Echoes of the Ancients

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As the morning sun began to rise, casting a golden hue over the village, three figures lingered in the shadows, their gazes fixed intently on a quaint house. They watched as Hyunjin stepped out and headed off to work, his departure marking the perfect opportunity for their clandestine mission.

"Alright, he's gone. Let's make this quick," murmured the leader, a note of excitement barely contained in his voice.

The second, with a cautious glance around, whispered back, "Remember, we're not to leave any trace. In and out."

"And if something goes wrong?" the third, the youngest, couldn't hide the tremble in his question.

"Just follow my lead," the leader reassured with a confident grin, "We've got this."

They made their way to the back of the house, where a window provided the silent invitation they had been waiting for. The leader, with practiced hands, quietly jimmied the lock and pushed the window open, signaling for the others to follow.

Inside, the house was still and quiet, save for the soft creak of their movements. They navigated through the dimly lit corridors with a purpose, their steps light and cautious.

The youngest kept a lookout, his heart racing, while the others went about their task with a silent efficiency.

"This is it," the leader whispered as they arrived at a room, his hand hovering momentarily before selecting an object. The item was carefully concealed within his cloak, its nature a secret shared only among them.

"Let's move out." the leader finally breathed, a smile of satisfaction in his voice.

Retracing their steps, they left the house as untouched as they had found it, imbued with a palpable sense of accomplishment. Vanishing into the breaking day, their presence was erased, making it seem as if they were never there.

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In the quiet aftermath of their encounter with Hyunjin, Changbin and Seungmin navigated the dimly lit streets back to their pack's home, a silence heavy as a cloak wrapped tight around the complexities of their thoughts and the turmoil churning within.

Upon their return, the common room of the pack's dwelling transformed into a stage for a complex dance of spoken words and hidden truths. Changbin broke the silence first, his voice steady but betraying the storm within. "We found Hyunjin tonight," he reported, pausing as if the words weighed heavily on him. "His condition was... alarming. Shirt torn, handprints marking his neck."

Seungmin, with a calculated neutrality in his voice that belied the whirlwind of emotions inside, added, "He claimed he was attacked by an alpha." Inside, though, he wrestled with a torrent of unbidden empathy. Why does the mention of an attack stir protective instincts rather than confirm our suspicions? he questioned internally, struggling with the dissonance between his duty to remain impartial and the empathetic pull he felt towards Hyunjin's plight.

Changbin grunted in response, his exterior facade of disdain masking a tumult of conflicting emotions. "Of course, he'd say that. Anything to gain sympathy," he said dismissively, though inside, a spark of unexpected anger flared at the thought of another alpha laying hands on Hyunjin. Why the hell am I feeling jealous? He's nothing to me.

The pack's reaction to the news was a mix of concern and suspicion, adding layers to an already complex mission. Felix caught the undercurrent of doubt in Changbin and Seungmin's voices. They're not telling us everything. There's a conflict in them. Yet, he remained silent, the puzzle pieces of Hyunjin's situation not yet fitting together in his mind.

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