The wolves near the border [SKZ fanfiction] | HanJisung

Chapter 20

His limbs were trembling from the burst of energy he used running over to the place. With shaking hands he had pushed open the door - which Heikin must've fixed before she left - and carefully looked around.
The house still had remnants of what happened, but there was no body, no blood and no traces of destruction when he looked around. The only things that gave away there had been a fight were the visible scratch marks on some spots and the emptiness inside of the room with the broken furniture being removed and thrown outside.
He tiptoed around over to the window with a trembling lower lip, looking out over the little garden. Winter had made a mess of the raised beds and weeds had started to pop up here and there. His eyes stilled on a spot where the earth was raised a little and on top laid a heavy rock, carved with a crescent moon. She had buried Nelaya.
Jisung's cheeks got wet with his tears and he finally let go, hiding his face in his hands and shocking his shoulders uncontrollably with every exhale. Soft cries transformed into big wails. Why was everything so complicated? Why did an innocent girl have to die? Why couldn't he be happy for Felix and Heikin? He had been able for Nelaya, then why did his heart ache seeing the alpha with the beta? He hated his hypocritical thoughts. He didn't want to lose Felix, his friend, his first crush until they both presented and now he didn't want to see Felix end up with the girl he had developed feelings for. Why was he so stubborn to the point he had pushed away the young alpha, all because he wanted the opportunity to have a real family? This was his real family, so why did his body reject it so strongly? Why? Why?
Why did he have to present as an omega?
Jisung was gasping for air in between his cries until he had no energy left. His eyes were puffy, his head hurted and he was probably smelling like distress and angst. He had to calm down and pick himself up again. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and took a deep breath, but at his inhale he stopped when he tasted a familiar scent. A lingering smell tickling his brain in search for the right answer. Vaguely and somewhere in the back of his mind there popped up a recognition of said scent. Gravel, something stony? Limestone?
Shit. His neckhaires raised up when the scent got stronger. He was in danger, that was what his brain tried to tell him, but he didn't know from where the danger was lurking at him.
He had two choices. Either howl out loud to let the others know where he was, but giving his location to the unknown danger as well, or stay silent in the hope the danger would pass.
Yeah, good luck with this many pheromones around you, you idiot, Jisung thought to himself. He wasn't ready to repeat history.
"Show yourself!" he shouted with an unsteady voice.
Damned his crying, he sounded more scared than intimidating. There was no sound, but the pebbly scent got stronger again. He had no choice. Jisung placed both his hands around his mouth and howled out loud till his lungs had no air in them and his vocal cords felt raw.
He blinked his newly formed tears away and took on his fighting stance. Whoever brought this scent, it meant bad news.
"The girl had done the same..."

At first Jisung didn't see him coming. The lank man had jumped out of the shadows almost silently and tried to floor him with one arm.
Jisung had quick reflexes and jumped out of reach with a loud beating heart.
"Leave me alone!" he yelled, earning a smirk from the man who stood up, towering above him with at least two heads.
The man was intimidatingly tall and Jisung cursed his genes for his short height. Even Hyunjin wasn't this tall.
"You're quite the chatter," the man praised him, licking his lip and emitting more of his scent.
Jisung trembled when the pheromones were overwhelming him. No! He wasn't going down that easily! Thank the moon for his relentless bothering Seungmin and Chan. He had developed some sort of resistance with their very powerful scents and made a mental note to dig his face in the crook of the neck of his pack leader later. Because he was getting out of here!
"I'm not afraid of you!" he yelled at the tall man who circled around him like Jisung was his prey. Which he most definitely was, Jisung thought, seeing the dark eyes scanning over him.
"You're the first," his gravelly voice said. "But you will be in a moment."
This man was made out of stone, not only smelling like it, Jisung thought when he doubled over when a hard fist hit him in his stomach. He ducked to evade the second flinging fist, but stumbled against the table and had to keep his balance. The man lunged at him and a pair of sharp claws missed his head with a hair length. He had to get out.
Jisung bolted towards the door, but the man behind him only laughed and threw something at him. Jisung screamed when something sharp ripped away the flesh on his right calf and he face planted the floor, hearing his nose make a horrible noise. He rolled over immediately to catch the wrists of the man who was ready to dig his claws into him.
"No!" Jisung yelled. "Let me go!"
The man snarled at him when Jisung used his knee to hurt the man's stomach. He should've targeted his balls, but with the pain flashing through his body from his other leg he wasn't able to.
Jisung tried to push the man away, but only managed to do half so. He got hit in his face, feeling a spray of his own blood paint the room. He flung his own fists through the air and managed to give a few good hits back, but the man seemed determined, smirking as if he enjoyed the struggle. He picked up something from the floor and Jisung saw with widened eyes how the sharp object got slammed into his shoulder, ripping away through his tunic and skin. Another horrified scream erupted from his lungs and his vision became blurred with the overwhelming pain. He had to change into his wolf, but he wasn't strong enough to fight his way out of this.
As if the man could see his thoughts he jumped at Jisung again and pressed his claws deep in the scent glands around Jisung's neck, immobilizing the younger.
"Good boy," the man whispered into his ears when Jisung fell prone back to the floor.
His mind became fuzzy from both the pain and fear while the man kept pressing his nails into the sensitive part of his neck. Any more and he would create permanent damage if the long nails hadn't already.
Jisung lifted his good arm with all his energy left and grabbed the man's wrist. He dug his own nails into the skin and turned his head enough to bite into his skin. Jisung got nauseated with the taste of blood in his mouth, but his brain was acting on instinct. He was on the losing side, but that didn't mean he wanted to go down without a fight. He wasn't ending up like Nelaya. He wasn't going to repeat that tragedy, but with the nails pressed deeper in his glands he was surely losing consciousness and deemed helplessly prone on the ground.
His opponent was pinning him down and hovering above him, panting heavily and dropping disgusting droplets of sweat onto Jisung. Eyes blown out of his head and clearly enjoying his prey slowly losing its life. And for what?
Jisung cried. He cried whilst gritting his teeth trying to get the killer off him. He was really losing. Blood was gushing out of his different wounds, making him weaker and weaker by the moment and the salt from his tears stung wherever they touched his open flesh. He let out a last howl, almost too weak to be heard by anyone, a desperate and pained last call for help, before closing his eyes and... giving up.
Yes, this was his end and he wanted his last moments to be filled with happy memories. Not losing his last precious bits of energy seeing the wicked crooked smile from his killer above him.
His pack, how they formed after that massive destroying storm years ago, that's what he used his last energy for. Remembering how he had wandered on the beach, lost and scared, until Chan and Minho found him and not much longer after that how they stumbled upon Felix. How they had clasped around each other, discovering they were one of the last surviving ones and found so much reassurance with each other even if they were mere strangers to each other at the time.
He thought back to how they found the others. Seungmin and Hyunjin who were just as lost as they were. Freshly mated as they had thought they were about to meet their end and had decided to confess their love to each other before all went shit. They had miraculously survived and in such shock they weren't able to let go of each other and oh so relieved there were others who were willing to help them.
And the brave Jeongin. The youngest who had camped out for days in a shallow cave near the water until they found him and how he fell in love with Chan and Minho in a blink of an eye before he even presented. How they formed their strong pack and traveled away from the sea, away from their tragedy and building up a new future with the resources they had. How traveling and growing up together had been hard, but also some of the most rewarding times Jisung could remember.
And the moment they found their current base! With Changbin joining them and completing yet another mate bond with two of their pack mates.
Jisung gasps for air thinking back to the first time Felix asked him to make them summer fest wreaths to wear so they wouldn't feel alone with all the mated pack members around them. How all of them celebrated many summers together and how eventually they met Heikin and Nelaya.
Happy thoughts. He needed those if he was to meet his end.

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Writer here:

Just 1 (or 2 if you want an alternate ending) before this story is over.
So, will Jisung survive?
Stay tuned:)