin like dirt, making him feel grimy and gross.
He gasped for air and looked up, looked at Baekhyun—at the earnest and hopeful look in his eyes—and knew without a doubt, that he wanted him in his pack, “any werewolf is welcome. I’m the alpha of this pack, Kim Jongin, but I go by Kai. From this day on, I will be your alpha, Byun Baekhyun. Welcome to our pack.”
All the boys hooted and hollered. Sehun ran over and ruffled Baekhyun’s hair, yelling incoherently in his ear. Sloane clapped along, a giant smile on her face, but it was dim compared to the one on Baekhyun’s.
“Now that that’s all settled,” Sloane said once the excitement died down. “Will you all please get dressed?! I’ve seen enough naked bodies to last me a lifetime!”
“Hey!” Sehun huffed. “We’re all wearing underwear!”
“I’m sick of all the skin! Are you all not cold!?”
“You know werewolves run hot!”
“That doesn’t mean you have to act as if you think you are hot enough to walk around this house half naked!”
“Whatever, Sloane! Don’t act like you don’t like it!”
“Ew! Sehun, don’t touch me!”
The day ended on a high note, the boys’ surviving another full moon.
3. The Sullen Siblings
The halls were silent.
Almost eerie, considering the time. Byun Baekhyun gulped as his eyes skittered around the dimly lit hall.
His ears perked, noticing the small explosions of heels on tile and he sighed from the familiar sound.
“Are you nervous?” Her voice smooth, sweet, comforting. He couldn’t help but smile at just the mere thought of her, but she was there in his presence, an eyebrow lifted as she studied him.
He cleared his throat and wiped his sweaty palms on his pant legs, “is it that obvious?”
Sloane slowly shook her head, “no. Not for others, at least. Come.”
She grabbed his hand and led him down the hall into the office. It was stuffy and smelled slightly moldy, but Baekhyun tried his best not to cringe.
He hated school.
When he actually attended school, he was bullied relentlessly, but he had faith that this school would be different. He had faith in his pack, in Sloane. Hence why he was allowing her to drag him into the office.
His pack. He still couldn’t believe after nineteen years, he was finally able to say those words.
Apparently, Tao is ridiculously rich, and he begged his parents to yank some strings so that they could get Baekhyun enrolled. As before mentioned, their university was prestigious and private, only accepting the best of the best—also known as the rich of the rich—so it came to no surprise that getting Baekhyun in wasn’t going to be an easy feat.
Unless, of course, you’re Huang Zitao.
Baekhyun couldn’t even feign his surprise by Tao’s generosity. Tao seemed rather… Detached. Unbothered by everything. Baekhyun would even go as far as to classify the tall werewolf as frightening. But when he brought it up to Sloane the night before, she laughed, genuinely confused by his assessment.
“Well, if that’s what you see, it definitely won’t last for long. Trust me.”
The two new students headed over to the desk where the principal’s assistant sat and she printed out Baekhyun’s class schedule.
Once they were out, he kept staring at the piece of paper in awe. Sloane noticed the slight shake of his hand and grinned.
“Would ya look at that? We have biology together.”
Baekhyun’s head snapped up to stare at her, his expression still in that dreamy state of disbelief. “We have a class together?”
She nodded; getting the reaction out of him she wanted. “Yup. Chanyeol is also in that class.”
The sparkle in his eyes nearly tripled.
But then the bell rang.
Doors sprang open and hoards of students trailed out, flooding the halls.
Baekhyun’s nerves got the best of him; flashbacks of his brief time in school making him break out in a cold sweat as shoulders bumped into him. He was instantly aware of his clothes and hair and height and everything he ever was insecure about and he could feel a panic attack crawling up his throat.
A warm soft hand slid into his damp one, tightly gripping his limb and bringing his attention to Sloane.
“You’re okay. You’re here with me.”
“And me,” a deeper voice called and Baekhyun was surprised he could hear it over all the chaos around him.
The hall in front of them seemed to part and about five feet away, Kai, Chanyeol, Tao, and Sehun were making their way towards Baekhyun and Sloane. Kai was the one Baekhyun heard and it made some sense now, because people were quieting down as the boys walked.
Sloane had been at the university for about two weeks now and in that time she had sensed that the boys who she was starting to consider her friends were pretty popular. But, she could admit, she was very ignorant to it all—for there were more important matters to her. But now she was seeing it all first hand and wow how could she not have noticed it before? The way girls—and guys—were not only giving them space, but also how they all giggled and gushed once the guys passed them. Not to mention the ogling….
They were viewed as gods here.
She couldn’t help but to wonder where that put her in the college hierarchy.
It wasn’t looking too good.
She shook away her thoughts and the sense of impending doom and glanced at Baekhyun, who would be a part of all this attention in less than a minute.
He seemed to gather what was coming for him, and his free hand twitched at the hem of his uniform jacket. Sloane could tell how uncomfortable Baekhyun felt in it, as if he were not worthy of such things, and it hurt her soul. She was going to do everything in her power to make sure that beautiful smile of his never faded.
Kai and the gang finally met up with the two and stopped before them.
“Did you get your schedule?” Chanyeol asked Baekhyun.
Baekhyun nodded and practically threw the piece of paper at his new roommate. Chanyeol grinned at the action, but didn’t mention it as his eyes wandered down the sheet. He wasn’t the only one with wandering eyes. A lot of the students were now noticing Baekhyun, and he felt each stare penetrate him like a knife.
“We have biology together,” Chanyeol said. Handing him back the paper.
“I know. Sloane told me.”
“Did she also tell you that you’re sweating like a stripper in church?” Tao commented with a slightly disgusted look on his face.
“I….”
“Leave him alone,” Sloane hissed, narrowing eyes on the taller boy. “It’s his first day and you all are giving him more attention than he needs.”
“Well he better get used to it,” Sehun sighed. “It’s not going to get any easier.”
He sauntered passed them, heading over to his next class.
“He’s right,” Kai murmured to Baekhyun. “The students here… they have nothing better to do with themselves, I guess.”
“Ya’ll are hot and mysterious,” Sloane shrugged. “Of course you are popular.”
Kai scowled.
“You think we’re hot?” Chanyeol smirked, eyes glittering flirtatiously.
Sloane shrugged, unfazed. “I have eyes, Yeol.”
Chanyeol stiffened at the name, “you… you gave me a nickname!”
Kai rolled his eyes, “come on. The bell is about to ring.”
The four dispersed. Baekhyun, Sloane, and Chanyeol had their shared biology class next so they headed there.
The minute walk felt like an eternity to Baekhyun. The whole time his eyes flittered around the hall, taking in everything. A lot of people they passed whispered to one another, gazes trained on the three of them. The hot and popular Park Chanyeol followed by the mysterious new foreigner girl and an equally as attractive new boy. Baekhyun didn’t know how to take the ‘being attractive’ thing, so he decided not to let it get to him.
He also didn’t really like the way people were talking about Sloane.
She told him that his strong need to be around her was a byproduct of her power. That a slight bond had been made between the two of them and it would wear off in a week or so, but he wasn’t so sure. Since the first time he saw her, he knew he wanted to be around her. She had a calmness about her, a gentleness that made him like her.
But he seemed to be the only one.
Everyone they passed was either curious about her or completely disgusted. It made his wolf furious that people were so quick to judge someone they obviously knew nothing about.
Chanyeol must have sensed it, because he glanced at the smaller boy with wide eyes that grew impossibly bigger once he saw the glowing deep ocean blue of his irises.
“Whoa, man!” He whispered so that no one else could hear.
Baekhyun’s eyes snapped shut as he tried to control his wolf. Chanyeol’s big hand came up to rub his back encouragingly and after a short moment, Baekhyun’s melted chocolate colored eyes returned.
“Thought we lost you there for a moment,” Chanyeol said. His face was drawn together with concern as he took in his member’s appearance.
“What happened?” Sloane asked as they slipped into class right before the bell rang.
“The way they were talking about you….” Baekhyun locked eyes with the girl and she gulped. The blue was slowly bleeding into his iris.
“They talk,” Chanyeol dismissed, loosening his already lazy tie even more. “That’s what they do.”
“Not about Sloane,” Baekhyun growled, baring his teeth.
Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, then lifted his hands in surrender. “Alright, Baekhyun. You’re right. Let’s sit down, okay?”
Baekhyun was fighting his wolf again and it caused his senses to skyrocket. Sloane bit her lip in worry as he remained standing in the front of the classroom, the teacher introducing him to the rest. His neck was tight with strain and his eyes were closed in case they weren’t the right color.
He bowed quickly once he was introduced and made his way next to Sloane, who immediately grabbed his hand under their shared table.
The bond between them flared, and Baekhyun gasped as energy ran up his arm.
“You’re alright now,” Sloane grinned mischievously. Leaving Baekhyun stunned, but his wolf was dead silent, and he sighed with relief. “Now listen to the teacher and do good in school, okay? We didn’t get you enrolled so that you can scare everyone.”
“Yes ma’am.”
~*~
“I haven’t even been here the whole day and I’m exhausted,” Baekhyun pouted. His backpack was already trailing behind him on the floor and his jacket was hanging off his shoulders.
“It’s lunch time,” Jongdae began in a warning tone. The two had calculus together which was their class right before lunch break. “You better brace yourself. Chanyeol told me about your wolf coming out this morning.”
Baekhyun groaned, ruffling his dark hair. “I don’t think he will be making another appearance today, but—” he took a deep breath in front of the wide doors to the cafeteria. “Alright. I’m ready.”
Jongdae chuckled and pushed the doors open. The dull hum of multiple conversations exploded and Baekhyun shuddered before entering the giant room behind his pack member.
Out of all the boys, Jongdae was definitely the most caring to Baekhyun. He was sure it had something to do with being the only one without a guilty conscious for attacking him the first full moon together. Jongdae has felt like an older brother for the past days, helping him with whatever issues he has had and always asking him if he is all right. Baekhyun has been thankful.
They grabbed a tray and loaded it with food before Jongdae led Baekhyun to a table nearly filled with familiar faces.
“How is it going so far?” Tao asked curiously.
Baekhyun bit his lip. “Besides nearly going wolf a couple times, it hasn’t been too bad. The classes don’t seem too difficult.”
“Has anybody tried talking to you?” Kyungsoo asked.
Baekhyun shook his head. “No. But I have been getting a lot of stares. It makes me nervous, I don’t like it.”
“I told you earlier that you need to get used to it,” Sehun said. “Hanging out with us, well, we get that a lot.”
“We’re kind of like celebrities,” Jongdae revealed with a relaxed shrug.
“Celebrities?” Baekhyun repeated, eyeing the cafeteria and locking eyes with more people than he would like. “I don’t know….”
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