Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Eighty-Two

Jisung waited, body tense as the sounds of footsteps grew louder and louder. It seemed to take ages before the wolves finally began to materialize from between the dark trees. He didn't Shift as they grew closer, instead opting to block their path in his most vulnerable form.

It had never been heard of – a wolf pack betraying their Alpha. Though, perhaps... he hadn't truly been their Alpha in the first place. He thought of the Crimson eyes that reigned supreme over them, that controlled them from the shadows.

A vampire Alpha was also unheard of – perhaps even more so.

He clenched his fists so tightly he wouldn't have been surprised to feel warm blood trickling through. The first row of wolves had spotted him now, and the thundering sounds of dozens – perhaps even hundreds – of wolves came to an abrupt halt, leaving them coated in a heavy, unbreakable silence so thick it was stifling.

Hyunsik and Hyunjin had successfully vanished without a trace; he couldn't smell nor hear them, not over the mingled scents of the wolves before him. Good, he thought as his golden eyes surveyed the crowd more thoroughly. None of them seemed fearful or regretful; his muscles began to bulge with the strain he placed on them, tense as he was.

One of the front-runners of the pack stepped forward, a monstrous wolf with grey fur and a scar sealing one of its eyes closed. It sneered at him, lips curling back over long, razor-like teeth that were clearly blood-stained. Jisung had never seen a wolf so disgustingly dirty before; most of them took care of their teeth – there'd be no point if they suddenly rotted.

He almost laughed at that thought, though what spread through his chest wasn't at all anything warm; it was cold and hateful. He knew what the wolf wanted to say without needing a mind-link to hear it. In response, his own eyes flashed, a dazzling light in the middle of an opaque darkness.

Clouds came to shield the moon, and his eyes darkened in turn. He could tell just from looking at these wolves that they wouldn't turn back; whatever hope he'd harboured for them was immediately crushed, and without another word, he Shifted.

He was easily twice as large as the grey wolf, and his eyes far brighter, despite the fact that the rest of him seemed to blend into the night around them. Without another thought or a moment's hesitation, he lunged.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Where's Jisung? Minho wondered as he ran around the packhouse, carrying a limp Seungmin in his arms, unsure of whether or not he was being pursued. He didn't know where he was headed, only that he needed to find Jisung; he'd always wondered if he'd be able to sense him, apparently that was something Mates could do, but there was nothing but radio silence inside his head.

His thoughts whirled frantically out of control as he continued to run, speeding along the edge of the forest that concealed the packhouse from view. And then he ran into something hard. He stumbled back, shaking his head as he righted himself, looking up.

Golden eyes met his gaze.

He blinked, eyebrows furrowing, and then he was tackled by strong bodies, none of which he recognized. "How foul! The Sun allow vampires onto their land?" A voice roared, a voice so powerful it rivalled Jisung's father's. That's when the man's eyes – the wolf's eyes – landed on Seungmin.

Everything fell silent, and as Minho's eyes drifted back down to his unconscious friend, his eyes widened in horror. His gaze snapped back up to the wolves surrounding him; he shook his head vehemently. "No! I—I didn't—" They would hear none of it as the wizard was wrenched from his arms with enough force to cause the unconscious man to groan, and rough hands seized him, hoisting him up.