k

“Ah, Master YN,” the man beamed happily when he saw you. He kept his fire close to him, sprinkling herbs into the pot. You wondered briefly how he’d grab it. “What brings you out here ton-Oh my,” his smile faltered when he saw your half-torn, blood-stained clothes and hands, “My dear boy, what happened to you?”

“A few things,” you replied, eyeing the steaming pot. You licked your lips seeing the brown gravy hanging off the wood spoon above it. 

“Must have been quite heavy things,” he said. “I have a coat you may wear. It’ll keep you warm in this biting cold.”

“No, thank you, sir. I don’t feel very cold.” 

When you stepped into the light, The Duke gasped softly. He glanced at the rest of you, then said, “It appears Master Felix succeeded in his endeavor after all. Have they already let you loose upon the Huntsman?”

“Huntsman? No. I left.”

“What for?”

“My family.”

“The same family who sold you to me?” He sounded confused by this. 

“Yes.” 

He saw your crestfallen face, and said, “Well, if you will not have my coat, then take some of my wine. It is a fine vintage from House Dimitrescu. You might enjoy it much more than this stew.”

He pulled out a decorative bottle from the holder hanging from the door. Grabbing a wine glass, he poured and handed it to you. You gulped when the sweet scent of blood hit your nose. Timidly, you moved closer. The fire bathed you in warmth as you took up the glass. The mixture of scents in the air made you nearly dizzy. You took a sniff of the glass, grabbing hints of bold grapes and virgin blood-

Virgin blood? 

“What is this?”

“Your new family’s speciality,” he answered. “Sanguis Virginis. Maiden’s Blood. It’s very…full-bodied.” 

You did not want to think about the meaning. Instead, you took one sip and let out a soft groan. It tasted better than any stew or cooked rabbit. You gulped down the rest of the drink, feeling life slipping back into you. 

“Have a seat, young master,” The Duke insisted, “Warm yourself with wine and fire.” When you sat on a stool near him, he said, “So, what possessed you to leave your new family and seek out the old?”

You contemplated this for a moment, then said, “I wanted to go home. I woke up in this unfamiliar place alone and only thought of going back to my family.. I’d hoped they’d want me back. I thought maybe they did not know what would happen to me. I…I know it sounds ridiculous now.”

“There is nothing wrong with having hope,” he assured you, stirring the stew before leaning to taste some. Nodding, he grabbed a bowl from nearby and began ladeling the stew, “If it eases you, they did not know exactly what might happen to you. I will admit I do withhold some facts when making these kinds of deals. I simply told them you’d be put to good use in Castle Dimitrescu, and they put the pieces together themselves.” 

“They still traded me,” you grumbled before taking another drink of wine. 

“Out of necessity,” he said, scooping up stew and hungrily eating it. “Your father told me your mother was incredibly ill with consumption. He claimed she was on death’s door.” 

“She was. She appears fine now.” 

“With the right amount of treatment and medication, it seems so,” he confirmed. “Aside from illness, starvation and poverty in general can make the strongest man desperate.”

“Are you telling me this was okay because they were desperate?”

“Not at all. I find the act despicable, but that is the only explanation I can give you,” he said. 

“You don’t find it despicable enough to not broker the deals though,” you remarked.

“I am a businessman first and foremost, Master YN,” he said. He ate more stew, gravy dripping down his chin before he mopped it up with a handkerchief. “Master Felix came to me with a deal: if I supply him with villagers, he’d pay me handsomely for them. I did not inquire about his intentions, since I have a similar deal with his mother, but it became clear when the first experiment failed.” 

“What happened?”

“The subject turned into a hideous, ferocious beast,” he said, “And terrorized the village. The Huntsman managed to overpower the creature and kill it, but had no idea where it’d come from. I knew.” He washed down the stew with a beer bottle. He belched through his napkin, then continued, “I did not advertise the deal due to the morbid nature, but it soon caught on in the nearby village and beyond. I simply made the deal happen. I am only a middle man.”

“A middle man that sold people to monsters.”

“It’s not one of the nicest parts of business, but it was nothing personal, I assure you.” He then said, “It may sound insensitive, Master YN, but you should be grateful you came out like this and not like the monsters or corpses that preceded you. I am no expert in scientific experiments by any means, though I will say you seem to have been a clear success.”

“How grateful I am,” you rolled your eyes. You finished off your second glass, and went for a third. “I’m a monster now.”

“We are all monsters, just different breeds. Some might say your parents are monsters for giving up their only child to save themselves,” he said. “A few dare to say Mother Miranda is a monster herself, even when she protects these lands.”

“She doesn’t do that well of a job if we’re all starving and living in shacks.” 

He ate another spoonful of stew, then said, “But she keeps the monsters at bay. They obey her every word and whim, and fear her above all others. Well, perhaps aside from Master Chan, but that is the power of an alpha lycan, I suppose.”

“Master Chan?” 

“Master Chan Heisenberg,” he answered. “The eldest son of Karl Heiseberg, followed by his brothers Changbin and Jisung, called ‘Han’.” He paused over his bowl, “Did you not know?”

“I know there are other lords, but I didn’t bother with them.”

“Hmpf, you should bother with them now before they bother you,” he warned. He hesitated, “The Heisenberg pack lives in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the land. Heisenberg created them from three boys he’d found in the village. Your new mother believes he stole her idea, but I think the man simply felt lonely working in his factory. The boys help him, from what I understand, yet there are whispers Master Chan has been doing some solo projects.” 

“Any warnings I should heed?”

“Approach with caution,” he said. “The Heisenbergs do not have the restraint and refinement of House Dimitrescu.” He chewed a hearty piece of rabbit, washed it down with beer, “Then, deep in the valley lives the doll maker, Donna Beneviento with her son, Master Jeongin. The pair keep to themselves in the dank, old estate by the waterfall, but those who go there have never come back.”

“Jeongin?”

“Rumor was he was the son of the family’s gardener. He’d been very ill several years ago, and Lady Beneviento took pity on him. The treatment…well, let us say it left the boy speechless.” He gulped the rest of his beer, “In the reservoir up north is Salvatore Moreau, a being of twisted flesh and his son, Seungmin, who is his pride and joy. The beauty and the beast rule over those dangerous waters.” He then said, “I am sure you will meet the others in time. Mother Miranda will hear of Master Felix’s experiment soon enough and will likely want to see the result for herself.”

Meeting the real Mother Miranda struck a fear in you that the wine couldn’t drown out. The ruler of the land, she’d been around for as long as you could remember. A goddess of black magic, she’d given the people health, prosperity and safety. You often questioned exactly what your people paid in return for these benefits, but your questions were met with scoldings. Seeing yourself and the tales of this new “family”, you’d gotten your answer. You finished off the bottle of wine when The Duke asked you another question. 

“What shall you do now?”

You paused, thinking it over as you ran your thumb over the intricate floral metal on the bottle. “I don’t know,” you answered honestly. “I don’t wish to go back to the castle, but I cannot go home either.”

“You can drift as the Huntsman does,” he suggested. He then looked up into the trees, “Or perhaps your companions might have some ideas.”

“Companions?”

You glanced up to see dozens of glowing eyes looking down from the dark trees above. Suddenly, you became aware of the shifting in the branches. Their appearance didn’t surprise you. Perhaps in the back of your mind you knew they’d followed you to the clearing. Them and whatever creatures you assumed lurked in the darkness. Standing from your seat, you examined the bats more closely. Full bodies covered in fur, they were a bit larger than the bats you turned into during flight. Those were the size of mice, whereas these were average size.  

“They have been listening for quite some time,” The Duke said. “It appears they are waiting for you.”

Their eyes followed only you. A ripple of unrest went through them, and you felt it in your chest. “Yes,” you said softly, looking at one particular bat nearest you, “Yes, it feels that way.” 

“If I were you, I would visit my creator,” he said, finishing off his stew and getting seconds. “Master Felix is a man of science. He may be able to explain things to you, if you accept your newfound state.” 

“I don’t want to see that bastard,” you grunted, and your distaste showed in the bats above. Walking closer, you sensed a connection growing between yourself and these animals. Both creatures of the night, hungry for blood and the dark places of the world, you sensed yourself merging with them in your heart. “He made me this way. Even if my family sold me, he turned me into this monster.”

“That word once again,” he scoffed. “‘Monster’ is such a broad term.”

“It is the only one that explains what I am,” you said, reaching up to the bat, who did not flinch when you touched its head. 

“You will not know what you truly are until you speak with the one who made you.”

It squeaked a few more times, and you knew it used its echolocation to find you. 

“I’m right here,” you said gently once underneath it. “Don’t worry, little friend. I’m here.” 

It flew towards you, and when you held out your arm it clung itself to your chest as a baby would a mother.  You stroked its head while you walked, finding a sense of purpose with your new friend.

“Clearly, a close connection with nightly creatures is one of them,” Duke continued. “That owl has been staring too.”

You turned to a separate tree where a brown and white barn owl sat watching, as Duke said. “It may be that Master Felix required a person who blends in with darkness and can speak to other nocturnal beasts. The best place to start is at the castle.”

“Don't want to lose your contract with them, eh?” you asked, noting his insistence you return to the castle. 

“That and that her newest son's prolonged absence may inspire Lady Dimitrescu to send her minions into the village. They may not be lycans, but they are just as deadly.”

“Minions?” 

“The Moroacia and Samca, the failed experiments of Master Felix or his mother's victims. They are bloodthirsty, mindless creatures that will invade in droves, killing anyone within reach.” He shuddered, “Terrifying things. I suggest to save the innocent souls down below, you return to your new home.” 

“It isn’t my home.”

“I’m afraid it is,” he said. “Where else will you go?” 

You looked down at the bat in his arms. It likely lives in a cave with its colony. A cave could be a good form of shelter, and with the bats overhead, you wouldn’t be alone. The group then shuddered and shook as if sensing your need for flight. It took one to fly off before the rest of them began following them. 

“Wherever they’re going,” you said, nodding up to the bats. “Thank you for the wine, Duke, but I think I should get going. The night is still young, and I have to get moving.”

“I pray you find shelter tonight,” he replied with a nod, eating more stew. “I’d caution against the beasts of the night, but I imagine it is you the beasts should fear.” 

You weren’t so sure about that. Even when you fought off that lycan, which still surprised you, you didn’t know the extent of your abilities. You almost did not want to know. The more you knew, the more beastly you felt. Walking from the clearing, you held onto the bat against your chest. You stared up between the trees, seeing the rest of the colony not too far ahead. You couldn’t properly follow them from the ground, so you released your walking companion and bent your knees. In a spring upwards, you twirled into a flight form. You soared over the canopy of trees, the nighttime breeze blowing through as you flew. You stayed behind the group as they led you back to a familiar place. 

Castle Dimitrescu. 

Apprehensive, you slowed down as you saw the tall turrets and towers. Duke’s advice came back to you. Going back will give you answers, but going back also cemented the truth: you’d become something far worse than any human alive. You still went towards the castle, your friends making a turn and aiming at the lower areas. Through a tight hole in one wall, you escaped the freezing cold for the dark, damp heat underneath. Even in complete darkness, you saw everything. The unlit torches, the empty barrels, the cell doors and the torture devices around the dark dungeon came to you crystal clear. 

The flock finally stopped in the middle of the labyrinth, starting to hang upside down from the stone ceiling. Yes, being underneath a place of blood and death did not sound ideal, but where else could you go? Finding an abandoned cell with a wooden bench, you discovered a strange kind of peace amongst the bats. They did not show scorn or distaste for you. They wouldn’t trade you for food. In fact, you’d never felt more at peace with any living being. Laying on the long bench, exhaustion finally came over you. As the comforting presence lulled you to sleep, you wondered if your parents regretted their decision and perhaps want you back. 

No, they wouldn’t. 

****

Hunger. Unimaginable hunger. It hollowed out your stomach and left your throat dry. The only thing keeping you shuffling through was the smell. Blood. Sickly sweet and fresh came in a gust of wind through the castle dungeons. Days had passed since you tasted the blood in Duke’s wine, and your hunger had returned in full force. It became your every waking thought as you stumbled through the catacombs. The scent grew thicker the closer it came, almost enough that inhaling it brought it to your tongue. 

“Hun…Hungry…” the word escaped your lips in a hoarse voice. 

You came upon the body in one of the northern parts of the dungeon. Several bodies hung from the ceiling, their limbs slashed to drain the blood from them into large vats. You’d managed to feed off the leftovers the Lady and her sons discarded. Yet, they didn’t yield much blood so the rats became a second option. After drinking the blood of the dead and animals, fresh vats seemed like an oasis. Seeing the dark red liquid sitting alone in a large bucket, you could not resist. You cupped your hands in the thick substance, and took greedy gulps. A low groan escaped you after that first drink, the warmth breaking through the cold stiffness in your body, and you drank more of it. You should feel disgusted, but your hunger won out. 

“I knew you were down here.” 

You smelled him before you even looked up. You didn’t know which one, but the faint scent of pomegranates came from somewhere nearby. His voice bounced off the walls, and you whipped around. Hyunjin appeared out of his blowfly colony, walking over to you with a smug grin. 

“I told Mother I heard something scurrying around the dungeons,” he said. “It’s you that’s been feeding off our scraps.” He looked up into the rafters to see your colony, “And you’re the reason the bats are still around.” He looked over your disheveled appearance. Your matted hair, blood stained wearing ragged clothing, you were not a pretty sight. In wanting to escape the truth, you only brought it to life more. “You poor thing,” he frowned, cautiously approaching you, “You went home, didn’t you?”

His voice was a tender caress this time, meant to soothe instead of seduce. You couldn’t answer. His footsteps came closer, and you flinched when you felt a hand touch your shoulder.

“We tried to warn you,” he said, “But I suppose it was best you saw it for yourself. You must be in so much pain.”

He lifted your face to meet his, and you saw the beauty before you. Unlike when you first arrived, he showed no eagerness to hurt you. 

“I don’t remember anything about my life before Mother,” he told you, “But I sometimes imagine I ended up here the same way as you. I’m sorry your family did this to you.” He wiped your face with an embroidered handkerchief, “You’re better off with us than with them. Mother would make sure you were well fed and cared for. Even if she’s upset with Felix for creating you, you are one of us now and that makes her your mother too.”

“She’s not my mother,” you said through gritted teeth.

“She is now,” he said, wiping blood from your mouth and cheeks. “What mother would sacrifice her child to save herself? A real mother would have given up her life rather than let her child suffer. Mother isn’t like that. She’d kill anyone who tried to harm you.” He then said, “Felix, Minho and I would not let anything happen to you either. You’re our brother now, and we stick together.”

“You are not my family,” you said through a hoarse throat. “They are my family,” you nodded to the bats above. 

“Can they feed you properly? Give you a warm bath and fresh blood to drink? This place, as lovely as it is for storage, is not fit for a son of Lady Dimitrescu.”  

“I’m not her son.”

“Come with me,” he said, standing and offering his hand. “Please? At least to let Mother and Felix know you are alright. They have been sick with worry over you. They think The Huntsman got you. Can you at least do that?” He batted his lashes and pouted his full lips. “There’s more food in it for you, if you do. Then you can come back down here and be with your ‘family’ if you want to.”

You considered the pros and cons of returning to the surface. Yet, staring into Hyunjin’s eyes, you didn’t see any deceit. He gently caressed your cheek as he examined your face. You looked over his full pouty lips, still stained by his blood consumption. The mole just underneath his eye made him seem more human somehow. You touched his cheek to feel his warmth on your cold fingers. His skin, supple and smooth, remained unblemished by time or age. 

“Is my beauty enough to entice you?” he smirked, watching you examine him. 

You didn’t answer. Your thumb went down his cheek to his bottom lip, grazing just underneath it on his chin. Hyunjin leaned closer to you, and you smelled the blood on his breath. 

“Going upstairs offers much, much more than what this dungeon can,” he said, voice low between you. “I promise my bed is warmer and softer.”

“The Duke said your mother would kill the villagers if I didn’t come back,” you told him. “Is that true?”

“Partly,” he replied, tucking hair behind your ear. “My brothers and I managed to convince her otherwise, but her restraint only lasts so long. Those villagers…they might rather burn you than embrace you, yet that doesn’t justify such a grizzly end. Come upstairs with me,” he gently nuzzled your nose, “And let her see that there’s no need for rash actions.” 

Even if they’d rather kill you than accept you, thinking about your neighbors and friends suffering such cruel fates was enough. “Alright, I’ll go.” 

“Good,” he said, letting your thumb slide between his lips for a brief moment. He gave it a soft suckle before letting go. “A nice castle and servants aren’t the only benefits to being in our family, I promise you.” 

You followed Hyunjin through the dungeons, the both of you taking your separate forms to fly through the castle. While he moved into millions of tiny pieces, yours took up a bit more space. Your body still shivered remembering Hyunjin’s soft lips around your thumb. He was by far the most beautiful being you’d ever seen, perhaps more so than his brothers. The trickle of his pomegranate essence made you hungry for something aside from blood. The sort of hunger you felt when you kissed Elijah behind his family’s barn or when Stephan stole a kiss outside the church. You never went the entire way those times, but you still remember the tightness forming in your stomach and how your body yearned for their touch. 

There might be one benefit to being a monster. 

He led you through the opulent, elegant halls of the castle into a lounge area in front of a fireplace. In the room, you saw Felix reading against his mother’s side on a couch, while Minho sat nearby idly playing a harp. The three of them turned as Hyunjin and you came back into the room. Felix stood up before his mother did, putting the book down and coming over to you. 

“YN, where have you been?” he asked, scanning over your face. “I’ve been looking for you for days. Where did you go? What happened to you?” You snarled when he tried touching you. He didn’t appear very surprised, stepping a foot away. “Where have you been?”

“He’s been in the dungeons,” Hyunjin said. “I told you something was down there.” 

“It’s you that’s been taking the leftovers?” Felix asked you, but you did not answer. 

“But, sweet boy,” Lady Dimitrescu stood up from her seat, “You could’ve had your fill here. I wouldn’t have denied you fresh prey,” she came over to you in long strides. Unlike Felix, she did not cower away when you snapped your teeth at her. “Here,” she poured wine from a decorative bottle into a spare wine glass. You recognized it as the same bottle The Duke offered. “Drink this. You must be starving after feeding off scraps.” 

You tentatively sipped from the glass, then downed the drink in several gulps. You licked up what spilled from the sides of your mouth, then started licking the inside of the glass. You never tasted anything so delicious before. It reminded you of those hollow days back home when food was so scarce. Nothing ever made your belly feel full. When your father managed to find food in the woods, you remembered devouring it as if it might be your last meal. 

“Proper table manners seem to go out the window when you’re starving,” Minho commented, plucking at one of the strings. 

“Do not be so harsh so soon, Minho,” Lady Dimitrescu said to him. “Your new brother has been through a serious change. It must’ve been difficult managing it alone,” she bent down to you, cupping your cheek. She felt warm, and smelled of roses. “I will admit I am intrigued. Felix’s experiments normally turn into lycans or die in the first few minutes, but you held out. The fact you can remember your previous life is also remarkable.”

You wished you’d woken without memory. Then it wouldn’t hurt so much. 

“But then again, memory can be a burden,” she said, sensing your sadness. “Here,” she brought you over to the sofa where she poured you more wine. “Drink your fill. Rats and corpses aren’t fit for any son of mine.” 

You drank your second glass as quickly, not bothered by the sick feeling growing from drinking so fast. About to wipe your mouth with your sleeve, Lady Dimitrescu offered you her handkerchief instead. You cleaned your face with it, smelling more roses as you wiped off the excess. She appeared nothing like what you’d been told your whole life. The other villagers spoke of her ruthlessness; that anyone who made the trek up her castle never returned. You’d learned that was true, yet it did not scare you. She did not look at you with malice in her eyes, but instead tenderness. She repeatedly filled your cup when it emptied. She cleaned your mouth and the dirt from your face. It did not seem to bother her as you thought it might. 

“Alright, you’ve seen I’m safe,” you said, finally full, “May I go back now?”

“You wish to go back to that damp place?” she asked in surprise. “It’s filthy down there, and those bats-”

“-Are my family,” you told her. “They don’t cast out their own kind. They don’t point guns at them and tell them to leave. They saw me as I was and didn’t call me a monster or a beast.” Anger elevated your voice, pain coming up through your throat like bile. 

“Well, they’re bats, so I imagine they can’t talk to begin with,” said Minho, only to be smacked lightly by Felix. 

“I know how childish it sounds,” you snapped at him, “But I’d rather be in the dark with them than in the light with people who’ve used me.” You glared at Felix, “I remember everything you did to me. I remember you cutting me open like a dead fish and sticking that thing inside me. I can still feel it wriggling,” you closed your eyes to the sickening feeling in your stomach. “You’re the reason I don’t have a family anymore,” you said. 

“No, your family is the reason you don’t have a family. I simply took advantage of their situation,” he said simply. 

“Felix…”

“If what the Duke says is correct,” he said, ignoring his mother, “It hardly took any convincing at all. All he said was there’d be money and food in it for them, and they jumped at the chance. What kind of parents do that to their child? Surely, this is a question you’ve asked yourself multiple times since then, no?” 

You didn’t know how to answer. He seized a chance at your hesitancy, “You may continue thinking you are some sort of ferocious monster, but you cannot deny it. I’ve made you far better and greater than any being outside these walls. You’re fast. You’re strong. You’re deadly. Those pathetic weaklings in the villages will be terrified when they see you coming. The lycans themselves will run in terror at the sight of you,” he stepped closer. “I have given you a gift, YN. Do not waste it wallowing in self-pity in our dungeons with the bats and rats and corpses.” 

“I do not want to scare anyone,” you said. “I did not ask for your ‘gift’. It’s made me a monster.”

“You’re only a monster if you continue to act like one,” he replied sharply. “Please, YN,” he came over to where you sat, sincerity in his eyes, “Do not go. Not yet. We need you and you need us. Mother,” he glanced at the Lady, “Tell him. Tell him he doesn’t have to go anywhere. He’s safer here than anywhere else. You will be the mother he could only dream of.” 

Lady Alcina did not answer at first. She examined her eldest son quickly, seeing the desperation he masked so well. Stroking your hair, she looked down at you. 

“You went to the village,” she said when she saw your sad eyes. 

“I did.”

“And?”

The stinging sensation in your nose returned. You tried sniffling and wriggling it out, but it brought with it more tears. You’d spent weeks in the dungeons reliving the moment over and over again. Your father had pointed his gun at you. He actually threatened to shoot you. You saw their cold faces once more, swimming to the forefront of your mind to haunt you. To them, you’d become a deranged animal that needed to be put down rather than embraced. Seeing your dirty hands and clothes, you might actually be that animal. You smoothed back hair from your face as you fought off tears. You wanted to go home, but where was home now? 

“Oh, sweet boy,” she cooed. She then lifted you from the sofa like a mother would with a baby, cuddling you to her chest and stroking your hair. “It is for the best in the end,” she said, holding you close. “Those village fools fear what they do not understand. They allow their ignorance to cloud their judgment. They would never have accepted you, but that won’t happen here.”

“You’re our brother now,” Hyunjin said, sitting on the arm rest. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I certainly won’t,” said Felix. “I went through too much trouble creating you. I won’t let you be destroyed so easily.”

“It’s my job to protect the members of this family,” Minho told you, “And that includes you.” 

“You don’t need your bat friends when you have us,” Hyunjin came closer to meet your eyes. “We will take care of you. I’ll take care of you.” 

You looked into his eyes once more, and fresh tears came. 

“I think a nice bath and a good long sleep is in order, hm?” Lady Alcina asked you, and you didn't refuse. 

She brought you further into the castle with Hyunjin behind her. In a room of marble stone, the Lady gently removed the rags you wore while Hyunjin prepared the bath. You did not see the point in shyness, so you let her peel the sticky, smelly layers piece by piece. Neither of them spoke as she lowered you into the warm tub. Lady Alcina did not leave your side the entire time, taking it upon herself to bathe you. It’d been too long since you felt such gentleness. 

“If you still wish to go back down there when you wake,” she said, carrying you into a bedroom after washing and drying you, “You can go.” 

“Really?”

“If it makes you more comfortable here, then I will not protest. Unlike that simpering wench of a mother, I wish for you to be happy.” 

She laid you down on a soft bed like a newborn, pushing hair from your face and caressing your cheek. The exhaustion finally started coming over you in the comfort of this new bed. It certainly beats the old cot back at home and your dungeon bench. Your eyes started falling shut as you savored her fingers gently scratching behind your ear and scalp. It had been something your old mother might have done once, but not anymore. 

Alcina Dimitrescu didn’t care about your pointed ears or claws. 

****

“Magnificent…Absolutely magnificent. You say he tore the beast apart?”

“Yes,” Hyunjin answered in a whisper. “He lifted him in the air while still in his bat swarm form, and tore his head off. It was incredible. I’ve never heard of anyone defeating a lycan before; it usually takes several gunshots for them to go down. Even Heisenberg’s boys have trouble with the particularly feral ones from time to time. We certainly can’t do what he did.” 

Felix told him to follow you, but he would have done it on his own anyways. He didn’t want to lose another brother. He’d flown some distance behind you to avoid detection, then tailed you into the village. He’d sensed the lycan just as easily as you, ready to fight it off, before he saw you take it on by yourself. Hyunjin couldn’t believe his eyes. Lycans, he knew, were nearly indestructible, yet you tore them apart with little effort. Whatever Felix injected into you made you stronger than anyone else. Maybe even stronger than those Heisenbergs. 

“What else did you notice?”

“Well, his parents are cruel, that’s for sure. You should’ve seen it, Felix,” Hyunjin frowned. “He begged them to let him come home, and they turned him away. I heard the whole thing. He would’ve stayed there longer if the villagers hadn’t come back from church.” He pushed hair from your face, his fingers feather-light on your skin. “How could a parent do that to their child? It’s always astounded me. These people sacrifice their children to keep on living. That mother should’ve let her sickness consume her rather than give up her son to an unimaginable fate.” 

“Yes, yes, yes, that’s all very sad,” Felix said dismissively, “What else did you notice about him?”

That you’re a tortured soul who seeks a proper home and family. Hyunjin examined your face. He took in the shape of your eyes and nose; the curve of your lips and your soft cheeks. It was a face only Gods could create. He could spend forever painting you and find each picture more beautiful than the last. He’d been shocked when he found you in the dungeon, dirty and living off scraps. You should be sitting in the conservatory amongst the blooming flowers, or in the music room playing the piano with your lovely fingers. 

“Hyunjin!”

“He’s not that much different from us,” he finally answered, wishing Felix would leave the Frankenstein act for another time. “He picked up on Chan and Changbin before I did.”

“Chan and Changbin were there?”

“Yes, and Jisung too,” he said. He hadn’t told you about the three wolves that had stalked you in the forest. He’d spotted them whilst trying to catch sight of you again from above. “I believe they caught him by chance and didn’t know what or who he was.”

“Wonderful,” Felix scoffed. “Now those damned mongrels know about him. They’ve likely already gone to their scoundrel father and told him. Mother Miranda will know sooner than I would’ve liked.” He took a deep breath. “I have to tell Mother. She’s already upset with me for doing the experiments without Miranda’s permission. Hearing about this will make things worse.” 

“She has every right to be angry at you.” Minho appeared in the doorway, stern and stoic as always. He walked into the bedroom, hands behind his back, and stood beside Felix. “She thinks you’re trying to replace Jimin-”

“-That isn’t what I’m doing-” 

“-I know it isn’t, but she doesn’t,” he cut him off. “Felix, you need to go and explain yourself. If Mother Miranda confronts her about it, she'll need to know what to say. If we're lucky, Miranda will see this as an effort against the Huntsman-”

“-It is an effort against the Huntsman-” Felix argued hotly. 

“-And not punish all of us for your reckless actions.”

“You do recall assisting me, right?” Felix said, fully turning to him. “You held him down; you injected him. You’re equally guilty.” 

“That was because I believed in your vision, and I still do,” he said. “The Huntsman is a greater threat to our family than Mother Miranda realizes, and I’d do anything I could to stop them. But, we cannot kill them if we’re all dead.”

“Miranda wouldn’t kill us or Mother,” Felix argued. “We’ll get a slap on the wrist and be warned to never do it again.”

“Felix, what you’ve done is far more serious and you know that. You stole Cadou parasites from Moreau, who was given those by Miranda herself,” he said. “When she learns you’ve been basically stealing her property, she might not be so lenient. I told you the consequences of these experiments when you started them, and you ignored me every single time. This one is the last one,” he nodded to your sleeping form. “If he dies, that’s the end of it. No more mad-science experiments, got it?” 

Hyunjin watched Felix stare at him defiantly. “No.”

“What do you mean ‘No’?”

“No. I will not stop trying until the Huntsman is dead.”

“There are other ways.”

“Name them.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps if all of us put our pride aside, we can work with the other lords to destroy him. The other houses cannot handle them on their own, but if we do it together-”

“-I can’t believe you’re suggesting that,” Felix huffed. “Us working with those weaklings. It’s prosperous.”

“They are far from weak, and you know that. Tsk all you want, Felix, you know it’s true. You’ve seen what those Heisenbergs can do in and out of their wolf forms. Lord help that Huntsman if they end up near the reservoir when Seungmin is around, and have you forgotten what Jeongin can do with flowers and dolls? If we combine all those skills, we have a fighting chance. Hyunjin,” he turned to him, “Back me up on this. We cannot keep having let down after let down; failure after failure like this.”

Hyunjin did not know how to answer. He thought about his mother’s teary eyes when she stared at Jimin’s crystalized corpse in the music room. She wept for weeks. She still does though she hides it from them. Hyunjin hated thinking Felix tried replacing Jimin so soon after his death. Jimin was their brother, their blood. When he explained his intentions, Hyunjin stood behind him out of hope. Staring down at you, he wondered if you really could kill the Huntsman. He thought about you ending the same way as Jimin, and it made him sad. However, the alternative is to work with the other families. Hyunjin did not care for any of them either way, but his family did so he joined them in their distaste. Yet, he could not deny their strengths.

“It’d be great if we could have both,” he said.

“Yes, but sometimes we cannot have both,” Felix said.

“Maybe this time we can? YN might not be able to do it alone. He’d need help, and if we all join forces-”

“-I said ‘no’!” Felix said through gritted teeth with a foot stomp. “I don’t want anything to do with those damned dogs!”

He turned into his swarm and blew through the doors. Neither Minho or Hyunjin brought up the reason Felix may dislike the idea of an alliance.

Chan Heisenberg. 

****