The tension in the room thickens as Xiao Jun bursts in, his face pale and his breathing ragged.
"Kieran! Something's happening—your pack—" His voice cuts off abruptly when his gaze lands on Ace.
Shock flickers across his face, but he doesn't have time to keep his surprise...
From outside, a low, guttural growl reverberates through the walls. It's not a wolf's growl—too hollow, too twisted.
Kieran stiffens. "What's that?"
Before Jun can answer, figures appear in the doorway, their movements jerky and unnatural.
Ace stares, his stomach lurching.
They're wolves—but not. Their fur is patchy, their eyes clouded, and their limbs contorted at odd angles.
A low, unified snarl escapes them as they step forward in unison.
"Oh G_d! What are these?!" Jun mutters, his voice trembling, standing behind Kieran.
"This is unbelievable, she did this?!" Kieran matters his voice low and dangerous.
Ace takes a step closer to Kieran, instinctively protective. "She turned them into… this?"
Jun nods vigorously. "She must have taken control of them. They're not themselves anymore. I swear the last time I was here I saw something like this, and the next minute I looked... I saw that Dren guy and I thought I was imagining things!"
For a moment, no one moves. The room feels like it's shrinking, the walls closing in. Then one of the creatures lunges.
Kieran reacts instantly, despite his weakened state, shoving Ace behind him. But Ace steps forward pushing the iron door hard as he tries to reinforce it.
"This has gone too far than I ever imagined." Kieran says helping Ace reinforce the door while the creatures keep scratching on the door.
"You guys have strength and I heard you have powers, Ace. I have a gun , we can fight them because they don't seem like they are ever going to give up." Jun suggests with determination.
Ace has no time wonder everything about Xiao Jun, how comes he is here and he seems to know much than Ace thought he knew.
"If we decide to fight them , then that's live or die. We can't kill them , they're the members of the pack who are just being manipulated." Ace says firmly.
Kieran looks at him, his golden eyes fierce. "Then we save them. All of them."
The tension in the room is suffocating. Growls from outside vibrate through the walls, an unnerving chorus that only grows louder.
"They're surrounding us," Jun says sharply, his gaze darting to the doorway. His body tenses, his hands twitching as though ready to act. "How are we going to escape this?!"
"No," Ace interrupts, the faint glow of his power flickering before he suppresses it. "I'm not killing them. I won't."
Kieran turns to him. "No one wants to kill , Ace! But we will have to do whatever it has to be done , we can dash through them , fight as we purpose to get away—"
"Dash? What if they overpower us? Just leave them to kill us while we protect them? I get that they are under that witch's influence, but their purpose now seems is to kill us!" Xiao Jun argues.
The growling intensifies as though the creatures outside can feel the heat of their argument.
Xiao Jun presses on, "Come on guys! We don't have time for this. If we stay here, we're dead. And if you can't use your powers, Ace, we need a plan that doesn't involve fighting."
Ace's eyes settle on the far corner. "There's a window at the back. If we can distract them, we might be able to slip out and head for the woods."
Kieran nods, his expression tense. "That could work."
Jun steps closer, glancing between them. "We'll need to be fast. I'll go first to make sure it's clear."
"No," Kieran interjects, his voice low and commanding. "I'll go first. Ace comes second, and you cover the rear."
Jun hesitates, his jaw tightening, but he nods. "Fine. Let's go."
As they approach the window, the snarls from the front grow louder, the twisted figures pushing against the walls of the house.
Jun quickly pushes the window open, the cold night air rushing in.
"They're distracted at the front," he whispers. "We need to move now."
Kieran climbs out first , then gestures for Ace to climb through. "Come on."
Ace hesitates, his gaze lingering on Jun. Finally, pulls himself through the window, landing softly on the damp ground outside.
Then Jun.
As they disappear the forest looms ahead, dark and foreboding, the air thick with the unnatural scent of dark magic.
They slip into the cover of the trees, the rustling leaves and snapping branches muffling their footsteps.
The growling from the house fades momentarily, but it's not long before the sounds change—sharper, closer.
"They've noticed we're gone," Kieran murmurs, his tone grim. "Keep moving. We need to put as much distance between us and them as we can."
As they weave through the trees, Ace glances over his shoulder, his heart pounding.
The twisted wolves are closing in, their grotesque forms flickering in and out of the shadows.
"They're gaining on us," Ace says, his voice tight. "What's the plan?"
Jun hesitates, his gaze darting to Kieran. "We split up. It's the only way to throw them off."
"No," Kieran snaps. "We're not splitting up."
"Kieran—"
"I said no," Kieran growls, his golden eyes flashing. "We stay together. End of discussion."
Jun exhales sharply, his frustration evident. This is how they've been fighting ever since they meet, in all their missions. "Then what do we do? Fight them?"
Kieran's gaze hardens, but before he can respond, Ace steps in.
"We keep running," Ace says firmly. "We get out of the woods, and we figure it out from there. No one's dying here tonight."
Jun nods reluctantly. "There's a safe place not far from here. My house. It's stocked, and it's secluded enough that they might not find us right away."
Kieran's wolf bristles at the suggestion, but he pushes the feeling aside. "Fine."
They push forward, the woods closing in around them as the twisted wolves grow closer.
Every step feels like a gamble, the unnatural growls echoing through the night.
_
When they get to the apartment, the door slams shut, Ace leans against the wall, catching his breath.
His eyes sweep over the familiar interior—the furniture, the faint scent of cedar. Everything is exactly as he left it, and the weight of it hits him like a punch to the chest.
Kieran's gaze sharpens, his wolf pacing restlessly as Jun moves to lock the windows.
Jun turns to Ace, his voice soft but steady. "We'll be safe here. For now."
Ace doesn't respond, his attention drawn to a small trinket on the shelf—a gift he'd given Jun long ago.
Kieran walks to the bathroom.
"You kept everything," Ace murmurs, his voice laced with emotion.
Jun's expression softens. "I couldn't bring myself to change anything. This place… it's always been ours. I can't believe you are finally back home , babe."
The weight of Jun's words hangs in the air, at that moment kieran comes back and he feels his wolf growl low in his chest.
The bond hums, pulling him toward Ace, but the tension in the room is suffocating.The tension between Jun and Ace is impossible to ignore, and it sets on edge.