Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The following full moon brought another wave of scorching heat to Moon Grove, leaving all the wolves irritated and constantly on edge. They were fidgeting the whole day before, and when the night finally came, everyone could easily admit that they had an even harder time to focus on anything than ever. Their instincts were taking control over their bodies especially strongly that month, and the lack of a place where they could find relief from the high temperatures didn’t help at all. 

Mina tried to think about any year in the past, when it was as hot in that area as this summer, but she failed miserably every time. 

“Ugh… Can we already invest in air conditioning, please?” Would be definitely Momo’s words, if the girl wasn’t currently stuck in her thick wolf fur. 

“In the whole forest?” Jeongyeon would definitely follow with her usual scepticism. “Because I can’t see how air conditioning installed inside the house helps us now, when we’re outside.” 

Yeah, Mina could definitely picture this conversation happening. She imagined it quite clearly as their pack traversed through the deepest parts of the woods during the lightest hours of the night, as the moon shone brightly over their heads. Unfortunately - not helping at all cool down their tired minds. They all waited just for the sunrise, when they would be finally able to turn back into their human bodies and lay down on the cold, damp moss. 

Luckily for them, the night was mostly uneventful. Even the small animals and insects living in the forest seemed to understand their annoyance and quickly scurried away from their way, scared of the big, bad wolves. 

Honestly, it was really easy to let their guard down, when there was literally nothing happening around the town after Mr. Lee’s death. Even the residents of Moon Valley, living the closest to the place of murder, started to already forget about the possible danger, resuming their usual activities in the forest. 

In both Chan’s and Sana’s opinion, it was still too early to conclude that this incident was a one-time thing, and Mina knew better than to feel completely careless, but she couldn’t also stay in the permanent state of fear and apprehension. She decided to live her life normally then. 

That night wasn’t an exception. As she followed her family through the woods, the remnants of those coherent thoughts that weren’t taken away from her by the full moon, were mostly focused on a different problem: on Nayeon.  

It had been two days since their ‘date’. And Mina was still mortified out of her mind, and embarrassed about her own behavior. Those two feelings were actually multiplying their sizes in her head with every passing minute, and despite knowing that she should probably talk to Nayeon and explain why she did what she did, Mina was putting it off for later. 

And she was so mad at herself for that. Her own actions were completely ridiculous, because just one short conversation could solve this whole issue, and even if they didn’t go back to this nice flirting they had before, Mina would at least sleep peacefully at night. 

Even a short text message would be fine, with an apology for pushing Nayeon like that, or something… Yeah, an apology would be enough. She didn’t even have to say anything personal and admit that she didn’t feel like making out on the first date. Just a single ‘I’m sorry’ and they would move on from the issue, and hopefully forget it completely. For good. 

But no, Mina couldn’t bring herself even to do that. 

It was honestly such a shame that they didn’t work out. Nayeon was such a cutie during those short moments when they went on that walk and just chatted. And now it was all screwed up… Now the woman was probably aware that Mina was some kind of weirdo who lacked social skills and she didn’t feel like spending time with her anymore. Or worse, she was probably already on her way to announce to everyone she knew that Mina was a loser who had no life, because she was scared of getting intimate with people. 

Mina wasn’t even sure why it bothered her so much, as if other people’s opinion mattered to her at all. In her great anxiety, she wasn’t even aware of how badly she thought of Nayeon, as if the older woman were someone untrustworthy. 

Somehow, her head kept creating more and more scenarios in which Nayeon laughed at her because of her fears, up to the point where she started to wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares about being forced to kiss people against her will. Those nightmares usually ended with her partner mocking her in various ways for being bad at kissing, while Mina stood there, helpless and unable to protect herself. 

It didn’t take a genius to realize that her fears were starting to get the better of her. And Mina liked to take pride in being pretty smart. That’s why she came to the conclusion (maybe a bit ridiculous, but she was under a huge influence of stress after all) that she had to overcome those fears. The sooner, the better. Before they could get any more unhealthy.

It was about damn time she finally started to have an actual life. Everyone around her was getting paired up and living happily in love, and here Mina was, forever single, with a history of one sorry excuse of a relationship in high school. Her interest in Nayeon, and Nayeon’s apparent interest in her (there had to be something there, since Nayeon asked her out on a date, right?) was a great excuse to deal with her limitations and get out of her comfort zone. 

The plan was easy: she was going to go there and sleep with Nayeon. Just like that. No questions asked, no doubts, no feelings involved. People lived like that and most of them considered it an awesome life after all. 

There was some chance that Nayeon could forget about the previous situation that happened between them, and not ask about Mina’s reasons, right? And if Mina somehow convinced herself to accept the physical touch and if she survived the first few times, maybe she wouldn’t feel so bad about it anymore? Right? 

Ugh…  

Mina wiped her face furiously, staring at the bright screen of her computer. A list of SNS profiles of at least twenty Im Nayeons in the whole country stared right back at her, giving her an imaginary middle finger. 

Once again, why didn’t she think to take Nayeon’s number like a normal adult person would do? 

Ah… Because she was dumb, that’s the answer. That’s what thinking too much about feelings like love did with people. Mina shivered in fear just hearing the L-word, and now she was suddenly exposed to even worse things, like dates and kissing, and… Yeah, it could kill the strongest of nerds. She was excused.

Tired already, despite it being only nine in the morning, Mina begrudgingly clicked on the first profile on the list. Then she quickly went through the next few on the top, mostly because they had profile pictures that definitely didn’t contain Mina’s Nayeon. Then, as she worked, the list slowly but gradually shrank to the final two faceless profiles. There was nothing on them that could indicate the identity of the owners. No photos, no stupid posts written under the influence of alcohol that someone forgot to delete, no weird links shared by their friends. Mina could think as long as she wanted, but she wasn’t going to find any clue there for sure. But Nayeon had to have a profile on this site, right? Everyone over the age of ten had it. Even Mina’s grandmother and her friends from church. 

So which Nayeon was The Nayeon? Minutes went by, while Mina pondered.

Then, already irritated with herself and her inability to do things quickly, the girl cursed, opened both profiles and copied the short message she took so long to prepare before in word editor. She quickly clicked ‘send’ in both windows, before she could actually come to her right mind and start questioning things again. Then she shut the browser completely and stood up from her chair. 

She had to go for a calm-down walk after this.  

(...)

Neither of the Nayeons answered Mina’s message in the few following days. 

Mina was puzzled at first, after all she truly counted that one of them would be the right one. Realistically, the chances weren’t that low, since, as she mentioned, nearly everyone these days had a profile on this site. Well, apparently not exactly.

Then, all at once, both of those Nayeons texted her back almost at the same time, writing really similar texts about having absolutely no idea who Mina was and what she could want from them. Mina would be totally disappointed (and confused too), if not for the second of Nayeons, who offered to meet her and become ‘the right Nayeon’ in place of the Nayeon Mina couldn’t contact. The sentence ‘ You’re cute ’ went straight into Mina’s ego and she even considered this option for a moment, before she got reminded of her original mission. 

That moment coincided in time with some huge issue that came up in her job though, so Mina temporarily focused on her work life again, working hard to find and fix all the bugs in the application her team was working on. That problem was big enough to make her finally forget about her embarrassment and the need to talk to Nayeon. She was excused from her shifts in the bar for the same reason too, so it was easy to guess that Mina didn’t really leave her home at all during that time. 

The bug was fixed after three days of intensive googling, thinking, drinking coffee and searching through every possible thread on StackOverflow. In celebration of that, Mina allowed herself to rest a bit (right after jumping all around the room and dancing uncontrollably out of pure joy). Her whole body was in pain from sitting in the chair all the time, her eyes were drier than the Atacama desert, and she wasn’t sure anymore if under all those dirty cups in front of her there was still a desk after all. Also, she desperately needed a shower and a change of clothes. Desperately . 

Greeted with several ‘Oh, so she’s alive’ s and ‘ Vampires came out of their houses more often than you ’s, Mina wanted to go back to her room just out of spite, fussy like an offended teenager, but she didn’t need to look deep inside herself to know that her family was right - she could use some fresh air. The wolf inside her was basically begging to be let outside, to touch some fresh grass, to smell the forest. Only now she was realizing that it was this instinct that kept her so irritated and uncomfortable for the past day. 

Huh, interesting… Wonder how long she could spend inside before it finally became unbearable…

Soon, she found herself walking through the woods towards the town, equipped with the shopping list made by Sana and Dahyun, with the mission to take her sweet time outside and not come back too soon. Mina felt that the whole shopping thing was just an excuse for them to have an empty house, even if just for a bit, but she still found a weird kind of joy in the prospect of completing such an easily achievable task like buying groceries. 

Only that, in the end, she didn’t really reach the store. 

Halfway there, she met Nayeon. The right Nayeon, just to be clear.   

Nayeon didn’t notice her at first, staring at the screen of her phone. It gave Mina a lot of time to measure the woman with her eyes, admire her beauty thoroughly, and then guess what she could be thinking. Nothing good came out of that guessing though, Mina just got herself nervous. 

Before she could turn in any other direction and pretend that she was really busy with her responsibilities, Nayeon’s head raised and their eyes finally met. Mina couldn’t lie, she fully expected it to feel as if some kind of electric shock was going through her body. As if the tension from the last time was still there between them, as if they were ready to jump right into each other’s arms. Instead though, there was a mix of various emotions sparkling in Nayeon’s eyes, and consequently in Mina’s heart too. There was something similar to guilt there, a bit of fear and anxiety. There was also joy hidden somewhere between apprehension and disappointment. However, there were definitely no electric shocks going through Mina’s body. Maybe a sligh clench of her chest at best.   

“Oh, hi…” Nayeon waved her hand, her voice faint and definitely not having that confident and flirty tone as before. It was mostly dejected. Mina felt even more remorseful.

“Hi, Nayeon.” She stuttered out, then quickly straightened herself, before Nayeon could pass her and walk away wherever she’d been heading previously. “C- Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Nayeon nodded slightly, her gaze guarded. Mina gulped. She could already feel what was coming out of her mouth - a nervous rant - but there was no way to stop that from happening anymore.

“I- I wanted to say sorry for how I behaved last time. I actually wanted to say sorry right away but I didn’t have your number and I couldn’t find you on social media and I’m sorry for not saying sorry earlier and you probably felt like I ghosted you or something but I didn’t and it was not my intention and…” The air in her lungs ended at that moment. She could either die, or stop and breathe in. 

Well, she felt like dying at that moment, but come on, she wasn’t that dramatic. Nayeon’s hand landed on hers midway through the action of breathing in. Mina managed to raise her head and connect their eyes, actually discovering not without surprise that she wasn’t hating this kind of touch that much, before Nayeon clearly remembered about the touch issue and ended the connection. 

“Oh, sorry.” She quickly took away and brought the hand close to herself, as if Mina’s skin burned her. “I shouldn’t have touched you. Just… Breathe, please.”

“Okay.” Mina let out a nervous laugh. “Hmmm… That’s… That’s probably all I wanted to say - I’m sorry.”

Nayeon sighed deeply.

“It’s fine. If you’re okay and I didn’t hurt you in any way, then it’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“But…”

“Mina, I said it’s fine.” Nayeon gathered all her strength and formed a not exactly convincing smile. “I’m sorry too. I got too confident in myself, and forgot that not everyone wants to jump right into sex on a first date.” 

Mina’s cheeks were a bit warm because of that word, but she pushed through her embarrassment. She had to remember that she had a job to do here, and she shouldn’t get distracted. Also, she should communicate her thoughts clearly, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings.

“But… The case is… Ummm…” Push through, push through… “The case is that I want it. Ummm… The s-sex.”

Yeah, Mina. Good job. That’s how adult people talk. Oh damn, she sounded like a horny teenage boy. And Nayeon seemed to think similarly, because she snorted, covering her mouth and clearly trying to control her laughter. The atmosphere surrounding them got a bit more relaxed though, so maybe it wasn’t that bad yet. After all that’s what she intended to do, right? Sleep with Nayeon and prove to herself and to others that she could be casual about this.

“Not right now, obviously!” Mina tried to save the situation anyway. “But, you know, ummm… When you feel like it. I’m fully on board, just so you know.” 

Her cheeks were on fire at this point, but it didn’t matter. 

“Okay, copy that.” Nayeon saluted, and then she finally lost control over her amusement. Maniacal kind of laughter filled the air as Mina was granted a full view of the inside of Nayeon’s mouth. The older woman almost bent in half from how hard she was cackling. Mina could only stare at her with a not exactly happy expression. 

“S- Sorry…” Nayeon stuttered out after a good minute, a single tear escaping her eye from the remnants of laughter bubbling in her throat. “I’m not laughing at you. It’s just… No, nevermind. If you want to have fun, I’m all in.” 

“Good, good.” Mina scratched her neck. “So, maybe I’ll give you my number, huh? It’ll be easier like that.”

“Oh, yeah, totally.” Nayeon jumped right into searching for her phone in her pockets. “I meant to do it last time, but… You know. I don’t have any social media, so you wouldn’t find me there anyway.”

“Huh? What do you mean you don’t have social media?” Mina was so surprised that her fingers froze over the screen of the phone while she typed her number in. It was completely astonishing to hear something like that. Did such people even exist nowadays? What did Nayeon do in her free time, if she couldn’t mindlessly scroll through the depths of the Internet? 

“I just don’t.” Nayeon shrugged. “But don’t worry, I can fill you in on all of my life updates face-to-face. I can even show you photos of what I eat, if you want.” She grinned. 

Mina still found it odd and suspicious, but she ignored it in favor of saving her contact and giving Nayeon the phone back. That wasn’t her business after all.

“So, where were you heading?” The older woman asked after pocketing the device. “Maybe I could accompany you there?”

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to do grocery shopping for my family.” Mina fumbled with her fingers, suddenly nervous again. Nayeon’s eyes opened wider.

“Such a coincidence. Where do you shop? At Lee’s Market?”

“Yeah…”

“Awesome. I was just going there to grab a few things for dinner. Want to join me?”

(...)

Nayeon didn't have an easy day at work. She wasn’t sure whether it was the unusual for this area heatwave influencing people’s behavior, or maybe she just happened to attract this kind of patients, but everyone she met on her way that day, somehow was either really rude and insufferable, or came to the clinic with a problem she couldn’t solve herself without help from a more experienced doctor. Usually, when she was busy with helping people, the time at work went by so quickly that she couldn’t even notice, and she was already done for the day. Today though… It was better to just forget about it and move on. Tomorrow was a day as well, and maybe it could be nicer.

Leaving the work in the evening, she was absolutely exhausted. And she still had to do grocery shopping, then cook something for dinner, and then deal with her pack and their usual loudness in the shared space of their house. Phew…

However, on her way to the market, Nayeon suddenly met Mina. And her day changed from terrible to wonderful in barely minutes. Dinner and her pack forgotten, she was ready to fully immerse herself in the wonders of Myoui Mina’s universe.  

They had so much fun shopping together and she enjoyed Mina’s company so much that she didn’t want to part ways with her yet, and offered to drive Mina home. She had a great excuse, after all carrying bags full of groceries wasn’t easy, even for someone strong like a wolf. And experiencing all those seemingly mundane tasks, but with Mina by her side somehow hit different. She could find joy even in listening to Mina’s voice explaining to her why some brands of ketchup were better than others. 

But then something happened, so out of nowhere that Nayeon wasn’t even able to register the movement, and suddenly she was pinned against her car’s passenger door, with Mina’s lips attached to her own mouth, and Mina’s hands under her shirt. 

What the actual fu–? What did she miss? 

They were walking together, Nayeon was telling a joke she’s heard from one of her coworkers recently, and then her memories skipped to the part when Mina was kissing her fervently, their bodies glued from head to toe and Nayeon’s bags laying on the ground. How– What– Why?! 

Not that she was complaining, but damn, she didn’t expect that at all. She fully intended to just have a nice, calm evening with the girl she was really starting to like. They were supposed to talk, get to know each other finally. So what kind of demon possessed Mina to skip this part? Nayeon didn’t follow. 

“Mina… Wait a moment…” She tried to push the girl’s hands away from her waist delicately, avoiding meeting her lips with Mina’s again, but Mina was really stubborn and fast. 

“Please, Nayeon.” She gasped out, her hot breath hitting the sensitive skin of Nayeon’s neck. “I want to do that. Please, don’t make it harder.”

What? What was Mina talking about? Why would it be hard at all? 

“Nayeon…” Mina attacked her mouth once again, stopping once every few kisses to say something more. “Don’t… think… too much. Please…”

Okay, if the girl was begging like that, who was Nayeon to refuse anything to her. Especially when the kiss was almost literally melting her insides and bringing this nagging feeling to the pit of her stomach that told her to move, take and give everything she had. So she reciprocated the kiss just as energetically, finally allowing her hands to rest under Mina’s T-shirt.

This pace didn’t suit this hot summer evening though. Nayeon wanted it differently, so she didn’t hesitate to grab the back of Mina’s head, tangle her fingers into the woman’s long hair and steer her head so that they would kiss slower, with more purpose. Mina’s lips parted on their own, the mix of emotions bringing a quiet moan out of her, and Nayeon used this chance to deepen the connection. Soon, her teeth were grabbing Mina’s lower lip and biting it lightly, pulling it. Her hands weren’t jobless either, drawing delicate shapes on Mina’s torso. 

“Let’s get inside the car, huh?” She whispered, barely allowing herself to leave her partner unattended for seconds. “It’s getting darker, but I wouldn’t want anyone to see anything they aren’t supposed to.”

She was the only one allowed to see Mina now. No one else. No one.

Mina nodded, and they immediately crawled on the backseat of Nayeon’s vehicle. Instantly, Mina tried to take a lead again, almost jumping on the older woman. Thankfully, Nayeon was able to predict that, and she grabbed her mid movement. Her hand locked on Mina’s neck, putting just enough pressure to achieve what she wanted, but not hurt the girl. She hoped her fingers would leave marks though. It would look like a perfect collar for her little wolf.

“Good girl.” She praised, when Mina obediently backed away, breathing hard in the stuffy inside of the car. Her eyes were wide, pupils blown, and the sweet scent of arousal oozing off her made Nayeon almost high. She couldn’t help but dive closer to Mina’s neck and inhale it. Her eyes immediately closed, but she managed to restrain herself from moaning. 

Instead, she pushed Mina back, so that the girl was resting comfortably on the seat and Nayeon could tower over her. Her hands, temporarily free, traveled back onto Mina’s waist. 

She tugged on Mina’s T-shirt slowly, giving the girl time to object. That was the moment they had reached last time, and back then, Mina panicked. Now Nayeon could feel crumbs of fear mixing into Mina’s scent, so she wanted to make sure that they were still both on board with this. 

Mina solved her problem quickly, reaching herself and almost ripping the T-shirt off her body. Then her long fingers reached to the clasp of her bra, but Nayeon was quicker. 

“No, let me.” She commanded with a voice she usually used only on those of her wolves who had the most trouble with being obedient. It was strict, it was deep, it wasn’t leaving any place for objection. Mina listened immediately, her hands falling down onto her body. 

It looked a bit as if she was still conflicted whether she wanted to continue or cover her skin once again and run away. Nayeon searched her eyes for any hints.

“Please.” Mina’s strained voice didn’t give her any choice. 

She attacked the neck first, not leaving any spot untouched. Then she slowly but gradually ventured down, her kisses open and wet. She made sure not to touch in any spot where Mina would really want it though, finding pleasure in teasing the girl, up to the point when a frustrated huff escaped Mina’s lips. Nayeon snorted mercilessly, but finally reached behind her partner’s back and skillfully unclasped the bra. Her wolf eyes worked overtime not to cover anything from her in the darkness of the vehicle. She was almost sure they shined there like two lanterns, focused only on Mina’s body. 

She spared a moment though to lean down and put her lips to Mina’s ear.

“You’re pretty.” She whispered there, her breath causing the skin on the girl’s whole body to cover with chills. 

The road down, to Mina’s hips, was slow and almost tortuous. They were both covered in sweat at this point, and Nayeon was almost sure that the windows of the car were steamy too. If anyone caught them there, in this dimly lit parking lot, they wouldn’t be able to deny anything anymore. Especially that Nayeon’s hand was already working on unzipping Mina’s jeans. 

The moan that graced her ears when she managed to succeed and cover Mina’s center with her palm was the final nail to the coffin of Nayeon’s restraints. From then on, it wasn’t slow anymore. 

Nayeon died there, in this parking lot, in the backseat of her car. Luckily, she was soon about to be reborn with Mina’s sweet lips.   

(...)

“Where did you put that damn T-shirt?”

“Relax, Mina-yah. Where's the fire?”

“I can’t relax, because I can't find my damn T-shirt.” Mina huffed with annoyance. 

She wanted out of this car. Quickly. 

The feelings of disgust and regret were already sipping into her heart. Why did she decide to do this at all? Oh, yeah. Because she wanted to prove something to herself. 

And she did. Only that now it didn't feel as good as while the thing was happening. As when Nayeon's mouth was on her skin.

Now she felt used and dirty. And she just knew it was going to be like that. She just knew that she would enjoy the pleasure, but regret it so much later. Only that before, she could always back out of her plan. Now it was already done. Couldn't be undone. She couldn't un-sleep with Nayeon.

“Hey, Mina…” Nayeon's voice was calm and a bit rusty, probably from all that moaning. “Come here, let's cuddle for a moment. I know it's not exactly comfy here, but I can't take you home yet, you know. I just moved, and my living situation is complicated. Besides, my roommates are probably home now, so… But we can go to a nice place in the forest, how about that? I think I have a blanket in the trunk–”

“Sorry, but…” Mina desperately searched for an excuse. She couldn't stand looking at Nayeon right now. She was scared that the older woman would take one glance into her eyes to guess the whole truth about her. “I- I have to go. My- My family is waiting for me, I was supposed to bring them something to cook dinner. I'll see you soon, okay? Thanks for the fun. Umm… Bye.”

Her hand was already on the door handle. Luckily, her old sneakers were easy to slip on her feet, and then she was jumping out of the car, not sparing Nayeon even one glance and definitely not checking the woman's expression.

She knew what she would find on Nayeon's face - dejection and hurt. She just knew that. But despite feeling bad about leaving like that, she couldn't help it. 

Not without a reason they say that curiosity kills a cat. Who was the cat in the question here though? Mina, or Nayeon? 

It was probably better not to know.

(...)

Nayeon sighed, putting the keys on the shelf next to the door. She had little to no energy to bend and untie her shoelaces, but going inside with the shoes on was no option. Especially that, as she could see, one of her wolves had cleaned the house today. 

Barely shuffling into her bedroom, she shredded off her clothes and stumbled into bed. Her body definitely wasn’t clean after the whole day of working, sweating, and then… Other things. But she also didn't have enough energy to drag herself to the bathroom. Screw that, she could always change the sheets the next day.

She didn't know what to think of the last two hours of her life. They were awesome, obviously, and she didn't regret anything, maybe except the fact that once again, she failed to talk to Mina. Really talk, not just about the recipes for the best spaghetti, although this was nice too. It was part of the bonding, of building a relationship. But then it ended so abruptly once again. And once again, Mina ran away. 

Nayeon didn’t decide yet whether she was supposed to be hurt that the girl rejected her offer to hang out just like that. She had a mild urge to get mad, but then she also couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that Mina didn't really promise her family to come back home earlier. Although it sounded a bit weird, since she was a strong and wild wolf living as one with the forest, but… they could worry about her after all.

‘Ugh… Nevermind .’ Nayeon decided to tell herself. ‘ Tomorrow is a day as well.’ She could try to solve this issue after she got some essential rest.

A knock on the door echoed in the room when she was on the verge of falling asleep, bringing her back from the dreamland. 

“What?” She almost barked, irritated at whoever could still want something from her at this hour.

“Hey, Nayeon.” It was Changbin. At least she could be sure he wouldn't take much of her time. 

“Hmmm?”

“Are you asleep? It's barely ten.”

“Yeah. So what? Do you want something, or–?”

“Yeah, yeah. I just wanted you to know that we are going out. Me and Felix. We'll probably be back late, so don't worry about us.”

“Sure. Have fun.” Nayeon waved him off, giving the two her blessing. 

They deserved to go out for once. It was a hard time for all of them, not only her. Moving out of the place where they had been living their whole life couldn't not be stressful, especially for a pack of wolves that bonded with their territory just like they bonded with people. And also because here they had to hide for most of the time. 

“Don’t cause any troubles, though.” She reminded the boy before rolling on her side and getting cozy on the bed. 

“Copy that, ma’am.” Changbin saluted, grinning to the dark room. 

The door closed quietly behind him, but Nayeon was already too deep in her dreams to notice that.

(...)

Sana had a bad feeling about this whole thing. Dahyun going alone through the forest was dangerous itself, but on top of that at night? It was literally asking for trouble. 

But the girl insisted so much that she had to take some kind of important documents to her mother, and they had no car available, because Chan took one and Jeongyeon the other. And Sana was tied to her desk because of work. 

But this was totally asking themselves for trouble, she knew that the moment she was bending to Dahyun's will like the pathetic sucker that she was. If only she could learn how to say ‘no’ to Dahyun…

But now it was too late, and Dahyun was nowhere to be seen despite it being nearly two hours already since she’s left. The way to the girl's family house and back definitely didn’t take that long.

“Relax, she's probably stayed there to talk with her mom for a moment, or something. You don't have to automatically think the worst.” Momo tried to reason, but Sana didn't buy it.

“Well, forgive me for caring for my girl.” She huffed with irritation. Then she added quietly: “I know you’re not familiar with that feeling…”

“What was that?” Momo's eyebrow rode up her forehead.

“Nothing.” Sana waved her off. “I'm going to look for her. Maybe we'll meet somewhere halfway.”

“ Ugh… You're being difficult.” Momo groaned, aware that her living cushion was about to leave her alone. “Why can't we rest for five minutes? I've barely come back from work.” 

“You're gonna rest after death. Now move your ass.” Sana urged her to take her head away from her lap. 

Momo groaned once again, but obliged. 

“At least let's go together.” She said. 

“Fine, just move your ass. The faster we find her, the sooner I’ll stop panicking.”

They got out of the house, turned into wolves and set off like a well-oiled machine that they were together. Two dark red bodies were soon jumping from shadow to shadow between the trees, communicating soundlessly when they tried to pick up Dahyun's scent in the air.

The forest seemed to be almost too still. There was no wind, most of the birds were already asleep, all the small animals too. Weirdly, even insects didn’t feel like buzzing next to their ears. 

And then they heard the scream.

It was filled with so much fear, that Sana’s blood froze in her veins. She didn’t have any trouble with identifying the voice. She didn’t even have time to look at Momo and check whether the girl followed her. She just threw herself forward, running with speed that she normally wouldn’t reach no matter what. 

One thought filled her mind: Dahyun . 

Navigating through the forest while relying only on her hearing was never that hard, when suddenly the silence turned into constant noise, and all the sounds echoed between the trees, disorienting Sana. But she also worked on pure instinct now. The adrenaline that her heart was pumping into her veins provided her unlimited power and speed. She was one with the wilderness. 

And finally, there she was. She was sitting on the ground, protecting herself from a giant, black wolf that Sana had definitely never seen before. It has the same shade of coat as Tzuyu, and for a second, Sana’s brain experienced an error. But then she noticed the wolf’s eyes and she already knew that Tzuyu could never carry this kind of evil greed of death in herself.

Sana didn’t hesitate before jumping on the wolf. Her teeth bared as their bodies hit each other, and the growl she let out was made of pure madness. Together, they rolled away, curling on the ground into a ball of fur, teeth and claws.

This creature here wanted to hurt Dahyun? Huh… Interesting. Sana was going to show them why it was a bad idea. 

Only that right at that moment, another gasp of fear escaped Dahyun’s mouth, and Sana was put in front of great conflict. Luckily for her, Momo stayed right behind her, and she didn’t need a lot of time to realize what was going on upon arriving there. And then another two wolves showed up, appearing out of thin air. And then one more ran onto the clearing from between the trees, its ears on alert and body ready for attack. 

Knowing that she had backup now, Sana jumped to Dahyun right away, praying that even though paralyzed with fear, Dahyun would recognize her. She didn’t want to turn back to her human form, not when they were still in danger and her instincts were screaming at her to not turn her back on the black wolf. Even if Momo, Chan, Mina and Hyunjin surrounded their opponent and their effort was able to force the dangerous animal to back off, Sana couldn’t just let her guard down in this situation. The loud growls filling the air were making the fur on her back stand on its own.

Then a pair of arms surrounded her wolf body and a small face hidden in her fur. She could hear Dahyun’s quiet sobs, but what worried her the most was the strong, metallic smell of blood. She couldn’t think about that yet, nor was she able to really focus on that, while she had to fight her instincts not to try to escape Dahyun’s arms. 

She wasn’t supposed to stay tied, she was supposed to be free and able to attack. But the human side of her couldn’t allow Dahyun to stay without protection for too long. Sana wanted to offer the girl a bit of safety. 

Seeing that it was outnumbered, the black wolf quickly realized its mistake. Its pride was apparently too much to let go without causing them even a bit of trouble though and it threw itself on Hyunjin in the last attempt of asserting its dominance. Chan and Momo were on its throat in seconds though, and before Sana had a chance to blink, the black creature was scurrying away, its tail between its legs. 

Huffs of relief filled the air in exchange for the loud growls. Yet, they stayed alert, careful. Mina, the most observant out of all of them, scanned the area with her eyes. But it really seemed that they were left alone. 

“Oh my God, Dahyunie…” Were Sana’s first words after turning back. 

The younger girl’s arms were almost glued to her, but she was still able to move enough to notice the big wound on her terrified girlfriend’s ankle. Dahyun was still shaking a bit too, and trying hard to control her breathing, while her face was even paler than normally.

“Oh no, oh no…” Sana was panicking now just like Dahyun. “You’re bleeding. Oh my God, oh my–”

“Sana, breathe!” Chan’s hand on her shoulder brought Sana back to the Earth. “Let me see the wound.”

Not really keen on letting Dahyun out of her arms, Sana complied anyway and pried Dahyun’s hand off her neck, instead opting to hold them tightly in her own hands. The whole attack happened so fast that she wasn’t able to register any details, and only now she was realizing how cold Dahyun’s skin was suddenly. 

“Hey, Dahyun. Look at me.” Chan gently put his hand under the girl’s chin and lifted it with his fingers. The tears filling Dahyun’s eyes broke Sana’s heart. “He’s bitten you, right? Does it hurt a lot?”

“N- Not that much. I think I can walk.” Dahyun spoke with a faint, but steady voice. She was clearly slowly trying to control her emotions, although the pure terror reaching their noses in the form of Dahyun’s scent told them everything that they had to know: this attack shook Dahyun way more than every other encounter with wolves she’d had in the past years.

“Not a chance.” Sana was quick to step up into this conversation. “I’ll carry you. But… Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?”

“No!” It was Dahyun’s turn to object, even before Chan could answer. “We can’t risk anyone knowing that an aggressive wolf lives in this forest. Did you all forget that you’re already in danger? It’ll create another excuse for the people to hunt you.”

“Then we have to at least take care of this wound. It could be infected.” Chan scratched his neck, clearly conflicted whether to protect the wolves and their safety, or Dahyun’s health.

“Let’s call Tzu.” Momo cut in. “She studies to be a doctor after all, right?”

“A veterinarian.” Sana scoffed. “A doctor for animals.”

“A doctor anyway.” Momo shrugged.

“Guys, let’s think about that somewhere safe, okay?” Mina hurried them, her eyes still alert and her body stiff from all the tension. “I feel weird vibes here.”

Sana gulped, and then nodded, when everyone else glanced at her in search of the final decision. They wouldn’t help Dahyun in the middle of the forest anyway. And she was feeling weird here too, as if she had someone’s eyes on her all the time. 

Suddenly in a rush, she picked up Dahyun from the ground bridal style, making sure to not touch the injured leg. 

“Let’s go.” She said. 

The wolves followed her in silence. 

(...) 

Unbeknownst to them, only a few kilometers away, a young woman was slowly traversing through the forest in search of a suitable place to spend the night. Her backpack, filled with clothes, food and her tent, was weighing heavily on her back. After the whole day of hiking, all she dreamed about was finally sitting down and catching a breath with a cup of hot chocolate and an instant soup cooked on her portable gas stove. There didn’t seem to be a place good for setting up a campsite anywhere though. 

The bushes around her were all so thick that she would have to sacrifice an hour of two to clear a spot big enough to fit her tent. The forest seemed to be alive too, making her anxious and on edge the whole time. There was almost no light from the moon on the narrow path, as if the trees built a cage around her, not eager to let her out. 

The woman jumped a bit when she heard a weird sound right next to her ear, as if someone was breathing right over her shoulder. When she turned around, there was no one there though. 

“Don’t be stupid.” She told herself, trying to humm a happy melody just to give herself some courage. 

A few steps further, the sound repeated. The woman stopped, her body already covered with chills.

“Hello? Anybody here?” She shouted, at this moment not realizing something that normally she would probably be well-aware of - that if somebody was really there, they probably wouldn’t want to show themselves to her. 

Indeed, only silence answered her, and she tried to take a few more steps, just to check something. 

Right… When she stood still, there was only silence around her. But when she started to walk again, the breathing started too. It was heavy now, and totally not similar to anything she’d heard before. It definitely wasn’t a sound her own equipment or feet could make. 

“Hello!?” She tried again, her voice wavering a bit. 

And then she heard laughing. Not a joyful one though. It was a maniacal kind of laughter one could hear only in movies, preferably from a clown that was about to terrorize a character in a horror. 

However, she didn’t have any more time for reaction. She almost started running. Almost. 

The body that collided with hers managed to knock her down on the ground instantly, leaving her without air in her lungs. The sharp teeth that cut through her skin were next, but she didn’t really feel them. The adrenaline made her immune to pain. 

Funny thing, there was warm blood flowing down her throat now. 

She wasn’t quick enough to scream, before her vocal cords were completely destroyed, sacrificed as a meal for her attacker. 

So she lay there, with her eyes wide open, waiting for life to run out of her body, searching for the moon in the sky. What was left for her to do anyway?

(...)

“What do you mean you want me to break into the clinic?” Tzuyu’s voice was exceptionally high-pitched.

It was weird to hear that. Tzuyu almost never spoke with a different tone of voice than calm and collected. 

“Exactly what you hear.” Sana was also using this kind of tone, but in her case it didn't sound just as unusual. It was the irritation and lack of patience here that made the difference from her usual behavior. Sana sometimes had unlimited amounts of patience for other people. Seeing her impatient now was definitely interesting. 

“I can’t do that! Why won’t we buy everything we need in a random pharmacy?” Tzuyu rolled her eyes.

“Because someone would ask questions why we need such things at such a late hour?” Sana answered, as if it was something obvious.

“Well, I don’t see a difference between me telling my boss tomorrow that my dog got hurt, and us telling the owner of the pharmacy today that my dog got hurt.” Tzuyu pointed out, clearly stopping herself in the last possible moment from rolling her eyes again.

Mina’s eyes traveled between the two girls standing in the middle of the room like two boxers during a weighing ceremony. The tension was high.

And now Sana clearly lacked a possible counterargument. 

“See?” Tzuyu scoffed. “You can’t deny that your idea is ridiculous anymore.”

The sigh escaping Sana’s mouth sounded tired. Mina could understand the girl. If it was her girlfriend that was injured, she would try to move heaven and Earth to fix everything. But in this case, even the rest of the wolves thought that it didn’t change anything whether they bought some supplies to dress the wound in a pharmacy, or borrowed them from Tzuyu’s workplace. 

Their biggest issue at this point was to make sure that the wound wouldn’t cause any infection, but Tzuyu was almost sure that the veterinarian who was her supervisor in the clinic wouldn’t allow her to take any antibiotics on her own without taking a look at the injury first, and stealing anything wasn’t an easy option. They would have to take care of the cameras, and someone would definitely notice that things were missing. The risk of Tzuyu getting blamed for that was too high. 

In the heavy silence of the room, Dahyun spoke up shyly. She managed to calm down already, and definitely stood her ground that they shouldn’t risk the wolves’ safety.

“Okay, I know it’s not wise, but we cleared the wound, right? Maybe it won’t cause any troubles without the antibiotics–” 

“No! No, we’re not doing that.” Tzuyu cut her words short. She sounded nervous now. “It’s too risky. I– I know someone. Let me… Let me try and contact them, okay?”

“Would they organize illegal meds for us?” Mina was a bit shocked and she could see that others shared a similar kind of surprise too.

“Maybe. We’ll see.” Tzuyu was already at the door, her phone in her hand. 

Mina found it suspicious as heck, but she had bigger problems on her mind. She was trying to find the right moment to say something, but somehow, every topic her family discussed seemed to be way more important than what she was about to announce. On the other hand, she was almost sure that when she was already going to say that, everyone would be mad at her for keeping it a secret for so long. 

In her defence though, she had a lot on her mind lately. And she was a bit… distracted. 

Right now, the room was filled with silence. Mina took a big breath.

“Guys…” She started, already feeling like her cheeks covered with blush under the looks of several people. “Ummm… I have to say something to you. A few days ago, maybe it was a week ago, or something, I’ve seen… Um… A white wolf in the forest. I forgot to say anything back then, and it didn’t really seem dangerous, but since, you know, today Dahyun’s been attacked, just like Mr. Lee lately…”

What she meant to say was that it wasn’t a one-time thing. Chan focused on something else though.

“A white wolf? But… They don’t exist?” 

“What?” Mina frowned. “But I’ve seen one. Are you trying to tell me that I see things? Or that I lie?”

“No, that’s not that.” The man quickly assured, surprised with how aggressive Mina’s tone got when she defended herself. Mina was surprised with that too. Why did she care so much? 

Also, that was what Chan was worried about? Not her safety while she ran through the forest alone after a dangerous creature?

“What then? I’ve clearly seen the wolf. I even chased it, but it was way too fast for me. It seemed bigger also, and stronger than us.” She recalled from her memory. “I’m telling you all of this, because that wolf might be connected to this whole weird case. Who knows, maybe it’s in one pack with this black one from today. Or maybe we’re dealing with two enemy packs right now. It doesn’t make things better.” Her voice was getting louder as she spoke, and even though it was generally quiet, it seemed to work on her family. Some of them nodded, others just looked at her with serious expressions.

“You’re right.” Sana agreed. “I believe you. We definitely have to watch out for anyone that tries to hurt us, no matter whether we think they exist or not.”

“What do you want us to do then? We’ve been patrolling the forest all this time and we found nothing.” Hyunjin pointed out, quite truthfully. There was hardly any time during the evening and night, when some of them weren’t in the forest, searching for smells and traces that any foreign wolves could be living in the area. “We would gladly scare them off, but there’s no one to be scared off.”

“We should’ve ran after that black wolf today.” Mina sighed with defeat. “We had it on the plate.”

“Yeah, but Dahyun was in danger.” Chan reminded her. “There was a concern that it was a trap, and if we left her only with Sana, other wolves might’ve come to finish the job. We did what we could in this situation.” 

It was true, but Mina felt disappointed with herself anyway. She was the one to see the white wolf, and she failed to catch it. Then she met the black one today and she failed once again. 

“Hey, don’t beat yourself for that.” Sana sat next to her, leaving Dahyun’s side for just a second. Mina appreciated the support. 

“I- I don’t, just…” She sighed. “I don’t feel good with this whole situation. We’re constantly living on edge, waiting for something to happen, for the other shoe to drop. I’m just pissed off so much.”

“We all are.” Momo embraced her from behind, standing previously behind the couch. “But sending everyone out there to search day and night is going to tire us all out to the point where we’re gonna be too weak to even defend ourselves anymore. We have to take turns, and two or three wolves aren’t able to be everywhere all the time. We’re bound to miss something.”

And once again, Momo was right too. Mina didn’t disregard her statement, she just felt so… useless. Defenceless. Vulnerable. 

What made her even angrier was that she wasn’t able to pick up on the white wolf’s scent. Maybe if she did, they would already know whether it belonged to the same pack as the black one from earlier. Yet, she failed even to do that. Just how annoying was it?

“Come on, guys. It’s late. We won’t come up with anything while exhausted and sleep-deprived.” Chan stood up as a sign that the discussion was finished for today. “For now, all we can do is keep searching and wait for more clues. Who’s on the patrol tonight?”

Yeji, Momo and Sana raised their hands. 

“Stay home with Dahyun, Sana,” The man decided. “See if Tzuyu’s able to organize those meds. I’ll replace you.” 

“Thanks.” Sana jumped on his neck and hugged him tightly. “Stay safe guys, please.”

“As always.” Momo saluted and sent her a flying kiss. Sana pretended to vomit.

Mina felt like she wasn’t supposed to be amused at this moment. Something bigger was coming at them, and she feared that they wouldn’t be able to overcome it so easily. 

But maybe it was just her anxieties talking again…

(...)

The room was completely dark when Sana came inside and closed the door. It was a huge change from the light corridor, and her eyes took a bit longer than she would have desired to adjust. She could guess one could never be completely satisfied with their body. 

The cup of hot tea in her hand was burning her skin, so she put it on the nightstand, and then sat on the bed, right next to Dahyun. 

“Are you asleep?” She asked, gently stroking the smooth skin of the girl’s cheek. 

“No, not yet.” Dahyun sighed. “I was waiting for you.”

“I wanted to bring you some comfort tea. It’s your favorite.”

“Oh, thank you, honey. But you didn’t have to. I’m fine already.” Dahyun assured her. “Just a bit tired.”

Sana nodded. She didn’t say anything more though, nor did she move from the bed to change her clothes and join Dahyun. The sudden silence from her side would worry even the most oblivious person, so it definitely worried Dahyun, who at this point, knew her like the back of her hand. 

It wasn’t anything strange than when the girl asked:

“What’s wrong?”

Sana expected this question. During the previous hour, when they took their turns in the bathroom, and then when she prepared the tea, she had been thinking constantly, so she had the answer ready. As expected from her, the answer was maybe a bit too ready .

“I think you need to leave Moon Grove.” She blurted out. “The sooner, the better, maybe even tomorrow. Before something happens to you.”

“What?” Dahyun frowned. “What the heck are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere.”

“You have to.” Sana insisted. “It’s for your safety.” 

She had a hard time saying those words out loud. Spending a single day away from Dahyun was a torture for her, so she didn’t even want to think about her near Dahyun-less future. But it had to be done like that. And it would be better if Dahyun didn’t fight her much, because Sana was weak, and she wasn’t going–

Oh, damn. She was already crying. Shit…

“You have to be fucking kidding me.” 

Aaaand Dahyun wasn’t cooperating. Obviously. She had to make it harder than it really was.

“No, I’m not.” Sana kept her voice steady. “I’m worried about you, and you should definitely stay away from us for now.”

There was some movement under the blankets and then Dahyun’s hand reached to switch on the small lamp on her nightstand. Sana turned her face away, protecting herself from the light. 

“Look at me.” Dahyun commanded with a voice that didn’t leave any place for objection. “Now.”

Sana did as she was asked. The tears in her eyes shined in the dim light.

“Right…” Dahyun nodded her head, her face definitely not amused. “Just how I thought.” 

Sana stood up from the bed, not able to handle Dahyun’s attention anymore. Her lips were almost bleeding from how hard she was biting them to stop herself from crying.

“That’s what you’ve been thinking so hard about for the last hour?” Dahyun called behind her. 

“Maybe.” Sana grumbled, shrugging. So what? She was only worried. She didn’t want anything bad for Dahyun.

“And that’s what you came up with?” There was disbelief in her girlfriend’s voice. “Do you seriously think so low about me? That after so many years of our relationship I would abandon you just like that because of minor inconvenience? That after everyone in this house basically accepted me into the family, I would turn my back on them? Wow, thanks…”

The smell of disappointment coming from Dahyun was making the room stuffy enough to almost make Sana open the window. She felt so stupid suddenly. So dumb.

The dam finally broke and the tears flooded her face.  

“No!” She cried out, running back to the bed to assure Dahyun that all she said absolutely wasn’t true. It was Sana’s fault, not Dahyun’s. It could never be Dahyun’s. 

“No, absolutely not. You’re the best person I know, you’re so selfless and loyal. I was just so scared and–”

“Then don’t ever think of saying something like that to me, if you don’t want to offend me so much once again.” Dahyun gritted out with anger. 

Her face quickly smoothened though, and she smiled slightly, reaching for a tissue to wipe the tears from Sana’s face. “Remember, we’re in this together, right? Me and you against the problem. I’m staying.”

“But–” Sana opened her mouth.

“No buts. If I was about to get scared because of any wolves, I would never even get close to you. Obviously, I was a bit spooked today, but Moon Grove is my home, and you’re my partner. I’m not leaving you. I trust you to keep me safe, and I promise to not do anything risky like today anymore, okay? That was irresponsible of me and for that I’m sorry.”

Well, even if Dahyun acted irresponsibly, in her defence, they all let their guards down a bit too much. Even the people in the town stopped worrying about the possible danger in the woods. They were fooled, and they learned it the hard way, but it already happened and couldn’t be undone. There was no use in being mad at anyone, especially if Dahyun was aware of her mistake. 

“Okay. It’s fine.” Sana only nodded weakly, already sensing the incoming headache she was about to get after this outburst of emotions. Luckily, Dahyun was already coming to fix it up with her lips. When they touched her temple, she couldn’t not relax immediately. 

“I love you.” It broke out of her mouth without her knowledge. As always, those words could only bring a sweet smile to Dahyun's pretty face.

“I love you too. And now come to bed, because I’m gonna pass out in a minute.” The girl urged her. 

Sana pouted. 

“No kisses then?”

“No.” Dahyun shook her head. 

Sana did her best puppy eyes.

“Okay, but just one.”

“Five.”

“Sana! One.”

“Three?”

“Deal. Come here already.”

(...)

A shadow emerged from behind the tree, soundlessly moving towards Tzuyu. The lights were out, no one could see them, but they both still had their faces obscured with hoodies. 

“Hey, thanks for coming so quickly.” Tzuyu’s voice was hushed. 

She didn’t expect any answer, so it surprised her a bit when she was suddenly embraced with strong arms. She quickly returned the hug.

“Do you have it? It’s kinda urgent, my friend is hurt and–”

A package was pushed into her hand. No questions asked, no words spoken. Then she was hugged once again. 

And then she was again standing there alone.