Beast Pack

Chapter 6

“Do not attack,” Kris said to the other wolves as they stepped out of the den. One of them growled at me, and Chanyeol growled back. Kris continued, “I have temporarily revoked my vow against humans.” He glanced back at us. “As for Luhan, I don’t care.”

“Alpha.” A slender wolf with rainbow hair—honestly, I had never seen so many colors on one person’s head—moved forward tentatively. “Is Luhan’s abjurement revoked as well?”

Kris paused. After a moment, he grumbled, “Temporarily.”

It was as if fireworks had gone off. I counted as eight young men sprinted towards Luhan. He yelped as all of them pounced, dogpiling him. They were grinning from ear to ear. “Luhan!”

I grinned, too, laughing soundlessly. I poked Chanyeol’s cheek and pointed to the pile of wolves. You, too. He smiled brilliantly; you could almost see his tail wagging (figuratively, of course). He set me down and laughed.

“Luhan, are you alive under there?” He teased.

“GET OFF ME!” Luhan shouted, struggling beneath the pack members.

Tao came out of the den. “You’re still alive,” he said to me. I nodded. He smiled faintly, his eyes fading from yellow to black. “Good.” He turned to the mess of men and barked, “Hey! Get up!”

Immediately, the wolves clambered to their feet. Luhan groaned. He was filthy, and his hair was absolutely crazy. I giggled to myself and helped him up. He brushed himself off, muttering about the weight they had gained from hunting too often. I froze when I noticed that the other wolves were staring at me again.

“Lower your eyes!” Luhan growled. None of them did.

“This is Luna,” Chanyeol said, squeezing my hand.

You could hear crickets chirping. I ducked my head in a polite hello. The one who had stepped out first tilted his head. “Your voice,” he said slowly. “You can’t speak.”

“Sehun,” Tao chided tiredly.

“Sorry if they’re unsensitive,” Chanyeol whispered in my ear. “They haven’t been around live humans for a while. They’re not sure how to act.”

‘It’s okay,’ I mouthed. I turned to Luhan, signing, What are their names?

He replied, “Kris, Tao, Chanyeol, Suho, Kai, Baekhyun, Xiumin, D.O., Sehun, Chen, and Lay.”

Let me guess which ones they are, I signed playfully, winking. He shrugged as if to say, ‘it’s your funeral’. I pointed to the first boy. ‘Sehun,’ I mouthed. He nodded. Next I pointed to a short boy with reddish-brown hair and a soft face, like a nice person pretending to be mean. I thought before mouthing, Suho. Luhan nodded, surprised that I had guessed correctly.

I continued down the line. Next was a boy with curly, golden hair and deep, piercing eyes. ‘Baekhyun,’ I said soundlessly. He tilted his head, intrigued, and nodded. After him was a dark-haired boy with narrow eyes and bronzed skin. ‘Kai,’ I guessed.

“Yes,” he murmured. He had a deep voice for a young guy.

After Kai were four more wolves. One had brown hair with a streak of blonde, while the other had bright yellow hair and pale skin. The third had curly brown hair and a round, petite face, yet the fourth had narrow eyes and a sloped mouth, giving him a sly appearance. ‘D.O. and Lay,’ I mouthed, pointing to the first two. ‘And Xiumin and Chen.’

“How did you guess all of their names correctly?” Chanyeol asked.

I shrugged and signed, I feel like I know them from somewhere. Luhan translated my signs for the others.