twenty;

The castle roared with life that next day. Seoho and Youngjo had finally returned. Hongjoong had stayed hidden in his room for the rest of that night, only coming out once he heard the commotion. "Where is Hongjoong?" The commons room was already filled with most of the inhabitants, only missing the captain himself and Seonghwa.        He still has the others to tell. He has to tell Eunha. It won't make the situation better but Seonghwa always told him to never suffer in silence. He made himself known to the others by walking down the stairs, finding two presences he found himself missing. "I was beginning to wonder if either of you would return."       "There was a lot for her to tell. And a lot for us to explain. Luckily she had the information we needed." Youngjo spoke with a stern voice, motioning for him and Seonghwa—who just now entered the room—to seat themselves among the others.        Hongjoong took the empty chair in the corner while Seonghwa placed himself next to Yeosang. "We will start with the biggest issue."        "The spell Soojin made Namjoon do was black magic. It's stronger than their normal rituals and very frowned upon. It's much harder to resist, which is why not even a hybrid can fight back." Youngjo started off with the obvious problem. "It essentially gave each half their own whole. Both Zero and Hongjoong are free from the other."       "Do you know why Soojin did this?" Eunha was the first to pop out a question, which Seoho answered almost immediately.        "That, we don't know. But she did tell us a bit of wolf history that isn't normally passed down through every generation, as it's only need-to-know information in rare cases.       "As you all know, werewolves always have a second personality. A person of their own, but sharing a body with the primary. Legend says the very first werewolf to ever exist—our ancestor—the two were equal, one roamed during the day while the other by night. And during a full moon the one who roamed by day would take over, but since he is not nocturnal he loses control and destroys a nearby village. The last surviver was the shaman. He managed to curse the wolf before it destroyed him. He banished the day-walker to be trapped under the night-walker, forced to watch him live their life. And only during full moons are they allowed to be set free."        Unbeknownst to the others, Hongjoong was rapidly growing more and more anxious, the more Youngjo told a story he knew all too well. Seoho was eyeing Hongjoong as if he was about to race out of the room. "But every once in a while.."        Hongjoong and Youngjo suddenly made eye contact. "A wolf can be born with signs of having equal personalities. We call them purebloods." Hongjoong broke eye contact the moment he uttered that word. "They both can take over at any point, which makes them unpredictable. It's believed those wolves have a direct lineage to the first pureblood, but so many generations of the spell being passed down still shows the true primary and the true secondary. And there is a ritual that can be done on the night of the wolves' fifteenth birthday."        To everyone else, the story seemed entirely unrelated. Youngjo could sense that, so he tried to wrap up quickly. "The ritual allows the parents to pick which wolf carries more of the primary genes. But since it's the original shamans spell, it can often be translated poorly, or easily manipulated. Sometimes the day-walker becomes the primary, instead of the night-walker."       "I'm confused," Seonghwa suddenly jumped in. "No offense, but what does this have to do with the spell Namjoon did? Is it the same spell?"       Youngjo didn't take his eyes off Hongjoong the whole time—not even to answer the vampire. "When Namjoon did the spell, the true primary would have stayed in the original body."       Hongjoong stood up in an instant and left the room, grabbing the attention of everyone around him. He couldn't hide from it from them any longer, choosing to retreat.        For those that hadn't realized what Youngjo's words in-told, the hybrids sudden departure solidified it. "So.. that means.." Seonghwa trailed off.        "Hongjoong is the secondary?" Wooyoung finished his elder's question.        "Hongjoong isn't the secondary, he's the day-walker."        This time Yunho pitched in. "But you said the day-walker was cursed to live as the secondary?"        "That is how legend tells it. The parents have full control from there. It is their decision to choose which half is more suited to lead." Eunha had heard all she needed to know, standing up to follow after her mate. "Thank you both." She bowed as much as her stomach allowed her—which wasn't very much—and followed the hybrids path up the stairs. She didn't knock on the closed door, opening it to find the person she was looking for. He was seated on the edge of his bed, staring out the window. Not even her footsteps caught his attention, seating herself beside of him. He still didn't react but his hands were fumbling with one another. "What's wrong?" "What makes you think there is something wrong?" Eunha nudged his shoulder with her own,pressing their sides together.        "I've known you long enough to know when something is bothering you. And something has been bothering you since yesterday." Hongjoong let out a sigh, still withholding eye contact.        "It bothers me that Soojin thinks he can show up whenever he pleases."        Eunha believed the hybrid but it was obvious that wasn't everything. She grabbed one of his fumbling hands, which finally brought his attention to her but not her eyes. "It's not just that. There's something else."       Hongjoong struggled to find the words. To tell her the truth. All of it.        "I never knew the name of the vampire that turned me. My families murderer. My creator. But his face has been burned into my mind and I'll never it." The hybrid looked up from their hands to meet her gaze. "I saw his face yesterday, Eunha."        Her face froze in a shocked expression. She was still restricted from Soojin's barrier—the one that kept her from telling any one of her pregnancy and even forbidding his name to roll off her tongue. "It's him, isn't it?"        "The man that murdered my family is the same that murdered yours." Eunha felt the tears well up as she squeezed his hand. "I didn't want to see him again unless it's when I'm killing him."       Hongjoong let out another heavy sigh. "He knows exactly where we are, and we're back at square one. We still don't know why he separated us. What his plan is. Hell, I-" He paused, still figuring out what they can do. "I don't even have a plan. I've led battles, and I don't have a plan. I've fought people, not hybrids. And my other half is out there, while I've been here dragging his name through the mud when I don't even know what all happened that night."       Eunha didn't want to be the one to tell Hongjoong but she was the only one who knew for certain. "There's something I should mention... that he spoke to me about. I didn't have the chance to speak to you about it."       The hybrid turned his body to completely face her, using his other hand to encase hers. "That's partially my fault. I shouldn't have run away like that." Running is something the hybrid is all-to-well at.        "He told me that he can't compel you or Zero." Although it hurt to hear her say that, it didn't surprise him at all. Not after what happened.        "There's.. something else I need to tell you... about my past."