Two days have passed and it seems that time has been moving slower ever since.

The same night after her misadventure, Kitana had woken up from her long nap feeling as if a new life has been given to her. There was a new spark inside her that had brought her hope back. She still has questions about the mating bond and her alleged mate. Tons of them. And yet she has found it even harder to simply sit still and wait, even if she knows that it would be the best thing for her to do.

On that very same night, Kitana had even contemplated an escape. But with her brothers worrying about her and constantly hovering around her like hawks watching every single move she was making, it was hard for her to find a chance to slip away. That was when she decided to wait it out, hoping that once she was able to show that she was fine then everyone would have left her alone.

Except that things didn't turn out to be that easy.

In fact, everyone has been taking turns to watch over her from day and night, from her brothers to their friends, even Minho appeared on the first night to keep her company while Chan was scouting around the compound to make sure that there was no threat coming near. As if the reason for her condition that day was coming from somewhere out there instead of her own mind.

Even if things have become so bothersome, she doesn't have it in her to blame her overprotective brothers and their friends for being so concerned about her. Not when she had to make them all witness her having a meltdown. She can totally understand their fear after what they saw that morning, even if they have been treating her like a fragile being since, as if she would fall and break apart like a piece of glass would.

The only one she can put a blame on at this point is herself. She blames her curiosity and impatience, the two factors that had not only drawn her into venturing out through the pack unnoticed that night, but also to trespass another shifter's property and to stalk around his home while he is away on duty. Nobody knew what had happened that morning and she has yet to tell anyone about it, which has only created more uncertainty between everyone around her.

Things would have been easier if her mate had been around when she arrived at the pack nearly a week ago. All they would need to do is to meet face to face to recognise each other and confirm the mating bond and she would not have to sit still and wait around only to be left in vain.

But tonight, she has decided that she is not going to wait any longer.

Kitana clenches her hands tightly while the clock is ticking. She has been waiting for midnight to come, and yet time seems to either be crawling or staying still. It takes longer than usual for her brothers to fall asleep. Even then, she has felt them checking on her in her bed a few times before they finally stop doing so, and then she waits a little longer until the entire place grows silent before she finally makes her move.

The first place she goes to is the den, where Chan had collected all of their weapons together to make it easier for them to access in case anything happens. Among the small weapons placed on the wall, she finds her bow and arrows. She carefully plucks them off the wall and puts them into the body-pack that she always uses to travel with. After slipping two pieces of slip dresses and slipping on her ankle strap sandals to cover her feet, she makes her way to the backdoor to make her escape.

As fate has it, she stops dead in her tracks when she realises that the backdoor has been bolted shut, no doubt by her brothers who had decided it would be too dangerous to keep it open during the night. She finally retreats back into the room, choosing to use the window there instead as her means of escape.

It takes a lot of effort for Kitana to be able to slip through the tiny window. She even has to bite her inner cheeks just to hold back from making too much noise as she struggles not to get stuck. But the moment her body manages to slip to the other side after making sure that the body-pack hanging on her back would not get stuck in the windowsill, she is finally free.

At least, that was what she had thought, before she turns to find another obstacle standing in her way. Literally. After managing to stay quiet, a surprised yelp nearly escapes her when his figure emerges from the dark as if he had been waiting for her to escape through that very exact spot.

"Jisung—" she gasps, though she thankfully manages to keep her voice down to a whisper.

While Kitana stands frozen in front of him, Jisung crosses his arms over his chest and exhales a deep sigh. "I had a feeling that you would try to run," he says, keeping his voice low.

"I—I'm not running," Kitana quickly says, ready to defend herself, but then stops when Jisung raises a hand with his palm facing at her.

"Yes, you are. You are running to him," he says, stating the obvious while leaving Kitana completely lost for words because he is able to see right through her. Kitana opens her mouth, ready to launch a whole speech to explain why she needs to do this and what she is about to do when Jisung steps forward and places his hands on her shoulders to stop her. She looks at him to find warmth and concern in his eyes, which is enough to steal her voice. "Look, you know how much I like you, and you should know that I meant it when I told you that I care about you. I just want you to be happy. But most important of all, I want you to be safe."

Kitana says nothing, unable to comprehend what he is trying to say. Yet Jisung remains calm when he asks her, "Are you completely sure that this shifter is truly your mate?"

Kitana ponders about this for a moment and then takes a deep breath. "My gut says so. My senses have proven so. And my fox keeps telling me to chase him and kiss him senseless," she calmly says with a small voice, opting to tell him the truth, but not the complete truth. There is no way that she could tell him about what she had done the other day when she broke into her mate's home, nor would she be able to tell him about the dreams that she has been having.

She has also omitted the truth when she mentioned about her fox, not telling him how her fox has also been acting so odd for the past few days. How she has been silent most of the time when she was trying to understand everything and how restless the beast has seemed to be. Giving her another reason why she needs to do this. "The only way to confirm it is to see him in person and feel the mating bond sparks between us. If I have to wait until he comes back, without knowing that he would ever come back at all, I would go completely crazy."

Jisung falls quiet for a moment before he nods, as if he had expected to hear all of this from her. And then he confirms it so by saying, "I knew you would say that. Which was why I chose to sit out here in the dark since the moment your brother told me that you had gone to bed." He gives you a smug grin while you raise your eyebrows upon hearing that, though he quickly sobers up and puts on a serious look on his face when he speaks again.

"At first, I was planning to stop you from doing anything reckless, knowing that you would. We just got out of danger, and it would be stupid to jump into another just to chase a shifter that you have never met before," he says to you with a grim smile. "But I also know how stubborn you are, so while I was sitting here waiting for you to slip right out of that window, I've decided that the only thing I could do is to help you."

Kitana's eyes grow wide. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, that if you're doing this, then I'll be coming with you," he says in a no-nonsense tone of voice, not opening a chance for her to argue. "And I'm not taking no for an answer. It's either you let me help you or I will be knocking on that window right there to alert your brother that you have escaped."

She opens her mouth, ready to refuse and to tell him to back off, only to think better of it. With a defeated sigh, Kitana has no other choice but to finally agree. "Okay, fine. Just don't go in my way."

Jisung grins at her. "I think I've lived long enough to know not to."

Kitana takes his hand as he offers it to her, as he starts to guide her further away from the compound and into the dense forest surrounding the center of the pack's district. She had known that Felix and his friends have been venturing through the pack ever since they had gotten here. It was the foxes' natural instincts to get to know their new home a lot better since they are destined to be natural trackers and scouts.

As the two of them dash through the darkness to find their way out of the pack, Kitana's mind is busy wondering about Jisung and trying to understand why he could be so selfless.

Kitana has known that Jisung has had a crush on her for a while, or perhaps even longer than what he had let on when he first asked her out in the middle of spring. Despite the fact that she had rejected him, Jisung has yet to stop showing her that he truly cares for her. There is a tight pinch of her guilt appearing in her chest when she follows him close behind, letting Jisung takes the lead and finds the perfect escape route towards the borders while noticing how he keeps caring for her as he always does and how he is always giving her just what she needs the most. The fact that he has yet to change around her or in the way he is treating her even after he had found out that there is a possibility that she has found her mate only reveals that he truly has a big heart, and it only makes her feel terrible for letting him do this for her and to take such a big risk by doing so.

They are almost at the edge of the pack's grounds where Jisung had mentioned about a 'blindspot', where he had once noticed the patrol guards going around it with an uneven interval in between which would give them the window to escape. But just as they are about to reach it, Jisung makes an abrupt stop and pulls Kitana with him to slide into hiding.

"What's wrong?" she whispers at him, while Jisung curses under his breath.

"Why are there so many guards hanging around that place?"

Kitana grows still. "What?"

"Perhaps they finally figured out that the exact spot would need some extra surveillance," Jisung murmurs low, more to himself than answering Kitana. Both of them sit there in their hideout, watching the guards for a moment longer, until Jisung lets out another curse and turns to Kitana. "Listen, I think I have a plan. I need you to stay here and get ready to run. I'm going to distract them and give you a window to slip through before any guard would come back to cover that spot again."

"Wait, but—"

"I'm sorry. You know that I want to go with you all the way until I can get you to see your mate, but there's a chance that I won't be able to catch up with you if I do this. I don't want to let you go on your own, but I have a feeling that you would be okay," he says with his gaze flickering over her shoulder.

"Jisung, I—"

"Promise me that you'll be careful. It's dangerous out there, especially if you have to encounter the battle."

Kitana feels the dread in her chest when she looks at Jisung's eyes, but she nods and vows to him to return safely. "I promise. Thank you, Jisung. And I'm sorry. You didn't have to do this—"

"Hey," Jisung stops her once again before she could say more. "Thank me once you're back home safely and if your brother doesn't have my hide."

He leaves after kissing the top of her head, staying crouched down as he runs a few meters away and then hides behind the nearby bushes. Moments later, she sees a streak of red and white tail dashing through the trees, reaching the other side of the grounds before he starts making too many noises which later alert the guards until they all abandon the post.

Sending her silent gratitude, Kitana waits a few more seconds before finally making her way across the grounds, reaching the opening which Jisung had pointed out to her earlier while crouching down to stay hidden. She is a few steps away from the opening when she hears a dry branch snapping behind her, and she turns with a gasp, ready to defend herself, when she is met with Junghyun's dark gaze instead.

"H-how—?"

The wolf shakes his head with a disappointed look on his face. "I've been following the two of you since you left the compound. I'm surprised you didn't notice. Seems like your friend knew I was there, though."

Kitana's eyes widen at the revelation, before she remembers how Jisung kept looking over her shoulders and finally realises why he had seemed so calm about letting her go on her own. Holding her head high, she looks at Junghyun straight in his eyes and says, "I'm not letting you stop me from going."

Showing no expression on his face, the damn werewolf only nods and says, "Good. Cause I'm going with you," and starts coming closer to get around her.

"What? No!"

Junghyun stops right in front of her. "I'm not doing this for you. I just found out that my little brother is out there too. I mean, I knew he was there, but he's been paired up with Yoongi for a lookout mission right at the frontline. Since they said that this was a dangerous mission, I can't just sit tight and do nothing about it," he says, then continues to make his way around Kitana while she stands there completely frozen. Though she is quick to snap out of her shock as he begins grumbling, "And we both know I'm not going to just watch you go out there alone."

With those words, Junghyun walks past her and continues to make his way towards the opening, leaving Kitana with no chance to argue or to deny him. It takes no time for them to finally find their way out of the pack. The distraction that Jisung has created to lead the guards away seems to be working a bit too well since it gives them quite a longer window to escape. Soon they reach the outer forest, where the trees are denser and the darkness feels thicker, and she simply lets him guide the way, letting him walk ahead to find the route that would take them both towards where the battle seems to be happening.

They continue to walk in silence for a moment, trudging through the woods while neither of them shifting into their beast' form. Junghyun had taken his time to study the situation around them before deciding that it would be safer to stay in this form for a while just in case the Hunters' threats are still lurking around their home, and to simply avoid getting caught by the patrol guards which would be easy to happen if they had been walking out there in their beast forms and leaving their scents behind.

Once they seem to have reached far enough distance to know that it is much safer to move faster, they begin to accelerate their speed. It doesn't take long before the silence between them makes Kitana feel uncomfortable that she tries to start a conversation to fill their time. "What's your brother's name again?" she asks, omitting the fact that she had known about it when she was digging some information about her mate who seems to be his best friend. "And why is he being paired with Yoongi?"

"His name is Jungkook. He took over the Captain role in my place after I moved to my mate's pack," Junghyun explains, sighing deeply. "I don't know much about why they are out there together, but it seems that my brother has been working alongside Yoongi since he was made Captain."

Kitana holds back a smile knowing that she had unintentionally gained a confirmation about what she had heard, but says nothing. They walk a bit further ahead with another silence before Kitana throws him another question when her curiosity gets the best of her. "You felt it too, didn't you?"

"What?"

Biting her lips, Kitana ponders about bringing it up. But this seems to be the only way for her to find answers to her curiosity. "The pull. I've been feeling it since I met you the first time. It just feels like I'm gravitating towards you, not in the mating pull way, but there is also an urge to protect."

Junghyun's eyes widen for a brief moment, then he starts to laugh. "You want to protect me?"

Kitana rolls her eyes. "You know what I mean."

The humour in Junghyun's eyes remains there for a moment, before it fades into a serious look that makes Kitana feel nervous as she walks beside him. "You're right, I do feel it. Just like I said, I couldn't watch you go out there on your own. The moment I knew what you were planning to do, I just couldn't stay silent or sit through it."

At his admission, Kitana begins to shake her head. "That doesn't make any sense. You're not my mate, and you said it yourself, you already have a mate. And hell, you didn't even know my mate, did you?"

Junghyun glances over at her before nodding. "If this Min Yoongi is your mate, then the answer is no, I don't know him. He was among the new pack members that came to join after I had left," he says, falling silent for a moment and looking thoughtful before asking, "You felt the bond from his trails and the scent that he left behind?" He looks over to her just as Kitana responds with a nod. "Do you feel the difference between the pull that you felt for him and from being around me?"

Kitana frowns as she thinks deeply about this. "Yes, I do. The pull I feel with you seems muted. Which is the more reason why I need to find him. I want to confirm if he is my mate. And if this is truly a dangerous mission as you said it was, if he is involved in some kind of war, then I want to see him and let him know that I exist, just in case—" she stops briefly just as her voice gets caught in her throat, then her voice becomes nothing but a whisper when she begins thinking of the worst-case scenarios. "Just—before it's too late."

Just then, her mind wanders off to everything that she had found about 'her mate' and she wonders just how much she should share with him. But in the end, she keeps everything to herself and voices out the one thing that she has been worrying about the most, "Or—what if this is just something that my brain had concocted for me to make me believe that I do have a mate, only because I had wanted to find one so badly?"

"The moon doesn't work that way," Junghyun says while shaking his head. "How old are you?"

"I'm way past eighteen, if you must know," Kitana answers him with her shoulders tense in defiance and her head held high as if she is trying to make herself look older. Yet Junghyun seems to be able to see through her facade as he only gives her a grim smile. "Fine," she finally relents, rolling her eyes while at it. "I just turned twenty-one."

Junghyun nods and looks away. He has this faraway look in his eyes when he speaks again. "When I met my mate, the pull was so strong, since I was already past the age of finding my mate. But to her, the pull was slightly muted, but she told me once that the sparks were there and she could still feel it," Junghyun speaks calmly as he goes back to the past. There is a deep melancholy in his voice when he talks about his mate, and it makes Kitana feel envious of him to be able to have that.

"Instead of pursuing her straight on, I volunteered to be her escort and guardian during her visit until she got used to me and to make sure that the bond was really there. She was only a week away from her eighteenth birthday, and she was right beside me when she celebrated her birthday on the last day of her visit to our pack and the bond finally snapped in place for her. The moment she felt it—the change in her and what she felt from me was exceptional."

Kitana lets everything that he is sharing with her sink in through her thoughts, before she finally realises what he is implying. "Yoongi isn't younger than eighteen. Your pack wouldn't allow him to be an Enforcer if he is."

Junghyun starts chuckling softly. "You're right. The age limit for a pack member to be able to join the assessment trial would be eighteen," he says with a teasing smile. "Unless, of course, if he had forged his age."

Kitana scoffs. "If he had forged his age to claim a rank, then I'll be the one to smack him on the head myself."

Her reaction makes him laugh, and she finally decides that the former Captain is pretty okay when he is not acting all serious the way he always does.