Chapter Text
Hyunjin feels it first - cold fingers clawing into him, nails piercing the skin and prying between each length of rib. Each bone perfectly crafted by years of evolution to cage the precious muscle that keeps his blood circulating. Each bone now a brittle branchling, snapping as the hand delves deeper. Fingertips find his heart, envelope and squeeze.
White light, then purple blots his wolf’s vision. Hyunjin gasps. His lungs inhale and the pack-link flares. He can feel Seungmin’s beta close-by. The change in the air is palpable. Hyunjin looks across to his fellow scout and sees the questions swell behind those eclipsed eyes.
Not predator no. Doesn’t smell like danger. Prey?
Seungmin’s nose rises, puffing out a frost cloud before twitching. Both wolves gaze snaps to the south, their dual senses latching onto the scent. Very few heartbeats away something, someone is suffocating.
Pink skin under layers of wool, damp denim and leather boots. Her body is set at a constant shiver. Seungmin gives Hyunjin a look we need to act now and within a breath has turned on his paws back to the pack for aid.
The girl's eyes have deep plum rings around them. Her lips are cracked, her hair is matted. Hyunjin’s chest tightens once more as he makes the decision to switch. It’s a choice not without its own set of risks.
Without a member of his pack in the vicinity, shifting into his human form in a dense part of the forest in the dead of winter is not exactly wise. He has no shame about the lack of clothing switching would inevitably result in - it is part and parcel of the hybrid-life - but he doesn't want to make the girl uncomfortable. He does however want to try to communicate with her at the very least, hoping to explain that help is on its way, that she is going to be okay.
Her eyes widen as she witnesses the shift. She pulls her scarf tighter around her neck and Hyunjin can smell her scent becoming stronger, angry, confused, afraid.
“Hello.” Hyunjin gives a polite smile, kneeling down before the girl. His throat is dry from the cold air and a light snowfall has started drifting down through the pines above.
“My friend has gone to get help. You don’t need to worry.”
The girl doesn’t answer. Her gaze slips past him, unfocused, pupils blown wide as if she’s looking through the trees rather than at him. Her teeth chatter hard enough that Hyunjin can hear it over the soft padding of falling snow.
Her scent feels off. Too hot. Too sharp. Fever-sweet and spiralling, it’s nothing like an omega’s heat or alpha’s rut, in fact, he considers, nothing like anything he’s ever come across before.
Hyunjin swallows, instinct thrumming beneath his skin.
“Okay,” he murmurs, softer now. “Okay.”
He shifts back before she can panic further. A heartbeat later, his wolf presses close, broad and solid, lowering himself carefully so he doesn’t startle her. He nudges once, a question more than a command.
She doesn’t pull away.
Hyunjin curls around her, his thick black fur claiming the snowfall around her. The girl leans back. Though trembling, she slowly melts into his warmth. He keeps his head lowered, careful not to crowd. He wonders if scenting her would help but decides against it. Best to let her decide, get her back, get her home.
He listens to her breathing. She’s still shaking but a lot less than before.
Hold on, he thinks, sending the hope down the pack-link like a flare. We’ve got you now.
Snow gathers on his fur as Hyunjin stays wrapped around her, unmoving, until help comes.