"It's just through here." Ash said as she stepped through the door of an old warehouse.

It was 11:15 pm, a mild fall day in September, and Chan was due to change in under an hour. His body had been sore all day, as if it was preparing him for what came next. He had been on edge and snappy at his members earlier, but wasn't allowed to tell them why he wasn't himself. He needed to talk to Ash about being able to tell them as it was something he felt they should be aware of.

They walked through the abandoned building until they came to a door with large chain threaded through the handles, locking it shut. Ash pulled a single key out of her jacket pocket and unlocked the chain pulling it through the door handles and motioning for Chan to enter first.

He nervously walked through the doors and turned to see Ash running the chain through the inside of the door locking them in.

"I thought you said I'd be in control? Why lock us in if I'm not gonna leave?" He asked nervously.

"It's not to keep you in, it's to keep everyone else out." She replied shoving the key back into her pocket. "Follow me"

She walked across the very large room to a door in the back corner, knocking in a very particular way that caused a window to open and a guy stuck his face out.

"ASH!" The man yelled swinging the door wide open.

"Hi Jungwoo!" She said giving him a hug. The man glanced up and noticed Chan standing awkwardly with his hands on his pockets.

"Who's this?" Jungwoo asked standoffishly.

"Chan. Woo. Woo. Chan.......my mate." She emphasized as the two males stared at each other.

"Well, look at little Ash...all grown up with a mate! I'm Jungwoo, I'm Ash's older brother." He said sticking his hand out to Chan for him to shake.

"Ah, nice to meet you." Chan said shaking his hand.

"If you'll excuse me, it's his first change, we got stuff to do!" She said completely ignoring the fact that Woo's eyes got as big as saucers as they walked past.

Chan followed her down the hall lined with cells, almost like an old prison. Each cell had solid walls and a barred door that was left open. Chan tried to avoid looking into each occupied cell, but he couldn't help it. Some rooms held only one person, others had two or three. Even a few children and their parents.

At the end of the hallway there was an archway that opened into another large room with what looked like human sized dog beds laid out haphazardly. All different kinds of raw meat lining short tables that were at the perfect height for a wolf to grab from. There was a part of the ceiling made from glass that allowed the moon to illuminate the large room, making it look welcoming.

"This is us. Welcome to Hotel Equinox!" She said as she stopped just before the end of the hall and slid open the door. She motioned for Chan to enter first. It really wasn't bad. It had been decorated with thick jewel tone fabrics, large Indian style rugs covered the floor. Piled high with oversized pillows and soft blankets. "I decorated it myself a few years ago with the fabrics I brought back from Morocco..."

Chan looked around the room, surprised that he wasn't changing in a cement room with straw on the ground like he saw in another of the cells.

"Wow." He said dropping his duffel bag in the corner.

"How're you feeling?" She asked as she turned on the twinkle lights and sat down in the middle of the room.

"Nervous..." he said rubbing his hands on the fabric of his sweatpants.

Just as Chan was starting to look around a silence fell over the hallway outside. The excited chatter and yips of young children was replaced with the rhythmic click of stilettos on concrete. Ash immediately stood and slid open the door of the room.

A few moments later a tall dark haired woman stood and leaned gracefully against the door frame staring at him. She looked expensive, like money was dripping from every pore. A white silk top meticulously tucked into a tight black skirt. Topped off with black Louboutins, red lipstick, manicured black nails, and delicate gold jewelry.

"Ashina, you've returned. How nice of you to join us." She said smirking. "I see you brought a friend, though I'm sure you know the rules about visitors."

"Yes, but he's one of us....and he's my mate." She said crossing her arms.

"Hmm." The woman hummed in response as she walked into the room and walked a small circle around Chan, sensing his nervousness.

"First change I heard." She said directing all of her focus to him. "Nothing like your first change to make you feel alive. Right vampire?"

"Asha, seriously? He has a name." Ash said from beside him.

"Mm, what have I told you about using my name like that, little sister?" The woman said smiling again. "I'm your pack leader and that's how you address me?"

"Excuse me, alpha." Ash said sarcastically.

"It would be in your best interest to be on my good side right now, omega." The leader said flashing her deep ruby eyes, and returning her attention to Chan, "You're a rarity, far too precious for our little Ashina. Don't you think?"

Chan looked at the woman, annoyance clear on his face.

"If you don't mind, Asha, I need time with Chan to help him prepare." Ash said dripping with sarcasm.

"Of course." The woman said as she put both hands behind her back and walked back to the door. "I'll be down the hall if you get bored with our youngest. I'm always up for a round with a brand new alpha. They have so much unbridled energy this time of year....and I've never had the pleasure of a vampire." The woman said smiling lustfully at Chan as she looked him up and down before leaving.

Chan stood there in shock as to what just happened, "did she just—"

"Offer to fuck you? Yes." Ash said as she sat back down on the floor. "Being pack leader,  most men fall all over themselves to get five minutes with her. She collects them like Pokémon." She said as she rolled her eyes and patted a pillow in front of her.

"You didn't tell me the pack leader was your sister." He said sitting down.

"Asha's always been the favorite...with everyone. Hence why she was promoted to pack leader over our brother." Asha explained. "The power has seriously gone to her head. Anyway! You need to strip."

Chan looked at Ash confused for a moment before she realized he was unsure what to do. "You'll ruin your clothes if you wear them. Down to your undies, we've only got about twenty minutes, and you might start before the rest of us."

Chan's face heated up as Ash went to her bag in the corner and pulled a few things out. "Did you bring the blood I told you to?"

"Oh. Yeah, it's in my bag."

"Drink some now, it'll help. I'll bring you the others as soon as you change back."

****
When the shift started Chan felt at least three bones break at once. The blood he drank would have been great if it had only been those three bones and not all 206 of them. Each pop and crack causing him agony, as he slowly morphed into another form.

He felt screams leaving his body but he couldn't hear them. It was like he had been put on mute. His ears were ringing as talon like nails grew from his fingers.

The atmosphere around them became frenzied as the first ones changed were howling down the hall as they yipped happily and left their rooms to tussle with each other in the hall and the large room beyond. The howls got louder as they each changed one by one. He began to hear as they would run past Ash's room to the large room next door.

And after what felt like the longest and most agonizing twenty minutes of his life, he followed his mate out of the room.

****

The next morning he woke up to the sound of people cleaning up and saying goodbye to each other.

"Bye Ash!" Her brother said as he walked by.

"Hey, time to wake up sleepy head." She said being extremely gentle with the man next to her.

Chan opened his eyes to see her sitting next to him in a fresh set of clothes. He was curled into a fetal position with a blanket thrown over his lower half.

"Try to stretch, slowly. Try to do one thing at a time."

"I need blood..." He rasped, feeling the room spin while he laid still.

Ash moved next to him and she slowly and painfully moved his head into her lap. She held her wrist out, offering it to him.

"Here, you drank all the blood you brought last night." She said.

"No." He said turning his head slightly and feeling a jolt of pain fly down his spine. The smell of her was intoxicating.

"Why not? Blood is blood." She said shrugging.

"It's illegal, I can't drink live from humans. It's the one rule you don't break." He managed to get out through gritted teeth.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not human." She stated bluntly before offering her arm to him again.

She could see him clenching his jaw, trying not to directly breathe in the scent of her blood.

"Chan, it's between you and me, we're the only ones left. It's ok." He glanced up at her and gently took her wrist in his hand, "what about the mating bite, wouldn't this count as me biting you?"

"No, there's other things for that. This is just you getting what you need." She shook her head and smiled softly at him.

Without a second thought he sunk his fangs deep into her forearm and drank, letting his eyes flutter shut as he felt the pain start to dissipate.