Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Forty-Four

Jisung quirked a brow at Jeongin, though he could not help the uneasy twist his stomach took at the wizard's words. He couldn't sense anything – his eyes widened. He whirled towards Changbin, who met his eyes with a shocked gaze of his own as he slowly realized what was happening.

"Shit!" His mind spun with the countless possibilities and solutions; they were too deep into the forest to get out now, but who knew what lay ahead of them? They'd walked right into their trap; their attempt to remain unseen had backfired on them – the vampires had been waiting.

"What's going on?" Minho asked softly, his own eyes wide and clueless, though he had the sense to be afraid. Jisung crossed over towards him quickly, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him close, eyes darting about the still forest.

"They're here. Somewhere." His breath came in short rasps, now; with such a small party, they would easily be outnumbered. He scrounged his brain for any nearby packs they could run to for help.

His shoulders slumped; this had been the territory of the Riverock pack; his old pack. They'd all been wiped out that night, and yet he had somehow managed to get out of it alive. He couldn't remember much – his first memory had always been waking up in the Sun packhouse.

But he still remembered the terror, the pain of that night. He still had that little scar at the base of his neck to remind him.

Jeongin looked terrified – it was disconcerting. It was a strange sort of fear – the familiar kind. His eyes narrowed, but before he could dwell on it, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Minho screamed and Jisung whirled around, fist connecting with a wolf's jaw just as it was about to snap at the human male. His eyes widened, jaw dropping in shock as the wolf went flying, crashing into a nearby tree. He'd been strong before, but no that strong.

He quickly pulled Minho to his side, eyes flashing golden as he surveyed every direction; whoever this was, he couldn't hear them or smell them. He did not doubt that this was the vampire hybrid's doing.

He was really starting to hate whoever it was.

Movement in his peripheral vision caused his head to whip towards it, but there was nothing there. Changbin and Jeongin drew closer until they all stood back to back, keeping Minho in the center.

He could feel him trembling, and his jaw clenched. Anger slithered across his chest, slowly settling in the longer they waited.

Another wolf lunged, only to be quickly defeated by Jeongin's magic. The boy's eyes were wide, his breaths laboured, his entire body seeming to shake.

Jisung couldn't quite understand; perhaps he was afraid of wolves. It would make sense why he'd always been so nervous around them, barely ever eating in the pack cafeteria. It would explain why he hadn't come out to fight during the Moon pack attack. He understood, though he could not help the slight bitterness that settled on his tongue at the thought.

Slow clapping filled the air. His eyebrows drew in confusion, but he still could not tell where the sound came from. Wolves emerged from the shrubbery, and then a man. Or, rather, a wolf in a man's form.

His eyes were dark, the lazy smile on his lips almost manic. "Who would dare trespass on our territory, hm?" A cackle left him. Jisung tensed; something about this man put him on edge. He looked familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on why.

The man was undoubtedly the alpha; with the way the other wolves eyed him wearily, moving out of his way as he passed was indication enough. "I am Han Jisung, Alpha of the Sun pack." He stepped away from his group, leaving them to defend Minho in case of any sneak attacks.

The man's smile faded, his eyes burning in fury, now. "So you lived, huh, you little bastard." His eyebrows furrowed; what did he mean?

The manic smile was back on the man's face in an instant. "Well, my name is Han Yejun, Alpha of the Riverock pack." The boy's eyes widened; that was impossible.

"The Riverock pack's been gone for a long time." His voice shook even as he said the words, his face ashen.

Yejun let out a howling laugh. "No, no, sweet child. If that were the case, then who are all these wolves? Who am I?" He cackled again.

"Then are you...?" he said wearily, and Yejun snorted.

"Your father? Goddess, no. I'm your uncle. It wounds me so that you do not recognize me." He pressed a hand to his heart before he laughed again. Jisung was truly getting tired of his laughter. "Truth be told, we all believed you to be dead. That's what I arranged."

His eyes widened; arranged? "Oh, you didn't know? I suppose you forgot that, too. Little bastard." Jisung's fists curled.

"You conspired with the Vampire King, then?" He knew the King had been the one behind it; after everything that had happened, all the attempts on his life, it made sense.

"Of course, I'm not stupid. And besides, all it cost me was my brother's life, his Mate's life, and his little bastard son's life. What was I to lose? And now, I am Alpha, hidden from every other pack in existence, isn't that amazing?" He cackled again. Jisung caught a wolf silently baring his teeth at him from the crowd behind him.

So these wolves only followed him out of fear.

Jisung's anger sizzled in his veins; this had been his pack, once. If his parents had not been killed, he likely would have been their Alpha instead. And this man... this man had killed his family, too, just as the Moon pack had killed his father.

"Jisung," Jeongin's voice was meek and quiet, a silent warning playing in his words. Yejun's eyes slid towards the boy, only to widen.

"Is that little Jeongin?" He laughed in disbelief. "Another one I thought was dead. Isn't life full of surprises? It's been a while, hasn't it?" Jisung turned to look at Jeongin, but the boy only stared at the man in utter terror.

Jisung would have to ask what that was about later; but right now...

"I challenge you, Han Yejun, on your honour as Alpha."

A/N: Thanks for 8k I'm-

Q: S o ... I'm planning something SPECIAL, and I need answers to this pronto. What's your favourite ship, and which AU would you most like to see paired with that ship? GO!

A: [ANSWER HERE]

Lots of love,

~Junnie