Moonlit Shadows

Pain and Hope

"Sorry for the mess," Hoseok murmured as he walked slowly into the room. "I haven't been in here since before...well, I just haven't had the stamina to clean it out. I will, just not right now."

His voice grew softer as he finished speaking. He picked up a book off one of the shelves and blew the dust off of the cover. "'Werewolf Lore and True Tales'. Hm, this seems like a good place to start."

He handed the book to Jaci, who held it reverently. "Take all the time that you need."

Then he left, shutting the door behind him.

Jaci looked around and felt she was in some fictional wizard's lair. But small feminine touches dotted the room. A single, now dead daisy stem in a narrow vase was set in the corner of the window. A purple cardigan laid across the desk chair. Photos of Ga-Eun with Hoseok and their children were in frames scattered across every available flat surface.

The room smelled of lilacs and rain.

Jaci sat down in the worn chair and laid the book down. A bright yellow notebook peeked out from under the book, and Jaci pulled it out to take a closer look. Flipping to the end, she found something that concerned her. It looked like a journal entry.

Subject is a female. Large bite mark on her neck from a werewolf. Going to try old school methods.

Reference : Monk's Hood - supposed to help prove the presence of a werewolf. Not deadly.

Presence was detected during application. Girl is definitely infected with the wolf enzyme. Waiting to see what happens during the full moon.

If a shift doesn't occur, get in contact with Zephyr.

Jaci nibbled on her bottom lip as she stared at the last few words. Who was Zephyr?

Carrying the yellow notebook with her, she walked back out to find Hoseok. He was laughing with his children while they watched an animated film. It was a wonderful sight to see him smiling and to hear the children laughing. She almost hated to interrupt it.

"Hoseok? I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know anyone by the name of Zephyr?"

Hoseok's head turned to face her and his eyes were wide, showing his surprise. "How do you know about Zephyr?"

Jaci waved the notebook in the air. "It was laying on her desk. She had entries referencing me. Said if my shift didn't occur, she would get in touch with someone named Zephyr."

Hoseok rose from his seat and his face was set with a scowl. "I can't believe she would contact him."

Jaci blinked as she tried to decide just how irritable this had made Hoseok. "So, you know him?"

"Know him?" laughed Hoseok. "I wish I didn't. He was going to be mates with Ga-Eun. At least he was until I showed up and we were proven to be fated mates. He got very angry with me. Ga-Eun let him down very nicely, but nothing would placate him. If it wasn't for her, he might have ripped my arms off."

Jack nodded slowly. Her lips twitched with her question. "But how would he know what to do about me not shifting?"

Hoseok scowled even harder. "He's some kind of werewolf folklore guru. Basically, he's done nothing but study the history of our species. He knows just about everything. And if something goes wrong, he usually knows how to fix it. But he's also pretty arrogant. No self-respecting wolf would go to him unless they were desperate."

Jaci stared blankly at Hoseok.

"Yeah, okay, so maybe this situation counts as desperate." Hoseok opened a drawer on the hallway table and pulled out a phone.