Baekhyun felt tears well up in his eyes after reading through the letter his father had sent him in regards to the untimely death of his older brothers. According to the letter, a plague had taken refuge on their village effecting almost everyone. To Baekhyun's utter sadness the disease had appeared and disappeared almost as quickly as the lives of the people that it had affected, his father being one of the lucky few that survived the outbreak. 

"Baekhyun?" the king wondered looking down the table at the young omega, his eyes blown wide in surprise as he noticed the tears streaming down the young wolves face. "what happened my dear boy?" 

"Baek?" Kyungsoo gasped, turning away from his own letter to face his best friend. Baekhyun allowed the wolf to pull his letter from his hand and embrace him tightly in comfort, his shaking torso being clutched between Kyungsoo's warm arms. 

Daehyun reached over and plucked the letter from the table, his wide eyes curious as he scanned through the writing without the young owner's consent. His loud whimper took up the room as his father slapped the back of his head in anger, his lower lip being taken between his teeth as to avoid shouting and scaring the crying omega before them. 

"Baekhyun" Chanyeol's voice was soft as he stood up from his seat across from his brother, he placed his hand down on the young wolf's shoulder and leaned down as that they were eye level with one another. "what happened?" 

"C-chanyeol!" the boy sobbed, looking up at the Alpha with fresh tears applying themselves on his cheeks. Kyungsoo was gently brushed to the side as Chanyeol slipped into his place, his arms becoming the younger's comfort as he sobbed for a moment more. When he was certain that he was able to breath again Baekhyun allowed himself to sit back in his chair, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to relax himself as best as he could. "it's my brothers, they're all dead." 

"Oh sweetheart" Suho gasped, looking at the young wolf with wide eyes his hand held close to his mouth in utter shock. The Alphas were stunned beyond words and Daehyun was already out of his chair shouting orders to the staff of the palace. Both the King and Queen shared a glance between them, no words needing to be spoken of the horrible tragedy that befell the young Light pack member. The Omega's went into uproar, demanding that Baekhyun be sent home at once in order for him to grief with his father and the rest of his pack, Daehyun having more than a couple words on why that would be the last thing they should be considering. However, it was Chanyeol's voice that had everyone else hold their own. 

"We do not know what would be in the best interest as of the present moment!" he barked, looking from his brother to his parents, to the Alphas and then to the Omegas and back again. "What I suggest is that we leave Baekhyun some time to fully understand the news that has been sent to him and then when the initial shock is over he can make a decision, we cannot think about making one now when his emotions are all over the place." 

"Baekhyun" the king called gently, instantly he was able to take the young boy's attention away from his youngest son's face. "What would you like to do my dear boy? You know that we will be there for you no matter what you decide." 

"I think I'll go home sir" Baekhyun hiccupped, looking over the long expanse of oak table filled with breakfast options and treats. "but I think I need to take some time first too, I want to understand the situation fully and then decide on my plan of action when I have a less mushed brain." 

"I understand completely Baekhyun." 

"Come Baekhyun, I'm escorting you to your room" Daehyun announced, flicking his wrist in the boy's direction. Baekhyun hated the way the words simply rolled off the eldest Prince's tongue, however he still stood at the order his lips pressed into a thin line as he looked to the other omega's for some sort of help. 

"I'm sure Baekhyun can speak his own mind Daehyun" the king hissed, looking at his son with some much hatred Baekhyun's spine shivered. "must I remind you of the little conversation we had in my chambers last night?" 

"No father!" the boy growled, slumping back down in his chair. The Omega's were happy with the outcome, Kyungsoo even going as far as high fiving Luhan who sat beside him drinking orange juice. "I doubt that will be necessary." 

"I'm going to my bedroom!" Baekhyun gushed throwing his arms up in the air before sliding his hand down on the table and scooping up his letter, unintentionally throwing a glare in Daehyun's direction. "The Omega's are free to follow me later when they've read through their mail and finished their breakfast, thank you for preparing it Mrs Park." 

Chanyeol turned to his mother and watched with a smile as her cheeks flared under the compliment. She bowed her head in thanks to the young wolf before clearing her throat and turning back to the newspaper spread out in front of her plate. The king chuckled and gently cupped his wife's hand, their silent conversation making Chanyeol hold back a soft groan. 

"Chanyeol" Baekhyun called, his head appearing from around the corner. Everyone held their breath at the sight of the small wolf, his eyes swollen and bloodshot, his nose was crinkling every second as he sniffed the mucus away. "Could you spare me a few moments of your time?" 

~*~

Baekhyun let out a deep breath as he stared up at the bright sky before him, he could feel the tears threaten to fall down his cheeks from the moment he felt his dorm room. He could feel his heart hurt against his chest as his mind continuously played the scene with Chanyeol over and over again. 

Baekhyun knew that what he did was going to benefit them in the long run, he was convinced that if he and Chanyeol were able to go back to their early days they would be able to overcome the feelings that they 'unfortunately' developed on each other (whatever they may be). By doing this Baekhyun figured that he would be able to fully get over his late obsession with Daehyun and Chanyeol wouldn't be beating himself up over Jessica's death. 

He was pulled from his thoughts by a boy knocking into him and forcing him up against a wall of lockers, Baekhyun could tell he was from the night classes by just a glance and yet the poor guy didn't seem to want to pay attention to him after something more serious had taken his attention. Baekhyun watched as the students around him buzzed around like flies, their faces showcasing different emotions and fears. He raised a brow and attempted to probe some answers out of the left over students that were in this case too slow to catch up but, a fussing Ms Lee took the words right out of his mouth. 

"What on Earth is going on out here?" she stressed, crossing her arms over her chest as she gazed up and down the now empty hallway. She seemed surprised to see Baekhyun clutching his chest against a locker that didn't even belong to the night-classes, her hart breaking when she realised that he was biting back tears. "Baekhyun?" 

"Ms Lee!" he gasped glancing towards the woman with a soft smile playing on his lips, he didn't know what was happening around him but he was certainly happy to see a familiar face so suddenly after leaving his friends behind in his dorm room. "I don't know what's going on here, everyone started having a freak out and I was just on my way to class-" 

"Hush sweet boy it's okay!" the woman whispered, gently cascading her fingers gently through his hair. She reminded him of his mother, a caring and warm figure that would bring nothing but comfort and safety in a time where he needs it the most. Ms Lee wasn't offering her arms to the boy in anyway, shape or form but Baekhyun still allowed his body to fall ever so gently against her his tears getting the better of him as he did so. "Since you clearly don't know what's going on around here Baekhyun, what has happened that made you so upset?" 

"I think I've done something stupid even though I know it's for the greater good." the boy confessed, although his cryptic words merely confused his headmistress more than she would have liken to admit. 

"The greater good? Baekhyun no offence to you but you really are speaking with no sense at all, what could you have possibly done that has you so worked up like this?" 

"Ms Lee!" A panting student interrupted the pair, Baekhyun hiding his face away in the woman's chest while Ms Lee turned to look at the girl with furrowed brows. "I think you need to see this, it's important." 

"Come Baekhyun, this should only take a couple minutes after that I help you sort through your problem, yes?" Ms Lee smiled, placing her hands on top of the boy's shoulders and pressing against them lightly which in turn forced him to push himself away. Baekhyun nodded his head like an obedient puppy and without much consideration he followed the headmistress through the halls before taking a step out onto the football field, he had never been there before unless he was practising with the other protectors. He was able to recall the moment where Chanyeol threw him over his shoulder and he could remember the faint echo of his neck dislocating itself from his spine before everything turned black. "What seemed to be the problem here? Why aren't you in classes?!" 

Her loud voice made Baekhyun shake back from the sad memory he owned, he was forced out of one nightmare and thrown into another. Students from both the night and the day classes were seen scattered around the treeline border of the school, the night class students found safety under the shade of the treeline while the day were proud to stand out under the sun's rays. Baekhyun could only thank whatever God was out there that he was wearing his sunlight bracelet, at least with it he wouldn't get questioned about his skin. 

"It was him! When he flipped his switch this is what happened when he couldn't control himself!" A deep voice shouted through the plain sunny day, all eyes instantly fell on Baekhyun who was trying hard to catch his breath after having shed a few tears with Ms Lee. The boy shivered under the attention, his brows furrowing together in the centre of his forehead as both he and his headmistress took a step closer. 

Eventually their gazes fell on a girl with blonde hair who seemed to have tumbled quite a bit past the border line protecting the school. Her clothing appeared to be tore in random places while her body was covered in scratches and marks, her neck being home to most of them. 

"A vampire attack?" the hushed whispers around Baekhyun made his ears burn, their gasping lungs and their wet eyes had him going crazy. He could feel his heart thumping loudly against his chest, he could feel an ache stretch from the back of his throat towards his eyes. "Who could have done something like this?" 

"It was him!" the voice from earlier screamed. Baekhyun blinked back tears as he stared down the finger of the boy who suddenly stood before him, his shoulders broad and menacing tears falling down his own eyes. "he did this to Taeyeon when he went rogue!" 

"Where's your proof of the matter?" Ms Lee challenged, looking at the boy with horror in her eyes. Her gaze swapped from Baekhyun and back to the boy, her heart almost coming out of her throat as he turned her attention back to the unlucky girl who had fallen outside their protective barrier. "She was outside the barrier we aren't aware if any of Maddix's clan is out here but we cannot deny the fact that they maybe-" 

"Let's toss him over the barrier and see if anyone does the same to him!" the boy yelled, rushing forward and colliding his body with Baekhyun's before the younger was able to brace himself. He went flying through the air only to land not that far away from the girl he supposedly murdered, Baekhyun could picture the girl he had drained in the alleyway all that time ago but this one wasn't nearly as destroyed as the girl he had left. 

Baekhyun spit out the leaves and the dirt that had made it into his mouth from the throw, his head hurting as it had collided with one of the sharp rocks by her body. Now that he was closer, Baekhyun was able to get a good look at the girl, her fixed gaze staring back at him through cold, dead eyes. 

"Ta-Taeyeon?" he gasped backing up against one of the many trees within the forest, his eyes wide as he recognized the girl as the one who he allowed himself to feed off of when he had no emotions. The last he had seen of her was in the hallway, Luhan having been the one to force her towards the nurses station yet clearly by her presence here she wasn't able to make it. 

"Don't act so surprised, you know what happened because you were the cause of it!" the boy yelled, getting held back by some other guys that Baekhyun was unfamiliar with. He just assumed that they belonged to the day classes, otherwise he could have sworn they had met. 

"I didn't do this" Baekhyun tried to explain, his fingers clawing at the dirt beneath him. "I don't know what happened here but it wasn't me! I remember everything about that night, I never caused her harm after Luhan got involved!" 

"Bullshit!" 

"Leave him alone!" A deep growl took up the forest, the voice making Baekhyun's breath hitch as he turned to look up at the intruder. He was surprised to see Chanyeol and the rest of the Alphas behind him, looking towards the guy that tossed Baekhyun through the barrier with hate filled eyes. "He didn't cause this Conor, you're looking for a fight and I'm not going to hold back from giving you one." 

Baekhyun stared up at Chanyeol who stood his ground in front of him, he gently took hold of Sehun and Jongin's hands allowing them to help aid him up off the ground. When they were certain that vampire had found his footing, they left him be and stood tall next to their Alpha who stood with a shy smirk on his lips. 

"Stay out of this Chanyeol" Conor warned, his gruff voice making Baekhyun wonder if he was a werewolf himself. "the bloodsucker can speak for himself cant he?" 

"I can but you're not listening to me!" Baekhyun bit back, looking the wolf in the eye as he glared daggers through his eyes. "I didn't do this, emotions or not!" 

"And who the hell can back up your story? Huh?" 

"I can, I was with him that night" Chanyeol admitted without much hesitance, he stepped forward his head bowing under the low hanging branches his skin shining in the sunlight. Baekhyun couldn't help but feel his heart race at the sight of the Park Chanyeol standing before him, trying his best to defend him from the bully who was too scared to accept the challenge of an Alpha. "granted there was a few hours that I searched for him, but I could be held accountable just as easily as Baekhyun could be-" 

"Nonsense! A wolf couldn't have done such thing to a witch!" 

"Oh and a bloodsucker could have?" Luhan hissed from behind Conor, his fangs sparkling in the sunlight's glow. His bracelet twinkled from his left wrist making Baekhyun unintentionally let out a soft sigh of relief, although he considered his friends idiotic if they were to leave the dormitories without some sort of protection from the sun, after all they were older than him and more wiser when it came to the vampire ways. "Honestly Conor you're making quite a name for yourself already, first dragging Baekhyun into this and now dragging the entire vampire population of the school too? You're practically asking for a bloodbath!" 

"You were with him?" Conor wondered, turning his gaze away from Luhan and back towards Chanyeol who stance hadn't changed, he still stood tall under the shade of the trees his arms crossed over each other against his chest and his head was tilted slightly as if to tease the other wolf. 

"Yeah, do you want the details?" Chanyeol chuckled, looking around at everyone present at the border. "you want to know all the little juicy details of the night we spent together? Do you wanna know if I enjoyed it or if he did? Or better yet what it could possibly be like between a vampire and a wolf, both species are supposed to hate each other's guts right?" 

Baekhyun knew that nothing happened between him and Chanyeol on the night he got his senses back but by the way the taller was saying things he couldn't help but wonder what they could have done, only because Chanyeol seemed to have a pretty good image of what they could have gotten up to if they allowed it. 

The silence that followed was deafening, Baekhyun looked around at the students who were frozen in shock after the Alpha's words. They stared at Chanyeol before thy turned to look at him and back again, Baekhyun was certain that he was even able to catch his friends looking at him in confusion. As much as he wanted to deny Chanyeol's suggestive claims, he couldn't find the drive to do it. So, without much consideration he took a deep breath and stepped forward looping their fingers together and staring up at Conor with a mock challenge hidden in his eyes. 

"We'd be happy to tell you all about it, honestly." he smiled, turning his head and looking up at Chanyeol who had surprisingly allowed him to cuddle up to him as if it was second nature. "but as you can probably tell right now, Chanyeol isn't very happy with what you just said and frankly neither am I." 

"Or me for that matter." Ms Lee snapped, gaining their momentary attention. 

Conor looked terrified, but hurt nonetheless. Baekhyun knew what it was like to loose a loved one and he couldn't help but wonder what Taeyeon met to him in order for him to go pointing fingers like that like it was nothing. "Then I best go and find my way to your office." he sighed hanging his head and back-tracking towards the entrance of the school. 

"What are we doing to do about Taeyeon Ms?" A girl Baekhyun recognized as a friend of the blonde sniffed, looking towards her deceased friend with a sorrow filled expression. 

"We will move her body to infirmary, we'll have Nurse Butterwell fix her up a little and then when the time comes we'll have a plot of land buried for her in the cemetery. Don't fret Tiffany, Taeyeon will be in good hands you witches will be able to put her to rest I can promise you that. As for everything else we need to stage patrols again, the border is no longer safe and the only thing we can do now is prepare for a battle just encase."

 "We'll call first watch tonight" Kris offered, watching as everyone had to tilt their head in order to see him. Baekhyun sighed and allowed himself to step away from Chanyeol, the wolf sending him a glance before joining the rest of his pack before Ms Lee. 

"Kris-" Tao warned, his voice in a somewhat pleading tone. It was obvious to everyone that the wolf was scared and no-one could blame him, after all he had come from one of the packs belonging to Maddix. Baekhyun was immediately by his side, holding him close in order to prevent him from shaking. Tao clutched his shoulders tightly, gazing around the woods as if inspecting them of enemy wolves that seemed familiar to him in anyway. 

"It's okay Tao don't worry, the boys will be there to save my ass. They wont let anything happen to me." Kris smiled, gently coaxing the tall boy out of Baekhyun's arms. The blonde haired wolf happily fell into the Alpha's arms, holding on to his shirt material tightly wishing he wouldn't leave him for anything. 

"Or we forget" Sehun joked, unable to see the seriousness of the situation. "I mean he's quite a tall guy it's hard to protect every inch of him!" 

"Sehun!" Baekhyun called. "You're not helping!" 

"Oh I was supposed to?" 

A round of facepalms sounded throughout the small clearing in front of the border, Baekhyun wanted nothing more than to laugh his head off but the situation that had befallen him proved that it would probably be best that he hold his laughter in for another time. Instead his eyes landed on Tao and Kris, both of whom were talking quietly among themselves against the furthest tree from Taeyeon's body. A small smile danced on his lips as he wondered what their story was however, after he had heard Jongin and Kyungsoo as well as Sehun and Luhan's, he figured he was better off not having the slightest idea.