H.O.W.L (EXO FanFic) ✓ //UNDER EDITING//

Chapter Thirty - one

Jaehee's Pov

The moment we reached the hide-out, Tao quickly dragged me inside the house, his grip was really strong that it hurt my wrist but I didn't say anything because I knew that he was trying to look out for me and he was making sure that we weren't followed.

I rested my legs on the couch, all my energy was drained from my body after transforming for the first time and ran a long distance in that form. Though I was more worried about the others, I didn't want any of them to get hurt.

The sun's about to rise and they haven't arrived yet, what was taking so long?

"We're safe now but I'm not sure if the others are too." Tao walked to the window and peeked through the curtains.

"I have faith in them. They are going to be okay." There were uncertainty in my voice as I fiddled with my fingers.

When  I get scared, I tend to prick my finger nails or fiddle with my fingers. I got this habit when I was six years old because of an incident that happened in front of my eyes.

Mom and dad used to fight a lot due to my dad's gambling problem, he always came home late at night because he always gambled with his paycheck he got from work and when he got fired because of embezzlement, he used my mom's money, the money she worked really hard to earn.

My mom would get really angry at him and my dad would add fuel to the fire, so whenever they fought, I'd take my little sister to the room and lock the door and then I would cover my sister's ears she could not hear the argument going on outside.

But I was also a little girl too and it was not something a little girl should go through especially when she also had to be a big sister to her little sister at the same time. 

I wanted to cry but I had to stay strong for my little sister.

Since then, I always play with my fingers when I get scared or terrified of something, it's because I'd think of my parents fighting and how I was always cooped up in the room with my sister as they fought outside.

Anyways, it has been an hour since we laid rest in the hide-out, but the others weren't back yet. Tao fell asleep on the other couch after waiting so long. 

I guess it's my time to keep watch though I'm not very confident with my abilities yet.

I was looking out the window making sure that everything was clear until I saw a faint figure moving in the woods. It made me startled for a minute, I looked back at Tao who was still sleeping soundly.

He must have been really tired from keeping watch for hours. I didn't want to disturb him so I didn't bother to wake him up. I looked out the window again and everything was quiet, the figure I saw earlier was gone.

Was it just my imagination?

Without making any sound, I slowly stepped out of the house, constantly glancing at the same spot where I saw the mysterious figure. 

My guts were telling me that it probably wasn't anyone dangerous but it couldn't hurt to be careful.

"Hello?" I called, it probably wasn't such a good idea to let whoever that figure was know that I was here.

Since I was too focused on finding the mysterious person, I didn't think much about my safety resulting in me to flinch and twist the hand that tapped on my shoulder, I pushed the person down onto the ground while still gripping onto his arm, making sure that he could not move.

"who are you?!"

"Ouch..."

I finally got a good look at who it was, my eyes widen in surprised when I saw that it was actually Luhan I was pinning down on the floor. I immediately leaped away from him but there were butterflies in my stomach.

"Luhan?"

"Damn, even though that didn't hurt much it still kinda sting." He joked while massaging the pain on his arm.

My face flushed as soon as I realized what I done. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone else."

"It's fine, you were only defending yourself."

"But wait, why are you alone?"

"They told me to go on ahead, make sure that you two were alright, especially you." He looked around as if he was looking for someone. "Where is Tao?"

"Um, he is actually sleeping inside. He's been up all night taking watch."

"I see.."

My worries were suddenly on Chanyeol's current status. "Is Chanyeol okay?" I was afraid that he had been hurt badly and I wasn't ready to see that yet.

There was a hurt expression on Luhan's face but it was gone almost immediately. "He's fine, he's got a couple of bruises here and there but nothing to worry about."

I sighed in relieved because of the good news. "Thank goodness."

"Anyway, we need to wake up Tao and find a safer place to settle down for the time being."

"Alright, I'll go and wake-" I was about to go back inside and wake up Tao when he appeared right on time, he was standing at the door frame with his arms crossed against his chest and a seductive grin on his face. "I'm here."

Somehow I find that creepy. Is he seducing me or Luhan?

"Great, you're awake. We need to get a move on, when I was on my way here, I noticed one or two vampires were trailing me but I was able to shake them off." Said Luhan as he lowered his head, "Sorry I should have been more careful."

It wasn't that I was disappointed in him for blowing our cover, I was more upset that he'd blame it on himself for getting himself followed by the vampires. "Luhan, it's not your fault you were followed, there wasn't really anything you could have done and besides, you managed to shake them off, didn't you?" I smiled and pinched his cheek.

"I'll um, leave you guys alone." I heard Tao said before his footsteps disappeared into the cabin.

Though we never asked but I was grateful to Tao for giving us the time to ourselves, I really needed to be alone with Luhan for a while.

"Hey, Luhan?" I called, I started playing with my fingers again out of nervousness. Being left alone with him like this made me really nervous, it felt like my heart was about to burst.

"Jaehee.." Luhan turned his head and we locked eyes. "Yeah?" Just the sound of my name coming out of from his mouth sent butterflies to my stomach.

"I promise that I will protect you no matter what. I'm here for you, always..." He reached out to my hand and held it really tight against his. I chuckled at the sudden sweetness coming from him, "I don't need protection anymore remember? I'm a hybrid now just like you." I flashed a cute smile.

I'm not really the cutesy type but I just feel like showing him this side of me once in a while.

He laughed at that and said, "I know and I'm glad you're capable of defending yourself now but even so, I will still continue to protect you as long as I'm still breathing."

I believed him. His every words. And I will continue to do so no matter what the future brings us.

"Thank you."