1854
Myungsoo sighed, staring wistfully out the window, towards the green grass of a flower field leading into deep, dense woods. He was not permitted to exit the castle without approval from his promised, or alone, for that matter.
It made sense, and he understood why, even if he wasn't too happy about it. Rogues wolves had been spotted lurking about, intent on disrupting the peace and treaties their lord was trying to settle, and vampires were not quite a trustworthy lot, either. He knew that the only person he could trust was Moonsoo, and no one else.
He peered down at the silver necklace dangling from his neck, and he clutched it, continuing to stare deep within the confines of the forest, as though he would be able to see something through the veil of darkness cast upon it.
Below, the ground rumbled. He looked up, confused as to what the sudden noise could have possibly been. As he returned his gaze out the window his eyes widened as he noticed the throng of wolves streaming out of the forest, towards the castle.
The ground shuddered again, and he was on his feet, eyes darting around his room. The sound of fighting in the hallway outside his bedchamber met his ears, and he stared at his door. Already? There was a shout, and several growls echoing in response.
Although he was not weak, he was no Red-Eye, either; he would not be able to fight that many wolves – especially if they were experienced fighters, which they clearly were – and come out of it alive. He stared intently at his door, and heard the wolves rushing down the hall, attacking the next unsuspecting vampire.
They were travelling in packs – albeit small ones; this was a coordinated attack. He wondered if Jinsun was in on it, and frowned; the man had seemed so trustworthy and sincere, and he truly did not want to think that he would do such a thing. If anything, he'd hoped to have at least one more friend in this castle.
He opened his door and stepped outside; if he could reach the throne room, or even the meeting room, he was sure to run into someone there. Perhaps most would have called him a coward, for refusing to fight; he was not brave, he knew that much. He valued his life over his courage, truly.
He dashed down the hallway, arriving in only a handful of seconds. What he was greeted with was terrifying, to say the least. Wolves and vampires, too many to count, fought, snarling and snapping and lunging. He could not understand how this had happened; what had the guards positioned outside been doing when the swarm arrived? How could so many wolves enter the castle without drawing up any notice until it was already too late?
Again his mind drifted to Jinsun, and he cringed. Deciding not to stay where he was for a moment longer, he continued to run down the hall, hoping to avoid any wolves. However, it seemed that wherever he went, there were wolves and vampires, fighting, dying.
Eventually, he found himself at a dead-end. He cursed under his breath and whirled around, only to be met with four vicious wolves, slowly stalking towards him. His eyes widened. He would not be able to fight all four at once; they'd tear him apart.
His eyes darted about the hallway, but there were only rooms, undoubtedly locked. Perhaps he could outrun them; not likely. Wolves, once Shifted, were on par with vampire speed, and there were more of them; he'd have to fight them, but how?
Werewolves always fought better in packs.
They were getting too close, now; panic began to seize his throat, filling him up, desperation clawing at his chest. He had heard what they'd done to that vampire outside his room; would they do that to him, too?
He backed away, his back now pressed up against the wall; they blocked any possible escape route, now, filling up the width of the hallway. One growled, a majestic wolf with fur as white as snow, and took a few more steps forward, cornering him.
He held his breath, eyes blown wide, when another growl, a louder growl, floated down the hallway. All four wolves looked up, ears twitching, and, almost reluctantly, they bowed their heads and stepped away.
A man walked through the four of them, eyes glowing deep, molten gold. Myungsoo nearly gasped; Jinsun came to stand in front of him, turning to stare at the wolves, his expression stern and angry. He said no words, but they bowed their heads lower and slowly backed away.
Only when they had disappeared down the hallway did the werewolf lord face him. The gold faded from his eyes, leaving only the brown, but his gaze was intense, not a single trace of the joviality he'd previously seen in him. "Are you alright?" Myungsoo nodded mutely, and Jinsun stared back down the hallway.
"What... what did you do to them?" he asked, and the werewolf looked over his shoulder with a grim smile.
"I ordered them to return to their pack, without harming another vampire." Myungsoo's eyebrows shot upwards.
"You can do that?" This elicited a chuckle from the other, who nodded.
"Of course; I am their lord. The alpha of their alpha; when I order something, it goes, unquestioned." He grimaced slightly before shaking his head. "Come, now; we must return to the Vampire King before he believes harm has come to you."
Myungsoo nodded slowly and stumbled after him, wide eyes observing the scene before him. Blood coated the floor, wolf blood and vampire blood mixing together, undifferentiated where it spilled. It was an ironic sight; two species, so different in every possible way, shared similar blood. Now it was his turn to grimace.
They turned down an empty hall littered with bodies; he gasped when his eyes beheld on a wolf with bright white fur. Jinsun froze in his steps as he stared at the wolf, whose eyes were wide open, lifeless, now. Blood matted the once clear fur, and Myungsoo's eyes drifted towards the man.
He knelt, the knees of his trousers soaking up blood from the puddle beside the wolf, and he reached out, closing the wolf's eyes. "I am sorry, my friend; I should have made your orders more explicit," he mumbled, and a pang of sympathy flashed through the vampire.
It was evident another vampire had killed him, from the deep punctures in his neck, and the gashes along his side. The sight was so sorrowful, now; a lord knelt before a fallen comrade, pain passing through his face as he remained there.
It was almost startling; Myungsoo had never seen a ruler seem so sorrowful at the loss of one of his subjects. How strange this werewolf lord was.
Jinsun stood, wiping his eyes with the back of his arm, and the vampire realized with a start that they had glistened with tears. They were gone as soon as they came, and the lord's expression hardened, his emotion vanishing without a trace.
They continued down the hall until they made it to the throne room. Chan paced the length of the room, face set in cold, unrelenting fury. As soon as the large double doors opened, he whirled towards them, eyes settling on Myungsoo, who was, although shaken, unharmed.
He rushed towards them, but instead of heading towards his betrothed, he grabbed Jinsun by the collar and slammed him against the wall. Myungsoo gasped, and the wolf's eyes flared gold. "If I discover you had anything to do with this–"
"Careful, Vampire King," Jinsun said calmly, grabbing the other's hands and wrenching them away. "You may be a king, but you do not rule me, or my people. We are equals in all but name. I have lost brothers today; threaten me again, and I will not be so tame."
Myungsoo watched the interaction with bated breath, and at last Chan stepped away with a pleasant smile. "Forgive me, milord; I was not in my right mind. Surely, you can understand, when my love was put in such danger." Jinsun watched him expressionlessly, before he nodded with a smile of his own – though this smile was tense.
"We have found their leader, your Majesty." A vampire entered the room, standing tall and strong; just looking at him, Myungsoo could feel the power coming from him.
"Thank you, Hyunsik. Bring him in." The vampire disappeared, and soon, he brought in a man who'd been given baggy, unfitted trousers to wear, but apart from that, there was nothing.
Jinsun's eyes widened, and his fists clenched; anger melted to shock on his face. "Taewoo," he whispered, and closed his eyes. He stepped forward and knelt in front of the man, who stared at him with regretful, yet prideful eyes.
"Forgive me, Jinsun," he said lowly, eyes sliding over his shoulder to land on Chan. "But I could not allow him to sink his claws into you. If you sign this treaty..." His voice lowered and he swallowed thickly. Myungsoo leaned forward slightly, eyebrows furrowed. "He will try to take control of us all, make vampires the superior race." Disgust laced his voice, and Myungsoo was not sure if his intended had heard it or not.
Jinsun did not move, but after long moments, he sighed, resting his hands on Taewoo's shoulders. "Old friend, I wish things were different," he whispered, pressing their foreheads together. "You will be sent off properly. I cannot spare you, not now; as much as I wish I could."
The man nodded. "I understand." They shared a glance before Jinsun stood, his shoulders tense.
"Hyunsik, take him to the Chamber." Jinsun turned to glare at Chan.
"He will not be butchered. I will deal with him." The King gritted his teeth but nodded all the same. "As for the rest of his pack, they will be released, unharmed."
"That is ridiculous! They are traitors, they've betrayed your trust." To this, Jinsun shook his head.
"In order for this to be betrayal, your Majesty, they would have had to have done something intending to hurt my people. They were not. He is the Moon pack's alpha, and he will take the blame for their actions. This is the werewolf way." His gaze challenged the Vampire King, who continued to grit his teeth, but at last he relented.
"Very well; let this animosity that grows between us disappear with this, then." Jinsun nodded, and turned back to Taewoo.
"Thank you, old friend." Taewoo grinned, and Myungsoo was momentarily startled; why would he be grateful for death?
He did not watch as Jinsun ended his life, nor did he watch the lord scoop up his limp body and exit the room, steps heavy.
These werewolves, they were so strange. And intriguing.
A/N: Do you guys like this jumping back and forth between characters and timelines? It was a fun little experiment I wanted to try, and now I would love to get your opinion!
Also, I reorganized my room and I love it so much eek- I didn't change much, only my bed, which is now in the corner and out of the way, and I took my bookshelf out of my closet, so now I have a really nice reading area, which, really, makes up a lot of my room but oh well
Q: Which protagonist from a book or movie would make the worst roommate?
A: Celeana from Throne of Glass (and I don't even like the books because she's annoying, you see where I'm going with this). I just *shiver* no thanks sis
P.S: I've read the first two books of that series, and I'm kinda disappointed 'cause I love ACOTAR. Maybe I'll give the third book a try just to see but... meh
Lots of love,
~Junnie