Somebody to Love - SEVEN (1/2)

To Wonwoo, it felt paradoxically like both the shortest and the longest journey of his life as Kris and Junmyeon whisked him and Mingyu away to what appeared to be a gated mansion (once the blindfold was taken off) in the middle of nowhere. Not really that much different to his place, but also not an area he recognised.

"Where is Mingyu?" he asked, looking around as soon as he was allowed to, nobody else in sight but him and Kris. "What is he doing with him?"

"He's being looked after, don't worry, wolf-boy," Kris murmured, already tired of the task he'd been set. He didn't like wolves any more than any other vampire (apart from the hybrid, Mingyu), and wasn't sure he agreed with Junmyeon's decision to let him tag along. This was vampire business, even if Wonwoo was inescapably linked through being Mingyu's mate. "When he needs you, you'll be told."

"What am I supposed to do until then? Just sit around and twiddle my thumbs?" Wonwoo's eyes narrowed. "How do I know I can trust you to keep to your word?"

"You're here, aren't you?" Kris retorted, his temper fraying. "Be grateful for that. We didn't have to bring you!"

Wonwoo's head shot up as he heard Mingyu scream from somewhere in another part of the house, and he tried to push past Kris to get to him. "Let me go," he shouted, frantic. "I have to help him. He needs me! Let me out!"

"It's not safe for you right now," Kris replied, pushing Wonwoo away and quickly stepping out of the room, closing the door and locking it. "You have to stay here until someone comes to get you."

"No!" Wonwoo pounded on the door, the wood splintering and cutting his hands. "Let me out of here! I have to see Mingyu!"

Not bothering to answer him, Kris stayed outside the door to make sure Wonwoo didn't get out to cause any more trouble. If Junmyeon wanted him, he would be sent for. Until then, he'd just have to wait. Wonwoo had no idea how long he screamed at Kris to let him out, the door a mess of blood and wooden splinters by the time he sank to his knees on the floor, his voice gone and his hands shredded and burning with pain. Mingyu's screams had stopped at some point, and the flickering... Looking at his wrist, Wonwoo could only console himself with the fact that the ring of light signifying his mating was still there, still dim white against the black of his jacket and shirt. It flickered, though not as dangerously as before, giving Wonwoo a small measure of hope.

"Mingyu," he murmured brokenly, holding his wrist to his chest, as if he could protect the dim ring of light by doing so. "Don't die, please..." When he was next aware of his surroundings, Wonwoo was laying in bed, his hands bound in bandages and a new door replacing the one he'd pounded to splinters. Sitting up groggily, he slowly became aware of a presence, though not the one he wanted.

"Who are you?" he asked, scrambling back warily as he saw the young man sitting on a chair beside the bed, watching him. "What do you want?"

"Are your hands... better?" the young man asked, completely ignoring his questions. "I bandaged them up the best I could..." He smiled. "I'm Joshua."

Blinking at Joshua, Wonwoo didn't know what to think or say. He obviously wasn't a vampire or he wouldn't have been able to touch his hands. "I don't understand..." he murmured, shaking his head in confusion. "Who are you?"

Joshua shrugged. "Not a vampire, obvously," he chuckled softly at Wonwoo's confusion. "If that's what you're worried about. And I'm not here to kill you either..." He looked thoughtful. "I'm here to protect you..."

Wonwoo's eyebrows rose. "Protect me?" he scoffed, looking Joshua up and down. "You're human. How could you possibly protect me? And what from?"

"Well, yourself, for one," Joshua replied, that infuriatingly bland expression still on his face. "Mingyu. Any of the other vampires who might take it into their heads to rid the world of a wolf..." He gave a half-shrug. "Take your pick."

"As for how..." Joshua held up a knife and a gun. "And yes, I do know how to use these, in case you were curious. I'm not as useless as I look." He grinned, a look in his eyes that told Wonwoo he was definitely very serious. There was more to Joshua than first appeared. "Seungchul sent me, so the vampires here don't dare do anything against my presence."

Tilting his head, Wonwoo didn't know what to say. "Seungchul? Who is he? And why would he be enough to protect you? Or me, for that matter."

"He's Mingyu's..." Joshua looked thoughtful for several moments as he tried to think of how to explain the various hierarchies to a wolf. "Well, he's the leader of the group Mingyu belongs to, and asked Suho, Kim Junmyeon, to look after Mingyu for him while he was here. It's what keeps him alive..." He gave Wonwoo a pointed look. "And you."

"When one vampire leader asks a favour of another, they can't go against it," Joshua explained quietly. "If they do... there's serious trouble, and nobody has done it for years. The risks just aren't worth it, and they don't think Mingyu is worth the trouble either." He gave a wry smile. "It's a bit ironic, but whatever works, right?"

"So how does that cover you?" Wonwoo asked, his eyes narrowed. "You're not bound by this... code. For that matter, neither am I."