His Mate

Description

Park Jimin has to accept that his number one nemesis is the one he's destined to love for the rest of his immortal life.

Ever since childhood, Jimin has been bullied by Jung Hoseok, but to the rest of the pack, Hoseok is considered the strongest, smartest, and most attractive werewolf around—the bright hope for the pack's future. Then Jimin finds out that Hoseok is his mate—the person who bears the other half of his soul, and the one he is destined to be with for the rest of his life.

Unable to accept a growing attraction to someone he can only see as cruel, Jimin keeps the truth to himself. But the mate bond grows intensely stronger until Hoseok begins to suffer as well: sensing his mate in the shadows, haunted by hallucinations and nightmares, but unable to see a clear vision of his soul mate.

The Alpha is forced to find out the root of this trouble, and comes to a decision to track the hiding mate. In some cases a male werewolf who hides from his mate is seen as the ultimate coward. But will the world understand Jimin's conflict with Hoseok?

No matter what the consequences are, falling in love with a mate is inevitable, and Jimin knows he can’t avoid that.

O N E

Jimin's POV

When I was a child, I was easily fascinated by the idea of mates. Plainly, it might have seemed like just another love story—how a mate discovered their other mate and they fell in love—but I liked it. Probably because I was always waiting for my own time to come—for the day when I could stare straight into my mate‟s eyes and let myself fall in love.

It was certainly considered weird of me for liking such things. Little boys did not usually like these kinds of things, but I would always wait patiently for my mother to tell me another mating tale.

“Honey,” Mom said, “why don‟t you join your brothers?”

I wondered why she asked that because I knew that my mother knew me so well. She knew I wasn‟t into video games, soccer or any of the stuff my brother and their friends did.

“No,” I said, “I want to know what happened to Victoria (a/n: from f(x)).”

She sat down on the chair in front of me and stroked my ruffled hair back and forth. I looked up to her as she smiled and said, “Where did I stop, sweetheart?”

“Victoria. She found her mate—Ji Ho (a/n: Zico from Block B), the beautiful schoolboy? But she hides from him, and things go wrong.”

“Yeah,” Mom sighed. “Are you sure you want to hear this? This is quite a sad story for you, Jimin.”

I could only nod enthusiastically.

“Let me make sure you get this straight,” Mom said. “This story is not actually made up. It‟s your Grandma Victoria, Jimin. She hid from your grandpa before they met.”

I couldn‟t believe this. My grandparents were like the sweetest couple I‟d ever seen. Even now, after decades of marriage, they were like young lovers (Mentally and physically—since, immortals didn‟t really age.)

“Poor Grandma,” I said. “But she and Grandpa made it. To marriage, I mean.”

“Yes, but she regretted everything she‟d done. She even told all your aunts to not do the same because hiding from one‟s mate has terrible consequences, darling.”

I let the silence pass before I asked Mom another question.

“But Mom,” I sighed, “there wouldn‟t be much difference even if Grandma Victoria didn‟t come out of hiding, would there? They were still meant to be together.”

“No, sweetie. If our mate knows our presence, there will be lots of differences. Once the males acknowledge their mate's presence, the bond will develop. This is how mates are connected. It also depends on how strong the mate bond is between the two. If it isn‟t strong enough, the male mate may not know at all that the female is actually near him. You know that some shifters are mateless, don‟t you, sweetie?”

Mateless was a term we used for any werewolf who hadn‟t found their mate for a very long time. Being mateless was considered the biggest misfortune to befall immortals, especially among the shape-shifters. Since werewolves contained two separate halves in one creature, we believed that we bear half of our mate‟s soul while our mate held the other half of ours. Some half mortal/half immortals, like half-human half-vampires, held the same beliefs. This also explained the mate bond. Our life would not be considered as complete until we had met our mate who held the other half of our soul. An immortal would also be considered mateless if their mate died. If your mate died, you would never be able to live the same way because half of your soul would be missing.

“So if my mate hides from me…I‟d be mateless. Is that true?” I asked.

“It depends on how strong your mate bond is. Most of the time mate bonds cause a strong attraction—a deadly tie to your heart. This bond will usually drive you to find your mate.”

I knew then, I didn‟t ever want to be mateless. Some teen wolves who‟d thought they‟d fallen deeply in love believed they didn‟t need a mate, but Mom told me that the love we felt for our mate would be different. Marriages and relationships were only temporary and could be broken if werewolves had discovered their mates.

Years had passed, and sometimes I still found myself thinking about Grandma for days after Mom told me about her mating discovery. I knew I would never want to fall in love with anyone but her—my mate, my one true love. She could have been somewhere around the world or here in Gyerim (a/n: Gyerim is a place where werewolves living, I mean just in this story lol). She might even be thinking about me too at the moment.

I promised myself that I would wait for her till the end of time. What if I dated someone and she was actually there watching me? I didn‟t want to break her heart since she was the one who deserved to be by my side. She was the one who had the other half of my soul.

~ ~ ~

Most of us were already sixteens and seventeens of age, and the adults still thought we were seven inseparable friends. The Alpha had actually given our clique a name—he called us "The Little Pack". (Really, it made me want to puke.)

I had never felt like I was a part of that group, but the grown-ups like to think so. Since I was born small for my size, they thought it would be safer for me if I was surrounded by these buff boys—it would provide me better protection if I went everywhere with them. From what, I‟m not sure. My mother was one of them who assigned my brother to keep an eye on me. That‟s why I was stuck with them.

I’m sixteen fucking years old but I still have babysitters.

As usual, we gathered together at a tree house my father built at the edge of the neighborhood to wait for the bus. A few of the boys were shape-shifting, getting ready to go play deep in the meadow; some of them took out a chessboard and played sleepily, and others, like my brother, were leaning on the wooden wall taking a nap. I was reading a book like usual.

Jungkook was struggling hard to fight his morning drowsiness. I guess that‟s why he suddenly came over to talk to me.

“Hey Jimin,” he yawned, “what are you reading?”

Jungkook was one of the kids in The Little Pack who was my age. He and Sun Woo (a/n: Baro from B1A4) was the Alpha‟s son.

“Er . . . The Host?” I answered him. I blankly handed him the book even though I knew he wasn‟t interested at all. No one in the group was interested in the things I liked. Everything I did was different and everyone noticed. No one in the clique read novels, so when they saw me holding one they were curious about why it was so interesting. Unlike the other boys, I rarely got texts and when I did they always wanted to know who it was. I never went out on dates like they did and if I even talked to a girl they would freak out.

“Is this a sequel to Twilight?” Jungkook asked, noticing The Twilight Saga logo at the bottom of the book.

I rolled my eyes. “Nope, it‟s written by Stephenie Meyer, the author of The Twilight Saga.”

“Oh. Is there anything about us inside?” he chuckled.

“No, there‟s no Jacob Black inside, only aliens,” I responded.

“Oh, okay,” Jungkook said. Shortly after, he wandered off to another spot and I no longer cared about what he was doing.

Jin hyung had already awakened from his nap and was watching Hoseok play chess. My brother looked a little drowsy; I didn‟t know how he could focus on the game.

The bus was still nowhere to be seen, so I leaned my head on the wall and opened my book and—

What the fuck?

MOLE

I stared at the handwriting on the title page of the book. A flame of rage lit up inside me.

That motherfucker—

Hoseok. Of course.

Jung Hoseok. I hoped the asshole would just die—just literally die, decay into the ground and be eaten by pests until he became nothing.

He was the „Alpha‟ of the clique. Everyone worshiped him like he was a living Greek god or something.

Among the werewolves, the grown-ups had predicted that Hoseok would be the next pack leader. He was physically and mentally strong—he‟d won Wolf Combat, an annual werewolf fighting game, several years in a row now. He would always put on a sweet polite face in front of the adults that made me want to punch puppies. The girls prayed every single day that they would be his mate.

Things weren‟t that different among the mortals.

At Daeil High, Hoseok was known as the most attractive guy in school. I heard he‟d dated the entire cheerleading squad and had them crying because he wouldn‟t commit to any of them. Currently, he was dating Tiffany, another sexy chick that was considered every man‟s dream girl. Hoseok was too fucking sexy even had some of the teachers vying for him. He‟d gotten on the Honor Roll several times—the teachers loved him for his intelligence. Everyone knew him as Daeil High‟s star quarterback, President of Gay-Straight Alliance Club, the school‟s Honorable Mathlete and the Head Representative of the Anti-Bullying Club. Here‟s what they didn‟t know.

He was an endless nightmare. Every time I saw him I wished he didn‟t exist. Or I wished I didn‟t exist because he did. It was painful just seeing his face. Since we were little kids he had liked to push me over until I fell, called me names, taken my books and thrown them out the window, screamed at me in front of my friends, made fun of me and humiliated me and— God, I need a break.

I was turning sixteen and I was determined not to let him do these things to me anymore. I had the courage now to stand up to him. I‟d rather be punched to death by him than to have to hear the catcalls and suffer the humiliation caused by him again. Never. Again.

But then everything changed.

It was a nice Saturday morning. During the weekend the boys would always hang out at my place because my mom would cook something nice for breakfast and they would dine together with my family. I woke up a little late, after the sun had risen, so everyone was already downstairs eating my mom‟s delicious blueberry muffins. So I simply cleaned myself up and took a shower. When I was done taking my shower, I tried to reach for the towel and—

And it was gone.

I walked out of the shower and found that all of the folded towels in the bathroom had disappeared. I tried not to panic and assumed that no one would be in my bedroom. Everything would be fine; I would just get a towel from my dresser. They’re all downstairs.

With water dripping down my body, I walked out of the adjoining bathroom into my bedroom and ran toward the dresser.

The room felt oddly breezy and I realized the door was ajar.

Hoseok and Chanyeol stood in the doorway, laughing.

“Oh my God, there is a freaking mole near his dick!” Hoseok shouted.

I could feel my face heat up. I took one of the bed sheets closest to me and covered up my crotch. I didn‟t care if Mom was going to kill me if she found out that the bed sheet was wet because I was dying of embarrassment.

“Give me back the towel,” I groaned, looking stupidly at my feet. C’mon, stand up for yourself, punch him in the fucking face, I thought. But I couldn‟t move. I was frozen and trembling and my face was getting warmer.

I don't remember how it ended, but I was very angry at myself for not having the courage to stand up to Hoseok or at least try to kill him.

“Hey, Jimin, why don‟t you open up and show us the mole on your dick?” he shouted when I‟d finished cleaning myself after P.E.

“Mole,” Hoseok said as I got on the bus.

“Tiny black spot, mole, mole, mole, on the dick, on the dick,” he sang to me in front of some girls at the cafeteria in an attempt to humiliate me.

The mole grows older on your dick, was the sixteenth birthday wish I received from him.

“At least he wished you well,” my brother said when he found out about it.

But books were my priority. I‟m sure my brother Seokjin remembered how terrible of a tantrum I had thrown when Hoseok had taken my novels and flung them out a window a few years ago. I had locked myself up in my bedroom and skipped meals the whole day—my dad had to pound on the door to get me out. Now, Hoseok hadn‟t just blemished the book, he ignited the fire of pain from the most humiliating incident that‟d ever happened to me in all the sixteen years of my life. I couldn‟t stand this—I needed to do something to let him feel what I was feeling—irritated and annoyed.

I wanted him to know how angry I was, only this time I wouldn‟t pussy out.

I stood and walked up to him. Hoseok was on the wooden floor in the middle of the tree house, playing chess with Chanyeol. The first thing I saw was his butt in those tight jeans.

My heart started to race, and I could already sense voices of doubts in my head. He will kill you … don’t do this …

But I had enough. This was the perfect time because no one noticed I had already approached Hoseok from behind. I took my hands up high, despite the hesitant that was bewildering in my chest.

Then I slapped Jung Hoseok on his ass, so hard that I felt my hand burning from the impact. I crossed my arms over my chest, watching as he stood with wrath and confusion burning in his eyes.

Everyone had their eyes on me. I didn‟t care—this was a moment I‟d always been waiting for.

He walked closer to me and I held my breath and stayed where I was without trembling.

“What the fuck did you—”

I squeezed my hand into a fist and punched his nose as hard as I could. He almost fell down, but Sun Woo and Jungkook had a hold of him from the back. Suddenly, the voices inside my head came flooding back.

What was I thinking? I was very small and weak and I was no match for Hoseok. The rage disappeared once I saw blood coming out of his nose. All that determination was replaced by a sudden fear. This couldn‟t be happening.

He’s going to kill me now.

I jumped out of the tree house and ran.

I landed on the ground hard and my spine was jarred by the fall. Fighting the pain, I sprinted into the meadow, going deeply into the forest. I turned around and—

Hoseok was less than a feet from me.

Fuck, how did he get here so fast?

We were actually almost in the heart of the meadow. Strategically, I turned left, but it was useless when Jung Hoseok was the one who wanted to kill you. I kept on running; the wind was strong against my face it felt like it was pushing me back.

Two strong arms wrapped tightly around my chest from behind and sent us rolling down a hill.

He struggled to not lose hold of me as we trundled down—I could feel his anger and muscles twitching with the desire to punish me like he wanted to kill me with the crushing hold of his arms. Once he stopped us from moving, he shoved my chest on the grass so hard that my heart felt like it was going to be crushed by my rib cage. I could feel his hands slapping my face; his fists were hitting my forehead so hard that I felt like blacking out.

He groaned, “Do—not—mess—with—me.” Each of those words was punctuated by an attack from his strong hands.

But when I saw his eyes, everything felt weird.

The pain started to go away. His face made my heart relax and pump hard at the same time. The heaviness in my chest felt lighter.

You are—you’re so—so—fucking beautiful.

He was still hitting me hard with his hands. He really wanted me to die. He really wanted to torture me and all I wanted was—

All I wanted to do was to reach out and kiss him. I wanted him all over me and to tell him how sorry I was. I wanted to cry into his chest because his body felt like home and his warmth was all I needed to live.

This is damn weird.

I was pretty sure I was hallucinating from brain damage caused by him. But things got sillier when he stopped hurting me and stared straight into my eyes. Something was streaming inside my system; something extremely beautiful but unreachable, something that was so solid but indefinite.

I tried to brush these thoughts away, but the more I‟d tried, the more it came.

That‟s when I was certain about everything.

“You brat,” Hoseok groaned. I didn‟t move when he stood up. “We missed the bus because of you,” he said again.

I tried to say something, struggling hard to beg him not to leave me, but I couldn‟t.

When he walked away, a new kind of tension had started to build up in my chest.

When he was gone, I sat up and stared into the earth, my mind empty.

The heaviness was back.

I screamed.

I yelled and shrieked like doing so would actually turn back time. I don‟t know why I felt the need for time to turn back because everything was pointless.

He’s mine. He’s the one.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything else. I tried to imagine sexy, naked strippers crawling on my bed toward me to fulfill my erotic desires. But I couldn‟t see any naked strippers. I only saw him—completely naked, approaching me.

He’s the only one I desire.

I wanted to die. I didn‟t want to believe it was him.

But it was really him. Nothing could change this and that sucked balls.

~ ~ ~ Once when I was a little child, I asked my mother the same question an infinite number of times.

“How do you know when someone is your mate, Mom?”

She sighed and looked at me; she had the same expression on her face when I last asked her the same question.

“You‟ll just know, sweetie.”

“But—that‟s not—”

“Trust me, you‟ll know someday.”

I had never believed that „someday‟ would happen. But it had, and it had just happened.

T W O

Jimin's POV

I don't want him, I told myself. But I do.

The day passed confusingly. I had ran home crying and locked myself in my bedroom. Mom had knocked at my door several times and I tried to stiffle my cries as I told her I was having a little stomach ache and couldn't go to school. What would she say once she noticed the marks on my face?

I knew I could lie. I could say that I tripped and fell somewhere.

But when Jin hyung got home from school, he told Mom what had happened. She grilled me with questions, blaming me over and over as she thought I'd picked a fight with Hoseok.

I was shivering by the time I went to bed; my skin was dribbling with cold sweat. It felt like I had a fever. I wrapped myself inside a blanket as tightly as possible, trying to find the warmth that I could never have.

Then I realized something: It wasn't the covers I wanted warmth from, it was Hoseok's strong arms, wrapped tightly around me, with the promise of love and protection but in the end there was nothing.

No. I won't let myself get carried away with this. I'll fight everything to rid myself of these feelings.

I wasn't able to fall asleep until around three in the morning. But then I was swallowed into a nightmare.

Hoseok and I were in the forest again, and he was punching me. I was engulfed in terror in the dark, and no matter how much I begged he refused to stop hurting me. Mom woke me up when she heard me screaming.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong with you?"

"Mom, I—I—"

The words were drowning in a sea and I couldn't grasp them. I ended up crying into my mom's chest, it hurt so badly and I wanted it all to stop.

The next day I woke up late and ended up running to the tree house. I didn't climb up; instead I leaned my back against the sycamore's trunk.

"Dude," said a voice above me, "whatcha doin' down there? Come on up!"

Junhong, another guy around the same age as me in the group, was gesturing for me to climb up the tree house. Unfortunately, he was Hoseok's little brother. I couldn't imagine switching places with Junhong—I would never want to live with the biggest asshole in the world.

Junhong held out his hand and mouthed as silently as he could, "It's okay."

But it was not okay. Hoseok was up there. I didn't want to see him. I wanted to go home and bury my face in the pillow and cry again.

"Come on," he said.

Just as I went to take Junhong's hand, the bus honked at us.

I walked into school after the bus dropped us off. Then Hoseok ran over to me, shoving into me on purpose. He glared furiously at me before he disappeared from sight. Then Junhong popped up out of nowhere, looking somewhat remorseful.

"Look, I'm sorry for what he did to you, dude. He's crazy," Junhong said.

"It's okay." I could only breathe the words out—the cut on my lips were unbelievably painful. If I spoke too much the wound would reopen and start bleeding.

"What's wrong with you two anyway?" he asked.

"Nothing, really," I lied.

"He kept thinking about it all night, too. Our mom was furious when she heard about what happened."

My heart trembled again. I looked at my shoes when Junhong noticed I was crying.

"Dude, just tell me what happened. This is bad, you know?" I ignored him and ran to the lockers to get my stuff.

Just as I shut my locker, I felt a strong hand gripping my wrist tightly. It pulled me around and slammed me against the locker—my head throbbed as it hit the metal hard.

Hoseok.

"Tell me what happened yesterday," he said.

I struggled to get my hand out of his grip but he was too strong. My heart was thudding so fast I was afraid Hoseok could see it beating out of my chest. My face was wet with tears and I was filled with horrible anxiety.

"Let me go, Hoseok."

"What happened yesterday, Jimin? Why did you hit me?" he said, gripping me harder.

"It's none of your fucking business!" I said.

I was being too emotional. He might sense I was his mate.

"What did I do, Jimin? Tell me now!"

My tears kept coming out. But it was just tears—I didn't shout or scream or sob. It was just flowing down my cheeks.

"Just let me go, Hoseok," I said exhaustedly.

He didn't. Until I heard a girl's voice from behind me.

"Hoseok," murmured the gem of Daeil High.

Tiffany stood there watching us with a confused expression. She was in her skimpy attire as usual. Her long legs shimmered under the light. But all of that was enough for Hoseok to forget me and face her.

As soon as his grip loosened, I ran to the cafeteria and found Namjoon waiting for me. We usually hung out there, killing time as we waited for first period to start.

Namjoon was my best mortal friend—he didn't know I was a werewolf. One day he might since most kids in this school were from two of Seoul's gigantic wolf packs. I tried to look calm in front of him, but I knew he was already sensing my turmoil.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm—I'm fine," I replied, sounding nonchalant. Hoseok's my mate.

I pressed my face on the table as I was going to cry again. But I couldn't muffle the sounds— obviously, even an idiot would know that I was bursting out into tears.

"Dude, seriously, what's going on?"

I looked up, took a tissue from the table, wiped my eyes and tried to breathe. Then I stared at Namjoon. He was confused as hell.

"I—I—"

How could I explain the mate bond to a human?

"There you are," said a voice. It belonged to Jessica.

Jessica Jung was my other friend. She was the only best friend I had who was actually a werewolf from the pack my family and I were in. If she'd been a guy she would have been the eighth member in the Little Pack.

She was my only female friend from the pack. She knew how highly incompatible I was with the clique of boys I was forced to hang around with.

"Jimin," she said, sitting down next to me, "what's wrong, sweetie?"

She sat down beside me. God, she doesn't know. I thought the fight with Hoseok had spread through the entire pack already.

"I'm fine." I smiled, but I knew I couldn't hide it from them.

"Damn," Namjoon said, shocked, "you look terrible."

"That's not helping, Namjoon," Jessica groaned. "Jimin, you have to tell me what happened."

"Gosh—guys, seriously. I'm fine. I'm just—"

I'm just falling in love with The Jung Hoseok—The Jung fucking Hoseok, the most wanted, most popular, most douchey, most beautiful, sexiest, hottest—

"Namjoon," Jessica turned to him, "he failed Algebra again, didn't he?"

"I don't think so," Namjoon said.

I couldn't believe I was crying because of Hoseok. Crying was never my thing—I was not that kind of person. "Tell me, Jimin," Jessica pressed on.

"No—not now, okay?" I said. "I'll tell you later. I promise."

I shouldn't have promised her.

"Promise?" she said.

I nodded.

Namjoon curved up his lips. "Fine. I am going to sulk, Jimin."

"Okay, I'll tell you, too. Promise."

He smiled.

"Anyway, I'm here to tell you that I'm throwing a slumber party this weekend. And I really want you to come," Jessica said.

"Oh." I tried to breathe in and look as calm as possible. "This weekend? You haven't had slumber parties in ages."

"Yeah, I know," she said. Then she ducked down to my ear and whispered to me.

"I've just got the latest edition of Xbox 360, the one that's not in stores yet! And I've also got the latest unreleased Dead or Alive! I know it's not a big deal for you, but it is for them. Please do not tell anyone about this, especially Hoseok. We'd bet to see who would get the Xbox first before."

School went on as usual. When the final bell rang, I hid behind a big tree near the bus and waited for Hoseok to get on before I did, so I wouldn't have to look at him.

~ ~ ~

The crying only got worse as the days passed that week.

My days in school went poorer. I couldn't concentrate in class. My whole family was freaking out— they knew something was wrong.

Friday came sooner than I thought.

"Jimin," Jin hyung called out as he knocked on my bedroom door. "Are you okay?" I tried to breathe before I walked toward the door and opened it. But hell, the tears wouldn't stop.

Jin hyung grabbed me immediately and pulled me into a hug.

"Come on, bro, everything's fine. It's not our fault you're not telling us what the hell is going on between you and Hoseok."

"Nothing happened between us," I told him. That was sort of a lie.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Jin hyung said.

I nodded and let him entered the bedroom.

I watched as my brother shut the door and let out a big breath.

"Are you gay? I'm guessing that you're crushing on him and when you found out that he and Tiffany are dating you're all like—"

I was shocked for a moment.

Jin hyung had almost guessed it, although it wasn't that accurate. Oh, and I definitely am not crushing on Hoseok.

"No," I told him. "It's not like that, exactly..."

"So," he added, "you are gay, then."

That was sort of true now. "Yeah."

My brother grinned in response.

"But it has nothing to do with Hoseok," I lied again. "He was just scribbling on my book and it annoyed me. We ended up fighting and I did not expect it to go that far."

"So it's not Hoseok," my brother said. "Then ... who's this boy you're crushing on?"

"JIN HYUNG!"

"Okay, okay. C'mon, let's go. Jessica's waiting," Jin hyung said as he rubbed my back.

We walked toward Jessica's place engulfed in silence that night. I trembled when the other boys started to surround us.

"Hoseok," my brother called him. I was still by Jin hyung's side, shaking. I poked him in the waist and he flinched—I knew he was calling Hoseok out on purpose to annoy me. But he ignored me. "You look damn awful, man. What the hell happened to you?" "He went on a date last night," Chanyeol answered.

"Yeah," Hoseok responded, his hand covered his mouth as he yawned. "I was with Tiffany. I almost got laid last night, but —"

"Damn, you've rocked with the hottest chick in high school, dude! Awesome!" Jungkook said.

Shut up! Just shut up! I don't want to hear about it anymore!

"But, well, I just couldn't do it," Hoseok added. "I was—I'm having some sort of problem."

"WHAT?" Jungkook screamed in shock.

"Shut up, kid," Hoseok groaned.

"I thought that's what you always wanted," Jin hyung joined in the conversation.

"I know, but not anymore. She went crazy yesterday—had already stripped and everything. Something happened to me, you know. Like—like—something weird is happening to my body, and right now I just can't seem to think straight. I think I start to feel like—"

I was eager for his response just as everybody else. Why couldn't he sleep with Tiffany? Hooking up was definitely not a problem for Hoseok—I bet he did it almost every weekend.

But I was jumping with joy on the inside.

"Like what?" Jungkook said.

I watched as Hoseok breathed in. He let out a few sighs, looking as if he was trying to hide something from us. Then he stared up into the night sky and said, "I think I'm going to find my mate soon."

My heart stopped. Suddenly I didn't know how to breathe.

This wasn't happening now, was it?

"Are you sure?" Chanyeol asked.

"Uh ... I guess. I think my mate's around—it's like I can feel her."

"He keeps smiling at nothing every time he's alone," Junhong added.

"Shut up," Hoseok smacked his little brother's head.

"I'm serious," Junhong said. "I'm sure your mate's around too. You're thinking about your mate like you're already dating her. And you're all like romantic all of a sudden. You're quieter now, too." It's not a "her", it's a "him".

"I'm going to kill you," Hoseok said to his little brother. "But you're right."

When we got to Jessica's place, I could finally let out a breath of relief. Here, I could walk upstairs and hide in one of the dark corners in the hall upstairs. As we walked in I already spotted the new Xbox. The boys behind me screamed, devoting the video game player in awe.

"Yah Hoseok!," Jessica batted her eyelashes, "you owe me twenty bucks and a shopping trip."

"Fuck," he groaned, "how did you get this?"

"A deal is a deal," Jessica said. She grinned widely, looking as excited as the other boys were. They were all running towards the device, fighting over who got to play first. When their attention was completely focused to the Xbox, I crept to the stairs going up to the hall.

~ ~ ~

In the hall at the upper part of Jessica's house, there was a hidden corner that had been turned into a mini library. There were three tall bookshelves arranged next to each other facing a large window. Next to them were one small desk, a laptop that seemed to be opened at all times, and an old green couch. The smell of old books here fascinated me, and somehow it worked to calm me down for a while. The best part was the corner was secluded in an unnoticeable spot where I used to play hide and seek as a little child, so it would be hard for them to notice me here.

The books, however, were always dusty here. Mr. Jung (Jessica's father not Hoseok's, okay) used to be an English Lit major, so most of the books here were from his college days and he didn't seem to read them anymore. They were shelved neatly and alphabetically, being that Jessica's father used to work at library once.

I needed to pick something to read, and the first thing that caught my eye was Maurice. I had never read the book before, but I did remember how passionate Jessica was for it. Jessica, like the rest of the boys, didn't like reading as much as I was, so I guess when she really liked a book she really meant it.

An hour or so had passed. I was more than halfway on the book when I realized the novel had two boys falling in love with each other.

In my mind, I was grunting hard at Jessica, but she only laughed at me in return.

But the story's good, isn't it, Jimin? This might be destiny's way on showing you that it's time. I let out a groan.

The boys were still playing their video game, screaming and yelling at each other out of either joy or dissatisfaction.

"YOU FUCKING CHEATED YOU—"

"I did NOT!"

"NOT FAIR! Let's start over!"

I decided to continue reading, because Maurice was hell good. I was completely lost in the book once I started to pick it up again, and that was good since it kept me from thinking about Hoseok for a while.

"Hey."

Or not.

My pulse accelerated as he came to sit right beside me. How the hell did he find me here? Plus, I don't know why it was such a big deal—we'd been closer than this before. But my heart was racing and I was trembling and I was scared that I couldn't hide the feelings I had for him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Why are you here?" I countered trembling.

I closed the book to give him my attention—fuck, you didn't mark where you stopped, Jimin! I was too afraid to face this. Hoseok was starting to sense me and I wasn't ready. I hadn't prepared for anything yet. I was still angry at him and still couldn't accept that he was the one I was going to be with for the rest of my life.

Maybe things could change.

"Look, I'm sorry. The other day in the meadow ... I didn't mean to hurt you that badly, okay?" he said, sounding very apologetic.

I didn't say anything. I just couldn't. His warmth overwhelmed me. I could now identify him by his scent—it smelled wonderful, like the fragrance of the woods, green and alive. Maybe that was just because I'd first met him in the forest.

"Jimin, why were we fighting? I don't understand," he asked again.

"You'll never understand shit. Never, you hear me?" I tried to sound cold. He needed to learn a lesson. "Okay, whatever I did, you were really crazy about it. What did I do? What have I done to you?"

"What haven't you done to me, Hoseok?" I yelled.

"Fuck, please, I'm not arguing with you, okay? I'm not happy about this. I feel fucking guilty and I don't like it. Okay, I don't know what I've done. Just point it out. Spit it out. I'm not going to hurt you."

I couldn't help liking where this was going. Hoseok was never this vulnerable. At some point I started to like what the mate bond was doing to him; he started to become weak and powerless. Maybe this was payback. Maybe I could finally make him feel the same pain I felt.

"You picked on me, asshole," I started.

"I've always picked on you. Okay, but this time, you were just—"

"You touched my book!" I screamed. "Nobody touches my fucking books."

"What book?" he asked confusedly.

Hoseok stared around, probably figuring out the time when he actually opened up my copy of The Host and wrote—

"Oh, it's that book with the eye on it, isn't it?" Hoseok asked.

I snorted. "Brainless asshole."

"It's that one, right?" he said simply. "I am sorry, okay?"

"Fuck off."

"Look, if you don't want to forgive me, I don't give a fuck. But let me just tell you something—I picked on you before and it has never made you look as shitty as this. You were different this time," he said.

"It was my book!" I shrieked, my voice shook in my throat, sounding like I was about to cry again.

But it wasn't because of the book. I was actually lying to him as much as I was to myself. I knew it would all be over if Hoseok wasn't my mate. But he was.

"Stop being such a crybaby, Jimin! There's really nothing for you to blubber about," he said.

"I am not a crybaby!" I groaned.

Wasn't I? I'd been crying the whole time since I discovered who my mate was.

"I threw a book out a window, and it didn't make you like this. You look stupid, you know?" "SHUT UP! Just, shut the fuck up! You don't know anything! Just go away!"

I cried again, only this time, my mate was watching me.

Hoseok, just let me hug you. Just kiss me because your lips can stop my tears. Just touch me so I can feel better. Please, Hoseok.

I hated myself.

The next time Hoseok spoke again, his deep voice was ice-cold, sending goose bumps to rise all over my body. "You're hiding something from me."

Oh, no. I don't know why I couldn't deny it immediately. And I was trying so hard to deny it; I knew it would only make things more obvious. I didn't know what to do.

No, he could not know about me now. I wasn't ready for this. I didn't want him.

"Jimin," he gripped my wrist, "tell me. What the hell is going on?"

"You're trembling," he said. "Don't lie, Jimin."

He stared into my eyes like he was trying to chain me there so he could force the truth out of me.

I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm really dead—

"Hoseok, can I talk to Jimin alone for a while?"

Jessica. She just saved my life from becoming a total disaster.

Hoseok stared at me. He didn't want to let go of my wrist and I was too weak to untangle my hand from his. I avoided eye contact and waited a few torturous seconds before he stood up and walked away from Jessica and me.

That was close. But damn, Jessica was going to want to know what was going on too.

When Hoseok was completely out of sight, Jessica came to sit beside me. She pulled her sleeves up and tied her hair into a pony-tail like she was preparing to have a catfight with me.

"W—what the hell," I said.

She pulled Maurice out of my hand. "Ooh, I can totally see it now, Jimin."

Jessica threw the book on the floor, along with pamphlets, broken game consoler and more random things she found on the couch, emptying her space. Then she sat down, crossing her legs, facing me. This was scary.

"All right, this is going to be easy," she muttered. "Seokjin has already told me everything, Jimin."

First and foremost I really thought it was better for Jessica to not know anything about the fight. She would question everything and she was very good at getting information out of me. She knew how to dig secrets with her manipulative ways that would make me so confused I ended up telling her every single thing.

"It's nothing, really," I started. "Hoseok's just being annoying, taking my copy of The Host and—"

I stopped as she pulled me into her tight embrace. I was suffocating in her chest.

"It's okay, Jimin," she whispered. "I told you. You should just tell me. Everything's going to be fine. Plus I know what you are—"

I struggled to push her off me. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Jimin, come on. Nobody cares about it nowadays."

"Jessica, what are you saying?"

"You're gay, aren't you? First of all, don't blame him for outing you—he thought he did the right thing. It's fine," she said.

"I know it's fine," I said. "I've nothing against it, okay?"

I stretched myself from the pressure of being crushed in her hug while she stared at me with her mouth wide open.

"JIMIN," she screamed. "You jerk!"

Then she slapped my back so hard I yelped in pain. What was wrong with her? Okay, she hadn't even mentioned Hoseok— that was good. But I wasn't interested in talking about sexuality either. I don't think I really cared that much about being known as gay, because I'd always been the weird one among the kids in my pack anyway. It didn't change anything because I was still falling in love with Hoseok even if it was unwillingly. Plus, I bet a lot of them had assumed I was gay since I didn't show interest to go out on dates with girls.

At least if I was really a homosexual, I would have the ability to lust over other guys. I could only lust after Jung Hoseok now. All werewolves knew once you found your mate, that person would be the only one you could be sexually and romantically drawn to.

Oh God. I can't watch porn anymore.

Unless Hoseok's the porn-star— Jessica slapped my arm again.

"OUCH!" I groaned. "Stop it!"

"So you were in denial all this time? How could you, Jimin! You know I've always wanted to talk about guys with you! I shouldn't have believed you! I'm your best friend, right?"

"Jessica!" I muttered angrily. "Slow down! They might hear you! And I don't think all gay guys are interested to talk only about dresses and whatnot, thank you. Wouldn't it be my choice on when and who to come out to?"

That shut Jessica up for a while.

"I know," she spoke. "But they don't mind, Jimin. They won't hurt you. Even if they do ... trust me—if anyone ever does, I'll shove my foot up their asses, I'm serious."

"It's not that!" I said. "I'm not literally gay, okay? It's difficult. Jin hyung doesn't know the whole thing!"

I was stupid. If I just let this pass I wouldn't have to tell her about me being Hoseok's mate. She wouldn't have to know.

"So what is it?" she asked.

I trembled, wiping my sweaty palms on my lap, my eyes paced around the room confusedly. Should I lie to her? I didn't think that would work—I was really bad at lying. Jessica was born with a lie-detector so strong I was certain it was a special immortal ability. There was no point telling her fabrications of this story.

"Er ... it's hard, Jess. It's very complicated," I said.

"You just ramble on," she said as she leaned back on the couch, "I can string things together."

I knew she could.

I breathed in and the words spilled out of my mouth.

T H R E E

Jimin's POV

Jessica covered her mouth, her eyes widening.

I wasn't surprised by her shocked reaction. "Oh no," she gasped. She kept repeating the same words for the next few minutes after the truth had been revealed. I told her everything from the beginning—how I became enraged, how the anger had led Hoseok and me into the forest and how the forest had become the venue of the discovery. She kept touching the scar I had from getting beaten by Hoseok.

"He has to know," she suddenly said.

"No," I pulled her closer to me. "Promise me you won't say a thing to anyone! Promise me right now, Jess!"

"But—"

"Now!" I said.

"Jimin, you know that this is wrong! Hiding from a mate is wrong, Jimin! Our pack has never had this kind of an offense before! Some alphas even punish the wolves who commit this offense. When a mate hides, it can lead to death! I thought you knew better," she said.

Suddenly my head was filled with the story my mom had told me about Grandma Victoria. I didn't think she was punished—probably because she was a girl. A female hiding from her male mate happens occasionally—their souls weren't strong enough to combat all of the sudden emotional changes. But when a male werewolf was found hiding from his mate, he was seen as a coward forever.

But this was different. My mate was a guy who'd ruined my life. I wasn't hiding from him out of fear.

Is it?

But you should never be involved in hiding someone's mate. A mate bond could drive a werewolf to madness—that's why those who couldn't sense their mates died. Apart from silver bullets, losing ability to be with a mate could kill a werewolf—how sick.

"It's all right," I said. "Nothing's happening to him, Jessica. I need you to keep quiet for now, okay? When I'm ready, I'll tell him myself. I want him to know from me."

"You have to be ready as soon as possible, Jimin," she said.

"Yeah, I know. Plus he looks fine to me. I'm hiding from him and I don't think he's going crazy from it. Maybe—"

I knew I was wrong—I guess that's why I paused. I couldn't say it because something was happening to Hoseok. He'd already sensed me, although he thought I was a girl.

"No, Jimin. Hoseok told me how he couldn't get together with Tiffany because he didn't feel anything towards her or all the other girls. He doesn't feel like he used to. He knows you're here, Jimin. I'm scared."

I sighed because there was nothing I could say. She was right. The mate bond was changing how Hoseok and I felt about things now.

I didn't know how to act. Junhong had told me once that he had an uncle who had a male mate. Maybe I should ask for the uncle's number so I could ask him for advice? No, Junhong would question me repeatedly on why I wanted the number and then Hoseok would know and things would occur in a way I didn't favor. Then maybe I should consider asking help from the online werewolf community— Hey I'm Jimin from a pack in Seoul and I'm sixteen. I was just wondering, how do I break it to a male mate that I'm his mate? Do male/male mates react similarly to female/male mates? That was just bullshit. But Hoseok didn't look that bad. He was playing video games in front of me. I was behind him, sitting on the floor, a few feet away.

Jungkook, who was also playing the game, looked fully spirited and enthusiastic as he pressed on the game console. Hoseok, however, had a blank expression on his face. His eyes were filled with confusion. He looked like he was trying to figure something out, sweat dribbling down his head. The room wasn't that warm, in fact I was in a heavy sweatshirt and I was all dry.

Bang!

Hoseok threw the game console in front of him. His eyes were bloodshot when he looked at his lap. Everyone was shocked and turned to look at him. He was breathing in and out hard, his hands clenching again and again.

Then he screamed out of pain.

"AARGH!" he shrieked.

"Hoseok, what's going on?" Chanyeol went to him. Everyone froze. I started to shiver out of anxiety. I didn't like what was happening.

I started to move when Hoseok turned his head and stood on his feet. He was shaking so much I was sure he was going to trip.

That's when he paced a few steps backwards and said, "My mate's here."

The boys turned around, looking. "Who?"

"Jessica," he shouted. "Is there someone downstairs in the hall?"

"No!" Jessica started to shiver. "We're the only ones here! There's nobody downstairs—"

"NO, JESS! She's in your house! My mate's somewhere—"

Hoseok tripped, with his back on the floor. He squeezed his head over and over like he was going crazy. "She's here!" he said. "Please, I need her."

"I'll go get my father," Sun Woo said as he started to stand up.

Holy shit. I didn't like the idea of Sun Woo's father, the Alpha, butting into this matter. I felt like I would be in trouble.

"I need her, Chanyeol. Get her. Find her! She's somewhere—"

"Fuck, dude," Chanyeol groaned. "There's no other girl, than Jessica, in this house! What are you talking about?"

Everyone pressed around Hoseok but me. Chanyeol had Hoseok's head on his lap. His eyes were shut and his tears smeared all over his face. He let out a wheeze as he struggled with the internal pain he was having, and I could only watch from afar.

After a while, Jessica joined him, too. No one seemed to notice me. I could run.

"But my mate is here. I can feel it." Hoseok started to sound weak. He was blacking out. My heart was beating so fast and I was breathing too rapidly. I had to go before Alpha Yong Bae(a/n: Taeyang from Bigbang) arrived. Things would be bad now.

"Hoseok, I—I—"

Jessica was trying to say something and I wouldn't let her. She was going to tell him his mate was here.

I ran to her and squeezed her arm as a warning.

"It's okay," I said. Then I realized that was a stupid thing to say. Nothing was okay. I was scared people would notice there was something fishy going on with me.

"Jimin," Jessica cried, "please."

"Jess," I groaned.

Hoseok's breathing became hard again. "My mate's here! Fuck, I can smell her! Really, my mate's here!"

"What's going on?" a deep voice said from behind us.

I turned around and noticed Alpha Yong Bae standing beside Sun Woo. He sped toward the crowd and came to check on Hoseok.

When Sun Woo joined the circle again, I started to make my move. Everyone had their attention on Hoseok.

Your mate is dying, Jimin.

I sneaked to the stairway, walked downstairs and tiptoed out of the house.

~ ~ ~

"Sweetheart, are you okay?"

Hoseok is screaming. I'm running away. I'm in my bed and trying to hide my head under the covers, wishing I could shrink away to nothingness so I won't have to face this horrible life of being a werewolf who has a mate that he hates—

I opened my eyes as soon as I hear my mother's voice. I could feel the back of her cool hand on my forehead. Her eyes were filled with worry.

I pulled myself up and leaned against the headboard. Every part of my body ached with pain. My head was the worst. I couldn't believe what happened yesterday. It wasn't a nightmare. I was really at Jessica's house and Hoseok went mad.

Hoseok. Is he still alive now?

"You're not well," she said. "I'm fine, Mom," I lied.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "You were supposed to be at Jessica's place with your brother. Your brother called me at midnight asking me if you were home. I had to wake up to check on you."

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"Well, if you feel better now, go clean up. We have to go to the Alpha's house."

"WHAT?" I screamed accidentally. "But—why?"

They're tracking you down, Jimin. You're dead. The whole pack will see you as a coward soon.

"Something happened to Hoseok. He's tied to a mate bond. The Alpha had to bring him to the hospital because things were getting bad. He's just been released from the E.R. this morning, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him. So the Alpha wants to see if there really is a mate hiding among us."

I was swinging around in anxiety and I accidentally knocked my digital clock off the bedside table. I gasped when it smashed to pieces.

Mom shot me a look of confusion. "Jimin, are you sure you're really okay?"

"Yeah, nothing ... I'm just surprised," I lied.

"Come on. Clean up, sweetheart. Then come eat your breakfast."

I brushed my teeth so hard that my gums bled. I kept swaying around and all type of things flew to the ground. I had to rearrange bottles of shampoos and shower creams back to the shelves since I had scattered everything.

"Jimin, are you okay? What are you doing?" Mom shouted.

"I'm okay!" I said.

I cleaned myself up and dressed myself in a white T-shirt and track-bottomed trousers. As I descended the stairs, I heard a cry.

It was Haeun, Hoseok's mother. (a/n: Jung Haeun is Hoseok's mother in this story only. Haeun is not an idol. I just create that name myself)

She was all over my mother on the couch, crying.

"Hana," Haeun tried to stop her tears, "the girl has to come out of hiding. I have no idea who she might be." (a/n: Park Hana is Jimin's mother in this story only)

"It's okay, Haeun. Yong Bae knows what to do. I know he's smart enough for this," Mom responded.

I ate the pancakes my mom made but I didn't taste a thing.

Dad was sitting across from them, thinking hard. He hadn't said a word since I came downstairs. He usually greeted me if he saw me, but I was nothing but a ghost at the moment.

"What is it, sweetheart?" my mother asked him. "Nothing," he said. "It's weird. I'm wondering who this hiding mate is. Why would a girl hide from that kid? I thought those young girls would die to be his mate."

My chest felt heavy. I couldn't do this anymore.

I couldn't finish the breakfast. I ran to the kitchen to sooth my beating heart and threw out the unfinished pancakes. I paced back and forth in the main hall and sat silently on a couch facing a muted TV show.

"Good morning, Junhong," my father said. "What are you doing?"

Fuck. Junhong's here.

"Um, Yong Bae wants all of us to be at his house now. The whole pack is gathering there. I'm patrolling around the neighborhood to check if anyone is hiding."

"All right," my dad said. "Let's go, ladies. Haeun, we're going to find this future daughter-in-law of yours!"

"Jimin."

Junhong squeezed my shoulder and I jumped in shock. I looked at him and tried to calm down.

"Where were you yesterday?" he asked. "Yong Bae wants to ask you a few questions."

"What—why? Why me?" I said, probably a little too fast.

"No, he'd grilled all of us with the same thing. I know you won't know anything about Hoseok's mate, but he insists on seeing all of us. I don't know why. Do you want me to walk with you?"

"No, it's okay. Thanks Junhong."

I walked outside quickly, avoiding eye contact with everyone. I felt like everyone's eyes were tracking every inch of me as I move. I tried to convince myself that I would be fine, but clearly nothing would be. Jung Hoseok was being tortured by a tie between us because he couldn't sense me, the boy who owned the other half of his soul. There was nothing left that could surprise me. Death was approaching.

Everyone from the pack walked into the Alpha's empty, gigantic green lawn. In Gyerim, the Alpha lived in The Main House built by our late former Alpha, Choi Seunghyun (a/n: T.O.P from Bigbang). It was a gigantic house located in the heart of the neighborhood, exactly equidistant from all other houses in Gyerim.

My heart thudded faster. I started to feel sick—I was feeling so nauseous I felt like I would vomit up all the breakfast I had.

I arrived earlier than my parents. When the other six boys noticed me, they gestured for me to come over, but I only smiled at them. I continued walking, searching for Jessica.

Yong Bae's gigantic lawn was extremely crowded. I had to push through groups of people to find her. She might have said something when Yong Bae interrogated them. But I knew she wouldn't say anything; Jessica was not the one to break promises.

I spotted her standing alone in a small, empty corner in the lawn, trying to avoid eye contact as much as she could with everyone in the gathering. "Jessica."

She looked stunned at my presence. Tears glittered in her eyes.

She pulled me closer to her as she said, "Jimin! Jimin, you are in trouble, you have to act now!"

I lost the ability to respond.

"Jimin, listen to me," she continued. "Yong Bae is mad. He's literally interrogating all of the teen girls in the pack. You remember Seulgi, Hoseok's last wolf date? She'd been grilled by the Alpha with an abundant of questions. He's going to find out about you, Jimin, he's going to—"

"Fuck, you're not helping at all, Jess."

She wouldn't listen.

"I warned you, Jimin. I knew this would happen. I knew it."

"I know." That was all I could say.

I turned around and all eyes were on us. Jessica was behaving too suspicious. Since she had been crying so much, everyone would start to think she was the one. I tried to pull her away from the crowd and calm her down.

"The boys are roaming the woods, Jimin," Jessica added. "They're trying to find this nonexistent girl they think is hiding from Hoseok. I don't care how, but you have to go to your mate today, if you want to save him. He's bad, Jimin. He's bad."

I really wanted to scream at Jessica. She didn't need to remind me of anything. I knew it was all my fault.

Then a loud shriek erupted in the air.

"AARGHHHH!"

A few feet away from here, a group of boys were swarming Hoseok as they walked out of the house. I gasped when I finally saw my mate—Hoseok had turned into a monster, possessed by some unknown entity that made him lose his mind. His grizzly face glittered under the sun; his eyes were puffy and scarlet. Everyone on the lawn turned to look at him.

And I could only stand here because I was a coward.

"Let me go," Hoseok screamed. He struggled hard to untangle his arms from the hands that held him in place. The other six boys ran up to him. I tried hard to not look suspicious, I really did.

"Hoseok, calm down," I heard one of the boys say to him.

I hadn't realized how far this had gone. It was me who everyone should blame. But strangely, there wasn't a thought in my mind about running to Hoseok and telling him I was his mate now.

Hoseok shouted in pain again, his voice reflecting his agony into the air. He pushed the boys and they stumbled backwards. He walked in a reckless motion like he wanted to attack everyone in the lawn.

Yong Bae forcefully held Hoseok's hand to prevent any further movement. Hoseok attempted a harsh move and the Alpha pinned him to the ground. Everyone gasped. I was surprised to see this side of Yong Bae. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time.

"Gain control, Hoseok!" Yong Bae screamed. A group of tall boys blocked my view. I moved a few feet closer to the scene—at least there was enough curiosity in my mind to keep me from fainting.

The Alpha of our pack pulled Hoseok's hand so hard that he stood again on his feet. Everyone backed away, afraid to be attacked by someone who was well-known as the future Alpha of the pack.

Hoseok's body trembled as he looked at his feet, his chest moving outward and inward, again and again in great speed.

"Right now we are seeing one of the worst consequences of when a mate hides their own mate!" Yong Bae shouted as he turned to us, his voice echoed across the lawn. Everyone became quiet.

"In some packs, this issue is an offense . . . a crime! This has never happened before—I've never expected to see this dilemma today! Some of you may have forgotten the deadly consequences for such behavior! The impact has almost killed Hoseok, a young hope for our pack!"

Yong Bae had his eyes trained on us. Relief flooded in my chest when he missed mine.

Hoseok was looking around with his head down. His shoulders hunched; he looked extremely fragile like a glass that would shatter with slightest touch.

"Let ... go!" Hoseok shrieked. His voice boomed across the lawn. He continued struggling to free his arm from Yong Bae's grip.

"I don't care how . . . but you have to come out from the crowd now! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! We don't care who are you and what you think will happen after this. You have to step out courageously and come to your mate now. If you decide to ignore your cowardice, this is going to become the biggest mistake you'll regret doing for the rest of your life."

My temples ached, my heart raced and my legs shivered. It was painful. I tried to breathe in and out to stabilize myself.

There's no use for that now, Jimin.

"Please!" Hoseok cried as his knees touched the ground. "Please! I know you're out there. Please don't do this to me! Please!"

There were tears in my eyes. I blinked and wiped them away.

"I'm going to call you once more. Mate of Jung Hoseok, please be fair and save him! You are the other half of his soul! He can't find his other half with any other wolf. It has to be you. You're the only one! He's already seen you in his nightmares and you're the only remedy to stop his pain!"

A great number of boys, Junhong in the lead, emerged out of the forest from the backyard fence. They were breathing hard. Junhong wiped the trickle of sweat off his head as he walked toward the Alpha of our pack.

"No one's in the forest, Yong Bae," he said. "We shifted and we can't sense anyone."

"God," Yong Bae groaned. He pressed his head hard and let out an odd scream. Hoseok was still on his knees—his tears continued sliding down his face, almost forcing the truth out of me.

"Just come out here, you cowardly bitch!" The scream from nowhere sparked chaos. Everyone continued the war cry—shrieking, cursing, bellowing and blaming the nonexistent girl, as Jessica would say. A group of girls from the other side of the crowd were bursting out in tears. The muscles of my face tightened. My eyes were getting more and more watery.

A shout was heard out of nowhere.

"Just go to him, Jessica."

Everyone turned to where the voice came from.

Bora.

From what I knew about her, she was one of the girls who'd dated Hoseok. Her face was full of pure hatred. She tied her hair into a pony-tail and approached Jessica in a menacing walk, crossing her arms over her chest.

I started to walk towards her. I tried to stop Bora but I was too late when she started speaking again.

In fact, she amplified her voice as she faced Yong Bae.

"I saw her, Yong Bae. She won't stop crying. She's also escaped your interrogation. It must be her."

I was afraid of what might happen: Hoseok would make an abrupt move and attack Jessica. But he remained where he was.

Around us were a million pairs of eyes burning with rage, disappointment, and curiosity. It was a scary sight.

"Jessica, please come here," Yong Bae said sternly.

"No," I whispered as I gripped her arm.

"Let me go, Jimin," she replied.

"But—"

"I said let me go!"

With that being said, I knew I was left with no options. I freed her arm from my grip.

But she wasn't Hoseok's mate. She couldn't do anything. What was she thinking? Sacrificing herself wouldn't solve this shit. I knew she must have known that.

Jessica shivered as she approached Yong Bae. His humongous figure made Jessica looked as tiny as an ant.

Hoseok stayed where he was, studying Jessica cautiously. He knew it wasn't her.

"Jessica, tell us the truth. Are you the one who bears the other half of Jung Hoseok's soul?" Yong Bae shouted.

"No Yong Bae, I'm not," she said clearly. Her words were a statement of truth, strong and believable.

"Are you sure, Jessica?" the Alpha pushed on. She didn't answer him. Instead, she approached Hoseok in a sluggish walk, and it only took her a few steps to face my mate.

"I know you know I'm not the one," she screamed at him. "Tell them, Hoseok! Am I the one you're looking for?"

"Jessica, please," I could hear him respond.

Jessica planted a kiss on Hoseok's wet cheek. He gripped her hand hard. Yong Bae kept his sight on them, confused.

Then Jessica stared straight at me.

I knew what was coming.

Fuck.

A group of huge guys formed a wall behind me and I knew I had no chance to run.

"I'm sorry Jimin, but you have to come out here and tell your mate the truth."

F O U R

Jimin's POV

Black clouds started to cover the blue sky above me. Even nature wasn't pleased with my behavior.

Surrounding me were eyes filled with shock. Standing a few feet away from me were my parents. They were staring at me in apprehension—terror and disappointment filled their faces. Jessica stood there to see what I would do, my brother was muttering something inaudible and the other boys were staring with their mouths wide open.

I was already a coward in their eyes.

That didn't matter now.

Hoseok was looking straight at me, his eyes were blades that could tear my chest open and rip the truth out of me. I tried to walk backwards but a wall of people blocked my way. No one was on my side. Hoseok was always the victor when I was his opponent.

My head spun. There was a vibrating sound in my ears and my sight got blurry. My heart was beating so fast. Everything was dreamlike and I wished none of this was true.

"Jimin, come here!" Yong Bae shouted.

The pressing crowd backed away. A straight pathway formed in front of me. In the center were the Alpha and my mate. I stood frozen in place until the boys pushed me from behind. I trembled a few feet away from them and had no choice but to walk forward.

Hoseok was breathing rapidly like his chest was about to explode. His face was ablaze. He jumped toward me and Yong Bae stopped him before he could do anything.

"Calm down," Yong Bae said.

"Let me go!" Hoseok screamed in response. "It's him, Yong Bae! I know it! He's the one! He's the one!"

The crowd gasped. They continued with their whisperings and mutterings as I stood here anticipating death.

"I know, I know," Yong Bae muttered. "Maybe Jimin has something to say. Jimin, please . . . come forward, son."

I was sobbing as I moved closer. My face felt metallic and sturdy, and I felt oddly invincible. My breathing was starting to even out again and I could feel some relief in my chest in realizing that there was nothing left to hide anymore.

Now I had to face the consequences.

I stood on the ground, about three feet away from Yong Bae and Hoseok. This was the closest distance I could afford to give them. Yong Bae was still holding Hoseok by his side—if he hadn't the guy probably would have lunged forward and eaten me alive by now.

"Jimin," he said, "you're the one who bears the other half of Hoseok's soul, aren't you?"

I couldn't answer him.

I felt Hoseok's warmth when he sprinted forward.

"He asked you a fucking question, you coward!" he screamed. "Answer him!"

I couldn't deny that everything about him was beautiful. Behind the rage in his eyes I could see his vulnerability. Suddenly I wanted to reach out and touch him. I died to feel his skin, to engulf myself in his warmth, to feel every piece of him on me. I wanted to beg on my knees for an apology.

He ruins your life mercilessly, Jimin. Remember that.

"You better answer Yong Bae now!" he screamed.

He held a fistful of my shirt collar in his hand as he pulled me toward him in full force until my eyes met his. Yong Bae wasn't strong enough to keep him from moving anymore. Everyone's eyes were on us like houseflies around an overflowing trash bin. I tried to breathe evenly and not think about the crowd staring at us.

I kept my sight fixed on him. I refused to be defeated.

"You'll regret this, Jimin," he said. "I ask you once again! Tell me the truth! Tell me that you're that fucking coward who hides—"

"Yes!" I screamed. "I am the one. I am that fucking coward. Satisfied?"

The adrenaline rush numbed my brain. All I could think was don't back down, you can't back down. Sweat dribbled down my face—at least they weren't tears.

I panted heavily when Hoseok didn't respond to what I had said. "Go on," I said. "Make me look like a coward. That's what you always do, anyway. Isn't that true, Hoseok? Huh? Do these people know what you've done to me? All these years?"

He remained silent.

"If they knew how you behaved, they'll understand. God knows why I don't want you, Hoseok. I don't want you in my life!"

That's it, Jimin. Back away and you're done.

Hoseok pulled my collar again, harder this time, and his lips were on mine.

Suddenly his mouth was the only thing that mattered. I could feel his teeth, his tongue, and his lips . . . it felt like he wanted to devour me. But aside from that, I sensed a spark, like an exploding firework in my chest.

His mouth eased up on mine and the world started to spin.

This is my first kiss.

His lips were made for mine. I wanted to do it again. I wanted his mouth on mine. I wanted the warmth of his lips to stay permanently on my skin. I wanted to remain like this forever.

A kiss between mates seals the two halves of their souls together . . . if a mate is too afraid to tell their mate with words about the destiny that is meant for the both of them, one should seal their lips on their mate's. Once their mouth touches their mate's, the mate bond will send impulses to the mate's brain and the two of them will bond and seal as one, together forever. Immediately, the unknowing mate will understand—these were the words from the Immortal Guide—I'd read them somewhere before and it echoed in my head loudly now.

I felt it.

I was falling deeply in love with him.

He's winning and you're losing, Jimin.

I pushed his chest as hard as I could and my fist flew toward his face. The chaos returned among the crowd.

I stared at my hands. They were bruised badly.

Hoseok's nose bled as he fell to the ground. The boys surrounded him and the rest of the pack was staring at me like I was an uncontrollable monster. Yong Bae was too stunned to make a move towards me.

"He is my mate, Yong Bae. He is," Hoseok shouted in pain.

I never thought it was possible for me to hit Jung Hoseok this hard before. Now he was laying on the ground, bleeding and broken. The green grass was starting to turn monochromatic—this usually happened to werewolves when distressing things screw with their heads.

There was no other way.

I ran. I pushed through crowds of people and headed towards the backyard and jumped over the tall fence. The screams and shouts from the crowd started to fade away as I roamed deeper in the woods.

I forced air into my lungs and ran further into the woods, trying to use all my energy so I wouldn't need to stop. I was too afraid to stay still. I needed to sprint as fast as possible to let all of this mix of excessive fear and exhaustion out.

"Jimin, don't you dare—"

Hoseok.

I turned around and saw him a few feet away behind me.

I tripped on a twig and rolled down a hill. Maybe I would die, but did it matter? I was already the biggest coward in their eyes. I was the first boy to commit the crime of hiding from his mate.

My thoughts stopped when my head hit something and the world around me turned black.

~ ~ ~

I was standing in the middle of an open space, and the sun was setting ahead of me. I didn't know exactly where I was, but about ten feet away from me was an edge of a cliff, and beyond it was a full panorama of the neighborhood our pack resided on; Gyerim.

No one knew why our late former Alpha, Choi Seunghyun, named the neighborhood that way, but, as I stood here alone, I realized how beautiful this place was it wasn't surprising mortals wanted to move here.Gyerim might have looked like any ordinary human neighborhood to them, but most were naive to the fact that half-human, half-wolf creatures resided within the whole territory.

Just when I thought about him, I heard footsteps on crunching dried leaves behind me. I turned around and noticed Seunghyun emerging out of the trees, grinning at me. I was very young when he died, but I was sure it was him standing before me now. My mother told me he'd suffered a deadly disease. As a remarkable architect, Seughyun had designed and paid to build this neighborhood during his final days, awarding the houses and space to the whole pack he'd led for almost two decades.

I didn't know if I should smile, and I was pretty certain this wasn't real. So I just stood and remained in silence.

"Jimin," he called my name.

"Seunghyun?"

"Be brave, son," he said. "Hold on and believe."

I was about to respond when the vision of him disappeared, and the world spun so fast that the sky turned pitch-black in a flash. A shot of agony bewildered inside my head, and I found myself screaming when I woke up.

I opened my eyes to pure darkness. I was staring straight at the gloomy night sky. Stars twinkled and gleamed—it was the only source of light. My heart was racing at the speed of light. For a short second I didn't know where I was, but then I remembered tripping and Hoseok had joined me in the forest. That single memory intertwined causing me to recall all the events that had happened today. The gathering, the crowd, the eyes, the shout, the arguments—everything came back to me, boom, boom, boom. My brain sent impulses to my heart and it continued beating fast. The anxiety of being alone in the forest was one thing but being lost here was another. Maybe I was lost here. I didn't want to return either—I was pretty sure I could track my scent back to the neighborhood if I shifted.

I wasn't ready for a confrontation.

Park Jimin was going to be a name people would always remember. He's the coward, they might say. He's the first in the pack hiding from his mate.

I got up on my feet and realized there was moisture on my face. I had been crying as I ran into the forest—I hadn't realized this until now.

My chest felt heavy and I decided to let all the tears out. As I walked I tried to scream out all the pain I was feeling.

"It's not fair!" I shrieked. "You don't know who he is! He's a motherfucker! He's an asshole!"

My voice echoed in the forest gloomily. I heard crickets chirping and owls hooting in the dark. Maybe they understood me.

If nature really did understand me, it knew I was lying to myself. It wasn't because Hoseok was an asshole to me or because of what he did to me . . . I knew I had always been use to him being a jerk. The thought of me falling in love with him was the thing that scared me the most.

Of course I would be falling in love with him—it was inevitable for mates.

I couldn't believe it. It was happening now.

"Please," I cried more as I let my knees fell to the ground. "Hoseok, please . . ." I muttered his name.

I wanted him. It wasn't just right. The thought of craving him was ridiculous. He was that guy, the guy that girls swooned for. He could make anyone fall for him and the last person I thought that would be was me. I didn't want to be the next person who would be head over heels for him.

The thought of hitting him till he bled was both torturing and satisfying. I had always wanted to stand up to him, tell him to stop calling me names, scream at him to leave me alone and to fuck off. On the other hand, I wanted him to look at me and kiss me again . . . like he had.

I jumped in shock when a hand gripped my shoulder.

I turned around and recognized those sparkling eyes in the dark. It was still full of fury and vulnerability. Then there was the pair of lips—luscious, tender, the lower was fuller than the upper one. I had kissed those lips not too long ago.

"Get out!" I screamed. "Go away and leave me alone!"

Surprisingly, he chuckled and let out an evil smile. Then those feelings returned—I was eleven years old again, afraid he might physically hurt me with his humongous physical build.

I pressed those feelings away and started at him by hitting his chest as hard as possible with my fists. It was like punching a rock; my hands throbbed as an aftereffect. Hoseok remained steady in the dark. His grin getting wider—the starlight was bright enough to let me see his expression. I hit him again and he caught my wrist. He pulled me toward him until his face was less than an inch from mine.

"You were crying out for me," he whispered. "I'm here now."

I pulled myself away. He was starting the game all over again and I promised myself I wouldn't lose.

"Fuck you," I cursed. "Get the hell away from me, you—"

"Wow, you really are a coward," he said. He laughed before adding, "This is the weirdest emotional reaction I've ever seen from someone that had fallen for me."

"Shut up!" I screeched.

"I've never seen this before," he continued. He took my hand and slid it under the fabric of his tank top.

I balled up my hand just as my hand touched his bare skin.

"Why don't you just touch me . . . like this?"

My head was burning with pure anger when I pushed him so hard we fell down to the ground. I got him under me and I seized the opportunity by punching his face as hard as I could.

"You fucker," I said. "I won't let you put a finger on me anymore."

I got up on my feet and put my sole on his tummy. I attempted a kick when he grabbed my leg and I fell on my back.

Then Hoseok was above me, sitting on my torso, his weigh pinning me down.

I tried to hit him as hard as I could with my free hand. Just as I was about to punch his mouth he seized my wrist tightly and bent forward, his lips approaching my face.

"Jimin, this will be easy . . ." he muttered.

No, I screamed. No. I won't back down now.

With a scream I pushed his body with all the energy left in me. We ended up rolling down a hill, balled up against each other. I kicked whenever I could. I tried not to let anything force me from stopping. My hands and my knees were attacking my mate again and again, refusing to let go.

It was too dark but all I knew was his lips were all over mine again.

The warmth of his breath was too overwhelming my whole body relaxed.

"Stop," I panted, but Hoseok forced my lips shut with his lips. Truth be told, I didn't want him to stop; the feel of his skin on my body was euphoric, escalating my nerves and adrenaline, and I wanted more of it. He sucked the air out of me, returning it with his own. His hands were pressing against my palms. He seized me on the ground, not allowing me to move when his lips traveled around my face and down to my neck.

"Hoseok, I can't . . ." I said, but he ignored me. His lips were now on my collarbone down to my chest. His hands slid under my thin T-shirt, feeling every inch of my skin, making my heart hammered faster in my chest. His touch drained all the energy out of me. My mate is here for me.

"You're not allowed to tell me to stop," he whispered. "After what you've done to me, you can't tell me what to do."

He continued kissing me. It was gentle and fierce at the same time. It was too overwhelming I was certain it would kill me. Nobody had ever made me feel this way.

A vision of the night spun around me, my head was throbbing wildly again.

"You're dead, Jimin," Hoseok said to me—I could hear laughter in his voice. "I'm paying you back for what you've done to me. You're dead."

I couldn't open my eyes anymore. I could only feel as his hands slid under my arms as he lifted me with my face against his chest. The smell of his body poured all over me, driving me crazy and hot.

Shit, wake up and run, Jimin. Wake up now!

I had to accept it again. In Round Two, Hoseok was again the victor.

I will have to work harder next time, I guess . . .

~ ~ ~

I wasn't really awake, but I did realize my head was on someone's arm.

I was by my mate's side on a bed. I could recognize his scent now. I was too dizzy to open my eyes so I could only feel as his hand lingered on my body, rubbing my head. I felt him kissing me, again and again, very gently but full of pure passion.

"My mate," I heard he muttered in my drowsiness. "I'm with my mate. Finally."

The happiness in his voice sounded so genuine. Why wouldn't I just let it stay there?

I could only hear as he chuckled to himself. "It's you, Jimin. How could I've never noticed that before? You were so into me."

No, I'm not, my head screamed, but, of course, it was inaudible to Hoseok. He continued brushing his lips over my skin and I could do nothing but to snuggle deeper into his arms. He felt so comfortable; I could sleep in his arms like this forever.

"You'll come around soon," he said.

That was the last thing I heard from him before I drifted off into a deep sleep.

~ ~ ~

He's kissing me . . . his lips touch my chest . . . down to my tummy . . . into my—

I woke up abruptly to a weird terror that was creeping in my chest.

Things clicked altogether—what happened yesterday. Then a name popped up in my head: Hoseok.

I blinked painfully to the brightness of the morning light. I focused my sight to a sense of weird familiarity.

I knew this bedroom.

I was on a bed, to my left was a small lamp table with a framed picture of Jung Hoseok. Posters of soccer and football stars were all over the wall. To my right were a window pane and a study desk with piles of papers and books.

I can't believe it! I spent a night in Hoseok's bed!

Then I realized what happened yesterday.

"I'm paying you back for what you've done to me. You're dead."

The words echoed in my head, bouncing on and off the walls, flying like bullets that wanted to shoot straight into my heart.

This room was definitely illegal territory for me. Junhong and I had sneaked into this place once. Junhong wanted to secretly borrow his brother's iPod. Hoseok eventually caught us, and, of course, the victim of his terrifying scowls was me instead of his damn little brother.

"Hey lazy ass, wake up."

When his eyes met mine, all the thoughts running in my head stopped.

"You better get up now," he said. The intended humorous tone still hadn't left his voice. "You got . . . to face reality."

The fury set in again, burning my head.

"Shut up," I groaned.

"Knock it off," he said. "I told you. You can't tell me what to do."

He was laughing as he walked towards me. He sat down beside me on the bed. At his approach I had gotten up immediately, building some distance between us.

His snickers and chuckles annoyed me. But deep inside, I couldn't resist the way his gaze touched all of me. He actually had the ability to control the speed of my racing heart now. That was certainly unfair.

"You're messy," he said as his hand came on top of my head.

"Get off!" I grunted, skimming his hand off my head.

"But you're cute too," he continued. "You better shut up." I hated that I didn't have any other words to say. Heat kept blossoming on my face.

I should've just stood up and gotten out of the room. Instead, I scooted a few inches away from him, still sitting on the bed beside him. He laughed some more at what I did. I looked away. His eyes lingering on me didn't help.

He slid closer to me. Surprisingly, I froze. I just couldn't move. I didn't exactly know why. At some point I thought Hoseok had used some cursed spell that could control my mind.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling my head closer to his body.

"I thought you were very cute in your sleep," he said.

Shut up! I'll kill you if you say one more word—

His mouth came close to my ear, "But you're way cuter . . . when you whine."

"I do not whine!" I screamed.

"Really? Okay, you're so adorably cute when you sulk. Is that a truer word for it . . . sulking?" he sniggered.

"Just shut up! Shut up!"

With that being said, I got up from the bed and went straight into the bathroom. I slammed the door shut and leaned my back on it, trying to figure out how to breathe right again.

Don't cry, I told myself. It wasn't my first time being teased like that. But now, Hoseok did it for a different purpose. I knew his flirtatious whisper was intended to make himself irresistible to me, so I couldn't help myself.

I really wanted to kiss him again.

"Dude," he shouted beyond the door, "you're not going to hide in there forever."

"Go away!" I bellowed.

"If you want to clean up, I've put some new clothes on the bed for you. Better wash yourself. You stink," he said and then chuckled again.

Nothing was funny at this moment. Why did everything always seem like a comedy to him?

Someone knocked on the bathroom door. "Jimin."

Shit. Why won't he leave? "I told you! Leave me alone!"

"C'mon," he said, "open the door for a while."

"No!" I said.

"I swear I won't do anything to you. Just for a little while."

I remained where I was and waited for him to go. "Fine. If you don't want to brush your teeth, I don't care. Let your mouth rot—"

I opened the door and shot him a look. When he smiled the heat came flushing back to my cheeks.

"Take this," he said as he handed me a still-in-the-package toothbrush, "the toothpaste is at the sink."

"Thanks," I muttered—it came out as more of a groan. I didn't understand why I was too numb to move. I could only stand and stare at the beautiful sight of my mate.

"Now, go,"I grunted.

His lips kissed my cheekbone and my face was an untouchable hot burning rock.

"Fuck," I whispered. "Don't! Now, please . . . go!"

He chuckled as he held his hands up. "Okay."

I slammed the door shut and slid my back down to the floor.

I looked at the scarlet-colored cheeks in the mirror. I couldn't believe it was my face. I definitely looked pale and terrible, the paleness of my skin was so transparent that the blush stood out solidly against my skin tone.

I tried to calm myself down. I told myself repeatedly that I just need to clean up, get out of there, and run to my house and everything would be over.

I brushed my teeth until I realized the T-shirt I wore felt strangely large. My thoughts confirmed I wasn't wearing something I had put on yesterday.

That led me to think of Hoseok undressing me and changing my clothes.

I stared around in shock when I kicked something under the sink. A green basket had fallen down and dirty clothes spilled out of it. There it was—my dirty clothes, covered in dirt and mud from being in the dark meadow yesterday.

Did Hoseok change my clothes? Does that mean that he stripped me and he saw me—

Naked?

Oh God!

I tried to drain all the thoughts away and washed my face as quickly as possible, wrath burning in my head. This was technically another bully tactic by Hoseok, only with a different method. The impact of him kissing me was not that much different from how he had teased and picked on me . . . I hated it.

No, you don't hate it. In fact, you want more.

"Shut up!" I screamed at myself. Oh, great—now I was going insane.

I couldn't linger any longer in this room. Now, I just had to avoid interaction with any of Hoseok's family members. I was still too angry I might try to lunge at any of them if they tried to ask me why I hid from my own mate. I rinsed my head with cold water as if it could numb my brain and dried myself with a towel hung on the wall. I took my dirty clothes from the basket and rushed out the door. In the corridor outside Hoseok's bedroom, I could hear muffled sounds from downstairs. The whole family was waiting for my arrival there.

At the end of the hallway was an open window that would lead me to the backyard if I jumped out. It would hurt a little, of course. But a little pain was worth it—I really did not wish to see Hoseok's whole family now.

I breathed in deeply and swung one of my legs out of the window. I had to land on the surface of an awning roof about three feet below me.

The surface of the window opening was so sharp my butt throbbed with pain. I couldn't hold on any longer. I closed my eyes and without counting . . . I jumped.

Bang!

When my back hit the awning, a shot of extreme pain ran down my spine. I let out a yell to the impact. The awning roof sloped downwards and I started to slide downwards. My head hit the grass first when I landed.

Footsteps clattered somewhere around me. Great—the happy family had heard the noises now.

"Holy crap, what do you think you're doing, Jimin?" Junhong screamed.

I fought the pain and tried to stand on my feet. Junhong, Haeun and Daehyun(a/n: Hoseok's dad) stared at me. The same look that the crowd had on their faces yesterday reflected in their eyes. It was like they were seeing a completely new person when they looked at me.

Rudely enough, I walked past Daehyun and Haeun and tried to run out onto the neighborhood street.

Hoseok caught my arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" he bellowed.

I turned to look in another direction and pushed to my side so hardly that he tumbled backwards and I was free to move again. I walked as fast as possible once he was out of my way and got out of the yard and onto the street.

I made my way swiftly towards my house. But, of course, Hoseok wasn't giving up. I could feel the thumping footsteps he made on the ground. Once again, his hand landed on my shoulder. He grabbed me and pulled me so I was facing him again.

"You're stupider than I thought," he groaned. "What a surprise."

"Get your hands off me!" I said and pushed him with the maximum amount of energy I could extend. But he was strong enough to gain control. His hands reached my arms as he seized me.

"Why? Are you too afraid of falling in love with me? Admit it, Jimin. Stop lying to yourself."

I punched his chest as hard as I could and pushed him over so he could no longer touch me. He let go of his hands and I paced toward him menacingly. I was shivering from pure anger I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"You listen here, motherfucker," I said. "You might think I'm still an easy target for your game. But you're going to see I'm not." "So you think this is all a game?" Hoseok let out a gigantic laugh that erupted in the silent empty street. "You're pathetic."

"Everything's a game to you," I hissed at him. "Because you're an asshole."

I decided not to say a word and walked away. Again, his hand gripped me.

"You're really insane," he said.

"Get away from me!" I screamed.

He was still touching me and the thought of it only added oil to the burning inferno in my chest.

"I said, get the hell away from me!"

I attempted a punch and it hit his jaw. He looked stunned by my sudden reaction as he rubbed his chin.

"You really can't help playing it rough, can you?"

Then, he lunged at me like a lion catching its prey.

Two of his large strong hands pushed me backwards and immediately I flew backwards and tripped on the ground facedown.

I let out a loud cry when I felt like I sprained my arm. My head throbbed when it banged on the cement walkway. I lied down on my back and tried to hold my arm so it didn't sprain worse.

Something dripped down my forehead to my nose.

Blood.

Hoseok's eyes went wide. He remained where he had pushed me, shock filling his face. My vision blurred, my head started to spin.

After a few short seconds, he ran to me.

"J—Jimin, I'm . . . I'm really sorry—"

"Don't you dare touch me!"

I scooted backwards away from him and tried to stand up. I looked at him one last time before I turned around and limped all the way back home.

F I V E

Jimin's POV

I locked myself in my bedroom the whole day. One of the good things about being a shape-shifter was that I could heal fast. My sprained arm was starting to get better.

I had to ignore how shocked my family looked when I showed up injured yesterday.

I only went downstairs when I got hungry to make myself a sandwich.

I ate silently and caught Jin hyung watching me.

"What?" I groaned.

"N—nothing," he responded.

After I finished my sandwich, I went back to my room again and locked myself in. I finished all the homework I had for the week in a blink of an eye—it was as if I breathed in all the work sheets and research papers. But just as I had finished everything, I started to think about Hoseok and felt like bursting out in tears again.

I opened the word processor on my computer and tried to write.

I didn't know what to write about. Visions of my mate popped up everywhere, my brain had stopped trying to figure things out.

I ran to the bookshelf, picked a book, and lay down on my bed.

I don't know why the fuck I picked The Host—once I opened it up and saw Hoseok's scribbles on the title page, I threw the book away from me. The already-ruined mass market paperback exploded, piles of papers flew in the air, scattering around the floor. I leaned against the headboard of the bed and squeezed my head.

My cell phone started ringing.

Jessica's picture popped up on the phone screen. She had called me a ton of times and I had decided I didn't want to answer. She must have blamed herself for what happened—I would talk to her if she didn't bring up anything concerning Hoseok. But, of course, she would and I didn't have time for that right now.

A few hours later, Namjoon called. Relief filled my brain because Namjoon was the only person on the planet that wasn't affected by what happened yesterday. We talked all day about how he was developing a crush on Irene, a girl from our English class. Last week, he said he wanted to marry Sulli; Tiffany's best friend from the cheerleader group and one of the girls Hoseok used to date.

"I mean, I don't mind even if she's older because she smiled at me. I mean, I swear . . . man, would you believe me?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," I responded blankly.

"What about you, man? Would you date Irene or Sulli?"

"Neither," I whispered. I thought I was inaudible but Namjoon responded immediately.

"What? Neither? Are you serious? What's wrong . . . do you think I have bad tastes in girls?" he asked.

"No, it's just—" It's just I can only lust over and love this one guy now. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I—I don't like girls, Namjoon."

I don't know why those words popped out of my mouth. I never thought about how Namjoon would react if he found out about my feelings toward Hoseok. . . like the rest of the school, Namjoon seemed to admire Hoseok, even though he witnessed Hoseok ruining my life.

Would he understand my feelings were different now?

At first there was prolonged silence. Then, Namjoon's voice returned.

"Oh, that . . ." he said.

I didn't respond. I could feel the surprise he felt.

Technically, I really didn't like girls now. Namjoon would assume I was gay, just like Jessica and Jin hyung had—it was better than nothing.

I might not be his best friend anymore. He might think we won't be talking about girls like we usually do.

"Dude . . . I gotta go. I'll call you later," he said, ending the conversation.

"Okay. See you . . . dude."

I was pushing everyone out of my life and the feeling was unpleasant.

Time was irreversible, and there was nothing I could do to change the past. But there was something I could do about the future.

After the conversation with Namjoon, I fell asleep. The next morning, Mom walked into my bedroom and woke me up.

I stretched myself and felt better—it felt like the start of a typical normal day.

Mom kissed me on the forehead. I buried my face in her chest, letting her embrace cleanse me of all the pain I felt. It felt nice to be treated like a small child again. "It's okay," she murmured. "Will you return to us now?"

"What do you mean?" I laughed.

"Your dad and I missed you, Jimin," she said. "Come back to us. Everything's fine."

"Okay, okay," I said. "I'm sorry."

With that being said, I jumped out of bed, washed up and went downstairs. I felt extremely energized all of a sudden for some unknown reason. I guess I had nothing left to lose—I had been broken up for the past few days and it must have made me invincible now.

I could actually enjoy the pancakes I was having now. Jin hyung was sitting across from me, his eyes full of apprehension.

"Hi," I greeted him, almost sounding too cheerful. "Hello," he said.

Then he spoke so fast I felt like I was at the last minutes of my life. Jin hyung was talking about a soccer game he'd watched yesterday. I would always listen to Jin hyung and pretend I understand sports, even if I didn't. I nodded a few times when I could.

"Like, I can't believe that Ji Ho(a/n: lol this name isn't exist among the football players okay?) didn't goal it, you know? He was only a few inches from the ball . . . he could've kicked sideways and gave a pass to Park Jisung(a/n: I only know this football captain so yeah). . . Dad didn't agree . . . you know Dad—"

"Where's Dad, though?" I asked Jin hyung out of the blue.

"What? Oh, he's out in the yard with Junmyeon."

I groaned. I didn't like the idea that the neighbors might have started talking to my family just because of the incident. It wasn't like I was dead and my family needed their condolence. I grunted some more and tried to keep my mind on how delicious these blueberry pancakes were.

"Don't worry," Jin hyung responded. "Junmyeong wasn't there when . . . you know, Yong Bae gathered us."

"What?" It was surprising. I thought the whole pack had to be there. "Where was he?"

"Jimin, didn't you know? Junmyeon has proposed to his mate. The wedding's scheduled for the middle of the summer."

I had almost choked on a bite of pancake. I couldn't believe I missed this information. I hated Hoseok for driving me crazy and taking up room in my head, causing me to miss the things happening around me.

Junmyeon had married Luna twenty-five years ago. Luna wasn't Junmyeon's mate, but they lived quite happy together as spouses. They had two daughters; Kyungshin, who was now taking Professional Advanced Literature in Northwestern, and Heejoo, who was now majoring in Medicinal Studies in Russia. Then there was Chanyeol. Mates had seemed mythical to me once just because I had never seen any problems between Junmyeon and Luna when they were together.

Still, it's a big risk for werewolves to be with someone who isn't their mate. Two years ago, Junmyeon and Luna split up. Luna had found her mate, her destined someone, who she would spend the rest of her life with. According to Mom, Luna and her mate had been communicating with each other for a year. It was hard for Junmyeon, but he and his ex-wife ended things on good terms.

Luna and her mate Ki Bum now were living in an apartment in Ilsan. Ki Bum was a solitary, a wolf who was not bounded to a communal pack. Luna had decided to join him and had become a solitary too. Chanyeol visited them sometimes during the summer although he didn't enjoy it that much—Chanyeol loathed travelling long distance.

The good news though is that two months prior, Chanyeol had told us that his father had found his true mate. She was a schoolmate of Junmyeon's, when he had been studying in America. She'd been a solitary and her husband had passed away last year. Mom told me that this was destiny—maybe Luna was meant to be with Junmyeon for a short time because Chanyeol, Heejoo, and Kyungshin were still destined to be in his life. If the marriage had not happened, there would have been no Chanyeol for us.

"So you shouldn't have any regrets," Mom had said. "When the gathering happened," Jin hyung told me, "Junmyeon was in Daegu, discussing the wedding with his mate. Yong Bae agreed that Junmyeon's mate should join our pack once they married. Junmyeon will never leave the pack. Although, it's hard for his mate to accept the decision, she agrees. Gyerim will have a newbie soon."

"Why would it be hard for her?" I asked.

"Well, her dead husband is a mortal," Jin hyung told me. "To marry him, she had to hide her lycanthropic identity and become a solitary. She hasn't been in a pack since she left her childhood pack a decade or so ago, I think."

"I hope Dad won't say a word about the gathering to Junmyeon," I murmured. "You know how 'concerned' he is."

I did the air-quote sign to Jin hyung. He laughed and gave a smile to someone behind me.

"Hey Junmyeon," Jin hyung said.

"Hey boys," Junmyeon responded.

I wished like shit that he hadn't heard what I had said.

"How are you doing?" he added. Junmyeon sounded so bright lately. He always had a smile on his face no matter what happened in the pack. It was probably the aftereffect of being together with his mate. . .

I wished I had that.

"I'm good," Jin hyung replied.

"Oh yeah?" Junmyeon muttered brightly. "What about you?"

He squeezed my left shoulder like he knew what happened to me.

"Er . . . I'm good?" It came out more like a question. Am I good?

"Of course," he added cheerfully. "Summer is approaching."

Jin hyung shot me a look that signaled his confusion.

Turning to Jin hyung, Junmyeon said, "As for you, Seokjin, you will be in your senior year of high school in the fall along with the some of the other boys—I'm pretty sure you're thrilled about that."

"Oh, yes," Jin hyung responded enthusiastically. "But—summer's like . . . a month away?"

"Hey, one month is like tomorrow to me," Junmyeon said.

"I really need to pass Mr. Kang's pre-calc class to graduate next year," Jin hyung responded.

"And you, Jimin," Junmyeon pressed my shoulder harder, "I'm quite surprised."

"Er . . . why?" I asked.

"Well, I'm surprised your mate is not here." He chuckled and left Jin hyung and me alone in the dining room.

Go away now . . . just, go away!

~ ~ ~

"Hello?" I said as an unknown number called me.

"Hello? Jimin? This is your friend, Ho—"

I hung up, opened the cell phone and took the battery out. Maybe I was being too paranoid, but that's what I did.

Obviously, I would be able to recognize his voice by now.

It felt quite good to know that Hoseok hadn't forgotten me completely.

No, my head warned me.

I went to bed and the next day came way faster than I thought it would.

It was six so I got up, made a sandwich, and ran to the tree house. I decided not to climb up there though because I hadn't prepared myself to face my mate yet. I roamed a little deeper into the surrounding trees and sat there, leaning against a big trunk of a tree, closing my eyes for a short nap.

After what felt like a few minutes, I was quite a bit confused as to why the boys still hadn't arrived at the tree house yet. They should've been here by now, but I didn't see any of them.

I came out from among the trees and went back to the tree house. When I arrived at the foot of the tree, there was an intensifying silence as the morning wind blew. I shivered as I reached for the rope stairs and climbed up to the tree house.

No one was there.

The strangeness felt unpleasant. I checked behind things and in hidden corners and there was nothing. Where were they?

The bus honked, causing me to jump. I looked at my wristwatch and noticed that it was half past seven. I hesitated—it felt odd to realize I was the only one here.

Impatiently, Jaesuk(a/n: omg don't kill me bcs I'm putting Yoo Jaesuk here xD), the bus driver, honked again. "Hurry up, boys!"

I hurried to the bus and turned back for one last look before I climbed up into the bus.

"Where are the others?" Jaesuk asked.

"I—I don't know . . ." I said, looking behind me again, searching for anybody running towards the bus.

Jaesuk baffled. "You don't know? How come you don't know?" I ignored him and walked straight to the back to find seats. I picked the one next to a window and waited as the bus drove down the hill to the center of Daeil.

It felt weird not having the boys present and being all alone. It wasn't like I wanted Hoseok to be there . . . but still. This had never happened before.

Jaesuk hated picking us up at the tree house. Gyerim was like the most inconvenient place he had to drive to—through a forest and up a hill. The tree house would be the last place he picked up before he drove to Daeil High and the first stop when he drove all of us home.

I put my head on the window and tried to fall asleep. The roar of the engine was too loud and I didn't feel drowsy. The surface on the window quivered and shook as the bus moved, it made my head spin.

The bus stopped at a red light.

"Jimin! Jimin!"

I opened my eyes to the call of my name. When I turned to look out the window, my heart stopped.

There was a white old van beside the bus. The girl who called my name was Jessica, sitting in the driver's seat. The boys were all seated in the vehicle, staring at me with flabbergasted expressions.

"Jimin," Jessica shouted, "where were you? We were trying to find you, but we couldn't and—"

"Looks like someone missed the news," someone laughed. He was sitting in the passenger seat next to the driver.

"Hoseok, will you shut up?" Jessica screamed.

The bus moved and I stumbled forward.

They didn't need the bus now—or so it seemed. They had a van and I didn't know anything about it. It would be heavenly to realize I didn't have to use the bus anymore—they knew I would be happy.

Why were they leaving me out?

Tears stung my eyes and I dried them away immediately. Maybe it was disgraceful to befriend someone who was so well-known for his cowardice. I was too disgusting for them now.

I didn't need to push them out of my life—they backed away voluntarily.

I held the urge to sob. It didn't matter. I might be a little lonely without them, but it wasn't the end of the world. I had Namjoon—

Did I still have Namjoon? I wasn't his 'straight buddy' anymore. He thought I was gay and that meant he couldn't openly talk about the cheerleader members with me now. Was he going to shut me out of his life too? I wasn't so sure.

I struggled to keep my tears in, my heart felt so heavy. When the bus stopped right in front of Daeil High I sprinted into the hall and to my locker. I picked everything necessary for English and walked straight to the library. I was sure I didn't have anyone waiting for me in the cafeteria.

~ ~ ~

I went straight to the fiction section when I arrived at the library to pick something random to read. There weren't many choices for me to pick from, which was the only bad thing about the school library. Sure, there was a lot of biology and historical reference books, but storybooks? My school didn't really have many of those.

I picked a Jane Austen book and was turning to go find somewhere to read it when I bumped someone's forehead with my own.

"Ow!" I winced.

"Oh, sorry," the boy said. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," I responded, pressing my fingers to my forehead and hoping it didn't bruise.

"I'm searching for chemistry references," he said. "This library's impossibly big and I'm new here—"

I looked up and realized I hadn't seen this kid before.

"You're a new kid?"

"Yeah. Just moved here. My mom's marrying a guy from town and we had to move here. I'm from Gyeonggi, by the way."

His black hair appeared under the bright fluorescent light. He was about my height, looking small and fragile and his face was pale enough for the dark-brown of his eyes to stand out.

I'd never noticed any attractive qualities in any guys before. If I didn't have a mate . . . well, I might find this boy attractive. He was pretty enough I couldn't tear my eyes off of him.

"Er, I'm Baekhyun, by the way," he held out his hand.

"I'm Jimin," I smiled and shook his hand.

I showed Baekhyun to the scientific reference section in the library. Then we sat at the same table and basically chatted in whispers.

"Is this your first day?" I asked.

"Yep. I registered in last Friday, actually. It was hectic, the whole moving to a new town. It's like the final semester before summer so I have to get some things done to be in junior year next year," he said. "It was quite messy."

"It's okay. We have a lot in common. I'm pretty screwed with this semester too. I'm pretty sure we can survive."

Before the bell rang for the start of first period, I found out that Baekhyun and I were in the same pre- calc class. It was our last period before school ended and we elected to sit near each other. He thought it would be easier for him to have someone he knew close since he was new.

After parting ways with Baekhyun, I walked straight to English without searching for Namjoon like I usually did. The urge to talk to him had started to creep up on me again.

English would be tough, along with all the other classes I had since there was only three weeks until school ended. Assignments, essays and literary researches had to be done. I had to give all my focus to what Mrs. Kim was trying to say. Everybody was busy, including Namjoon. We hadn't really had much time to talk to each other. Upon entering the classroom we were thrown into writing calligraphies, copying notes and discussing books. It was tough as hell.

In Biology, I had to hand in my research report. Mr. Ahn told me to redraw some graphs, telling me I wasn't doing it properly. Of course I hadn't—I had done the report with my focus drowning in thoughts of Hoseok, the Saturday right after the gathering.

In between switching periods, I had to avoid eye contact with the kids from my pack. They were talking, of course. As I passed them by, they were murmuring and whispering to themselves.

"That's Hoseok's mate."

"I can't believe it."

"They'll be cute together!"

"Jimin's lucky!"

I wish I could put them in my shoes for a second.

As usual, I went to the cafeteria during break. I had two beef burritos with me. Shortly after, Namjoon appeared and sat beside me.

No one talked for a few minutes. Weirdly enough, my heart started to hammer in my chest. There was a sense of self-consciousness inside of me, as if Namjoon was judging me, trying to spot any difference in me since now I was no longer the heterosexual boy that he knew.

"Jimin. . . I'm just, I think it's unfair."

Wow. That's a great opener to a conversation!

My mouth was full when I saw Baekhyun and started yelling his name. My voice was slightly inaudible, but the guy heard it.

"Hey, Jimin!"

He had something like a large cheeseburger in his hand as he approached me.

"Do you mind if I take a seat?"

"No," I said. "No one's sitting there."

He took a seat beside me as he gave his burger a big bite. He looked like he was doing fine for his first day.

"By the way, I was looking for you just now," Baekhyun said. "There's something I want to say."

"Er, who is this?" Namjoon whispered to me.

"Baekhyun," I murmured. "New kid. Baekhyun, this is Namjoon. Namjoon, this is Baekhyun."

Namjoon shot Baekhyun a confusing look instead of holding out his hand.

I ignored him and returned to Baekhyun. "What is it that you want to tell me?" "Well, this is awkward," he responded hesitantly, "but please tell your boyfriend I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spark his jealousy or anything—I told him I just met you and—"

"What?" I almost shrieked. "B—boyfriend? What are you talking about?"

"Wow, you have a boyfriend and I didn't know anything. So many things I still don't know about you," Namjoon said. He sounded extremely sarcastic it stunned me for a while.

"Err, your boyfriend? That big cute junior guy—I heard he's quite popular. God, I can't believe I've forgotten his name. I believe it's—"

"Who is this person?" Namjoon pressed on.

"Don't say it!" I screamed.

Baekhyun stared at us with confusion. "Err, well . . . okay."

"What did he say to you?" I asked.

"Who's this big cute junior guy?" Namjoon insisted.

A group of jocks I recognized as Hoseok's best buddies entered the cafeteria. I looked away, realizing some of them were the kids from my pack. Now the idea of being in a school full of werewolves and immortals seemed like a bad idea. I could absolutely deny everything with the mortals, but not when the werewolves knew that I was Hoseok's mate.

"Oh . . . there he is," Baekyun said apprehensively. "I should go."

"No, it's okay—"

"I'm good. See you in pre-calc, Jimin."

I watched as Baekhyun walked away. Namjoon's face was filled with hateful wrath as he stared at me. He tried as hard as he could to not look like he cared. Maybe it really wasn't fair that I hadn't told him about this.

He stood up to leave and I pulled his hand.

"What?" he scowled. "First, I didn't know you were gay. And now you have a super popular boyfriend. I thought I was your best friend, Jimin. Best friend."

"Namjoon, wait," I said. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? It wasn't easy for me, too. I thought I'd lose you if you knew I'm not into girls."

"How could you, dude? You thought I was that kind of person?" he rebelled, starting to take his seat back.

"Look, it's complicated. I'm not technically gay, okay? It's hard to explain, Namjoon."

"You know I can be all ears," he persisted.

I sighed. "Okay, please don't freak out, but I'm . . . I'm—" Biting his fries again, Namjoon looked so curious he would blow to pieces in no time.

"I'm a werewolf."

He chewed the food he was eating more slowly this time. But I was surprised he didn't spray it out or anything. He was just wide-eyed, looking like he needed more air to breathe.

"Oh, fuck," he cursed. "Not another one."

"W—what do you mean?" I asked.

"No, I—I am not supposed to tell you but, err . . ." he hesitated. "Luhan, that guy from my basketball team? He's a werewolf too. I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but—"

"Luhan's from my pack," I told him. "It's fine."

He was still studying my expression with disbelief filling his eyes.

"Look, I'm not the only one. I can say more than half of the kids in this school are half-human half- wolf. That includes the teachers, Namjoon."

"Oh, crap," Namjoon gasped. "Wasn't I supposed to not know this?"

"Not really," I said. "Some of the mortals know."

"Mortals?"

"Full humans like you," I clarified. "By the way, how did you discover that Luhan is a wolf?"

"Um, every Friday after school Luhan, some of his buddies and I will go to this abandoned basketball court in this meadow to do some practice. They teach me a lot lately since I'm not that good . . . well, I'm better now. Then there's one time where a gigantic, pretty dog suddenly flew out of the trees and landed on me. I got really freaked out and a minute later he was Yoongi. That's when they thought I should know, but they warned me that people would think I was crazy if I spread it around."

Namjoon flashed a sudden smile and then everything felt like it was back to normal.

"Don't try to change the subjects," Namjoon continued. "I still hate you. I deserve to know! I'm your best friend! I have been ever since we were like . . . ten—wait, are we? You should've trusted me."

"I'm sorry, Namjoon. Like I said, you're my good friend and I thought you would freak out if you knew I could turn into a wolf."

"Again, you're underestimating me," he said. As we both broke out in laughter, he added, "I hope I'm your only friend who knows about your shape-shifting abilities."

"Well, technically, you were the only one who didn't," I said.

He looked like he was going to burn into flames.

"But that's because you're the only mortal friend I have!"

"What?" he almost screamed. "What do you mean? What about Jessica?"

"She's a werewolf too, Namjoon." "I'm your only human best friend?"

"Yes." I hoped this statement would make him a little prouder.

"That's just fucking incredible!" he screamed. "Okay, now, don't try to avoid the subject. Tell me about this popular boyfriend."

"Ugh," I grunted. "Do you need to know?"

"Of course!" he said. "That new kid knows, so why shouldn't I?"

"That's because Hoseok has a motherfucking big mouth and he does that on purpose to ruin my life!"

Oh fuck. I've spilled everything now.

"What the fuck did I just hear?" Namjoon said.

"Look—"

"Did I hear you mention something about Hoseok?" he pressed on.

God, this brat. How could I forget? He was Jung Hoseok's Number One Fan.

"Listen, there's a reason why I'm telling you I'm a werewolf. First, werewolves have mates."

I breathed in and hoped Namjoon would want to pay attention to my explanation.

"Mates?" he asked. Bingo! "What the fuck is that?"

I took a breath and tried to memorize the right definition of mates from the Guide.

"Every shape-shifting immortal is born in pairs. Half of our souls are living in our mates' body. It's like an unreachable spirit—it's so strong but you can't see or reach it. It creates a bond and there's a pull between you and your mate. One day destiny will sort of like . . . um . . . unite us together and we'll become attracted to each other, fall in love and become eternal lovers."

Namjoon was staring at me, trying hard to comprehend my words.

"So . . . it's like your soul mate?" Namjoon asked.

"Yes."

"Once you meet your mate you're going to fall in love with her for the rest of your life?"

"Yep, but . . . it's a him in my case, not her."

"Oh, got it. You're gay," Namjoon said. "Sorry I forgot—"

"No!" I told him. "I have a male mate. It doesn't care what you are—a male or a female. Some male werewolves have male mates and vice versa. It's dependent on destiny. It's like one soul is divided into two, your body and some other random person."

"So . . . you were straight?"

"Fuck all that labels," I said. "Wow, that's awesome. So werewolves' couple can never like . . . break up?" Namjoon asked.

"They can't. Mates share their life. If one dies or is gone, the other will be half-dead too, like a zombie. We call these people whose mate has gone or dead, mateless . . . most of them kill themselves. They rather die than to live like a zombie."

"Still, are you . . . wait, what does this all have to do with Jung Hoseok?" Namjoon asked as he started to nibble on some fries.

"Er . . . well—that."

"C'mon," he pushed two more fries into his mouth. "It's okay."

I breathed a mouthful of air and looked into Namjoon's eyes.

"He's a werewolf . . . and he . . . holds the other half of my soul."

This time, Namjoon sprayed pieces of fries out of his mouth.

S I X

Jimin's POV

I am Jung Hoseok's boyfriend—what kind of bullshit was that?

Eyes followed me around as I walked, kids from my pack whom I barely knew greeted me— I didn't like the attention I was getting.

"Hi, Jimin." someone said.

"Hello, Jimin. Where's Hoseok?" another called out.

"It's weird not seeing you with Hoseok."

Blah, blah, blah it went.

The burning hatred I felt for Hoseok was starting to return. Things hadn't changed—Hoseok was still ruining my life with a happy smile on his face. It wouldn't have mattered if I started dating some random guy. Everyone thought I was dating Jung Hoseok, the superstar of Daeil High—this was a bigger deal to them than it was to me.

It became more absurd when a few mortal girls in pre-calc greeted me and told me how lucky I was to have Hoseok.

"We all knew Hoseok supported gay rights," one of them said. "So it's not that surprising to find out he was just closeted."

Sometimes their questions and reactions did bother me, but I was too tired to care. All I could focus on was Hoseok and his big mouth spreading rumors about us all over school. Jessica popped up at my locker while I gathered my stuff for Biology. I wanted to run but it was too late.

"Jimin, I'm sorry. Please talk to me! Please forgive me, just this one time—"

I had repeatedly told her that I didn't blame her at all for letting the cat out of the bag or the car incident, but I had been lying. The truth was that I'd been a little wounded at the thought of her betrayal.

"I just got my driving license, remember?" Jessica said to me as I tried my best to look at her. She really believed that I didn't have any hard feelings toward her for being the reason I had to emerge out of the crowd during the gathering. She went on to explain how Jaesuk had suggested to her father that he needed to find us another alternative to get us to school. Which lead to Mr. Jung buying a used van for all of us.

"I have to get to class, sweetie. See you after school. Let's have a nice long chat together later, okay?"

I could only nod.

"That's my awesome friend!" she said cheerfully.

After school ended for the day, I tried to take the bus but Jaesuk stopped me.

"I'm not sending either you or the boys anymore," he said. "Get out and get on with your friends. I don't have time to drive up the hill anymore."

I protested but knew I had to accept that Jaesuk's services were no longer available to me.

I didn't want to ride the van with Hoseok and the other boys, so I walked away from the parking lot, back into the school hall.

"Oh, there he is—"

Damn it.

"Jimin!" Jessica yelled as she spotted me. "Damn . . . where were you? I spent ages looking for you. C'mon."

I shivered when Jessica opened the big old vehicle for me. The other boys, my brother included, were sitting properly in the passenger seats in the center of the van. The only seat left for me was the one in the back. Hoseok was riding shotgun like he had this morning.

I stood beside the van like an idiot.

"Hoseok," Jessica yelled, "get out. I want Jimin to sit there. Go take that seat in the back."

"Just tell him to sit here with me," Hoseok said in a sarcastic tone.

"It's okay," I said. "I can sit in the back."

"But . . . I thought you wanted to have a chat!"

"It's okay," I pressed on. "We'll talk later." I climbed into the van and walked to the back side of the humongous vehicle. Being alone in the back felt nice—it wouldn't hurt if I was regulated to this seat every day for school.

Jessica drove the van smoothly up the winding road and the sight of the beautiful neighborhood emerged out of the blur. Surrounding us was the forest that once served as my playground when I was a child—I remembered running around in there with Jin hyung and my father. My childhood years were the happiest moment in my life—there weren't a lot of things to think about. As a teenager, I had a lot to deal with. There was gigantic piles of pre-summer assignments, teen depression and— and there's my mate.

Jessica parked in her father's garage. Once everyone was out, I pushed the seat in front of me down and walked out of the van.

A hand closed around my wrist.

"Hoseok," I hissed, "I don't have time for this. I have to go home."

"Who was that little guy with you? Was that your new boyfriend?"

He didn't sound serious but there was a rough edge to his voice.

"C'mon," I pleaded, "I have things to do. Let me go, Hoseok."

"If you don't tell me who he is, I'll end him tomorrow—"

God, he is serious.

"He's just a guy I met, okay?" I grunted. "He's a new kid in town and I met him at the library. Because of your big mouth, he won't be talking to me anymore. He's not an asshole that messes with someone's boyfriend."

There was an awkward silence between us when the others, Jessica and the boys, started to walk away.

"Someone's boyfriend?" Hoseok sniggered.

I wanted to lunge at him, kicking and punching and literally kill him. I suppressed the surge of anger inside me and breathed in.

"Wasn't that what you said to the whole school?" I grimaced.

I pulled my hand from his grip. I tried to say something bad to him before I left, but nothing came to mind so I just turned to go.

He grabbed onto my arm this time. Of course.

"Get away from me, asshole," I said. "I'm tired. I got so many things to do. Why don't you understand?"

He chuckled and gripped me tighter with his strong hand. He was extremely stealthy he could lift me up like I weighed nothing at all if he wanted. My hands got all sweaty and I didn't like the idea of being alone with him. His strength frightened me.

"Why would I understand a loser like you?" he said. "You possess the other half of my soul and have made the decision to never be with me—that's asking for trouble." "So just fucking kill me, tear me open, take that motherfucking soul of yours and swallow it down your throat. I don't want it. I would give it to a dog if I could take it out."

I knew I had gone too far when he pushed me against the van hard. My back slammed onto the metal and I felt like laughing—it wasn't the first time I'd been treated like this. I couldn't believe my mate was harassing me again. I could never believe I would fall in love with my nemesis.

He pushed my forehead and my head hit the body of the vehicle. His hand traveled across my face, fingers lingering on my skin and touching the scar he'd made by pushing me the other day.

"I can make things worse than this, you know," he said as he touched the wound. "Don't try me, Jimin."

"God, why don't you fucking understand? I'm tired! I want to go home!" I screamed at him.

"Boys," a voice said behind us.

We stopped when we saw Alpha Yong Bae standing before us. He had his hands crossed over his chest, panting hard. He steadied himself as he approached the two of us.

To me, Yong Bae was still the scary pack leader that tracked me down during the humiliating gathering.

"Hoseok, can I speak to you and your mate now?" he asked.

"Of course," Hoseok responded. He let go of me immediately and grinned from ear to ear.

"Jimin, come with us."

The Alpha turned around and Hoseok followed him. It was disgraceful for a wolf to disobey an Alpha's command, so I had no choice but to comply.

When I came to walk beside Hoseok, he bent down and whispered in my ear, "You're really dead this time."

~ ~ ~

Yong Bae's office looked the same as it did when I had last been here. There was an expensive wooden long table in the middle of the room, gleaming under the sunlight that came from the window. Documents were arranged in alphabetical order on the wooden shelf behind the table. Everything looked shiny and polished, including the family portrait that was hanging beautifully on the wall, surrounded by wallpaper that had a decent-looking flowery pattern.

Sitting a few feet to the left of the furniture were tall bookshelves. There wasn't much fictional stuff there, so, yeah, it was pretty boring. Yong Bae owned a lot of rare immortal encyclopedias, lycanthropic references and psychological studies' books since he used to be a university professor. The thought of him having a lot of knowledge about the human brain and the psyche made me shiver—this man could easily pull the truth out of a person.

Jessica could absolutely be like Yong Bae in that aspect. "Sit down, boys," Yong Bae said as he sat behind the long table and leaned on it comfortably like nothing was wrong. I pulled one of the chairs in front of the table and sat down, trying to put on a calm façade.

Hoseok took a seat beside me, his fingers closing over his mouth, stifling his sarcastic sniggers as he stared at me.

"So, Jimin," Yong Bae turned to me, "I was talking to Hoseok about meeting you the other day. I hope you don't mind."

I didn't respond—what could or should I have said, anyway? If I had a choice, I would have run away and gone home to complete the biological graphs I needed to redraw and the essays and the reports . . . but instead I got stuck here with my mate. I was sure this was going to be all about him all over again.

"Since the mandatory gathering I called last weekend, I have to tell you that I've been observing the relationship that's . . . hopefully developing between the two of you. I have no choice—I led the pack for almost fifteen years and in that time there hadn't been any cases that involved a mate hiding from their other half before. Well, there were a few inevitable ones before my time, but we had none that had as dire a consequence as Hoseok's before. I'm sure you've been informed that it's not decent for a werewolf to hide from their mate when it's time for them to unite."

I held my breath to bear the building tension in my chest. My heart was about to explode. I exhaled and tried to breathe in peace, but it wasn't enough.

"So, Jimin. . ." Yong Bae continued, "I'm going to ask you a few questions. Answer it honestly—I don't tolerate lies and I detect it easily. I hope you know that."

Hoseok tapped a finger on the table. He was trying to not look at me—or more accurately, he was trying to not look rude in front of Yong Bae by laughing at me.

"Are you homophobic, Jimin?"

"What?" I automatically said out of surprise. It wasn't a question, but a request for a clarification for what I'd just heard.

"Homophobia, the hate or fear of two beings of the same sex being together romantically or feeling attraction to each other—it's a common human psychological behavior, Jimin, but I believe the power of the mate bond should've gotten rid of this by now. A mate will love their mate so much these little silly things won't be a problem, but I'm just making sure. Is the thought of having Hoseok, a boy, as your eternal mate, bothering you?"

"No!" I said. "I'm not homophobic. That is not the problem."

"Then what is?" asked Alpha Yong Bae.

I forced a mouthful of air into my lungs before I replied.

"It's . . . hard. I just don't like Hoseok as a person. It doesn't have to do with his gender or anything."

"I treated him badly, Yong Bae," Hoseok added to the conversation. "He doesn't think I deserve forgiveness."

A flame of anger flashed through me. I stomped my fist on the surface of the table and shrieked, "You've never said you were sorry before!" "Enough!" Yong Bae screamed. "I'm not asking you two to have a fight. What has Hoseok done to you that you find so unforgivable? Tell me. Spill everything now."

"It's hard," I told him. "You might think it's all childish, immature and stupid—"

"Maybe it's childish and stupid after all," Yong Bae responded. "You may want to sit down and rethink it. Was it so bad that you can't even unite with the one who is destined to be with you for the rest of your life?"

Alpha Yong Bae would obviously side with Hoseok—they were great allies. Yong Bae would never understand me because he didn't have to mate his childhood nemesis who had ruined his life. He wouldn't relate to my situation well so he shouldn't be the judge.

"Is there any other things I am not informed about that caused you to want to hide? You can tell me everything now without harm," Yong Bae pressed on.

I could look nowhere but my lap. Hoseok had his chin on his hand, his elbow on the surface of the table. He wasn't staring at me—I didn't know if that was a good thing.

"No," I finally responded.

"Then I have to say you don't have an appropriate reason to do what you've done. It should end with you asking your mate for an apology," Yong Bae responded.

I pushed away the flaming urge to protest.

"What you did was very serious. You could have almost destroyed the bright future of this pack. And you're too young to lose your mate, Jimin—you could've died if Hoseok was killed. The power between the two of you is too strong—I have never seen anyone that has had a mate bond as strong as the one between you two."

I kept my words locked in my throat. If I let them out I would probably be exiled from the pack for acting so disgraceful towards the pack Alpha.

"Try to have good feelings for him, Jimin," Yong Bae continued. "I'm pretty sure Hoseok is ready to have a romantic relationship with you. Don't fight it—it's useless. Mates are meant to be together. You're meant to have feelings for Hoseok—you have to accept that."

My tear glands decided to act up at that moment. I blinked and few droplets of tears dropped from my eyes to my lap.

My sobs created a long silence in the room. I heard the clock ticking, and the faint sound of Yong Bae's boots knocking on the wooden floor. Something inside of me felt broken and irreparable. I didn't know if I should loath myself for what I had done or stick to remembering that none of this was my fault.

"Would you try and love Hoseok, Jimin?" Yong Bae finally said.

It was a hard question—I couldn't possibly answer it. I didn't want to let my guard down, to let him into my heart. It felt too early—it would be unfair for me. I wanted him to apologize; I wanted the hidden dark side of him to emerge so the world could witness the truth. He deserved to suffer some.

Didn't he suffer enough when he was unable to reach you when he'd sensed you, Jimin?

"Would you, Jimin?" I gripped the arm of the chair so hard my hand felt like it was bleeding.

"I—I don't know."

"I'll keep my eye on you, Jimin—it's for your own good. From my observation, you are being too hard on yourself and your mate. This should not happen. Because of this, I shall give Hoseok the responsibility to observe your manners. I fully entrust him now to all your actions from here on out."

"B—but, don't you think you're being too hard on me, Yong Bae?" I broke out in tears. "You should've given me more time for this. Why—"

"Other alphas give harsher punishments than this, Jimin. Take this as a friendly lesson from me," Yong Bae cut me off.

"I'll help him out in this, Yong Bae," Hoseok butted in.

"I trust you, Hoseok," Yong Bae said. "If I find you won't curb your way in the future, Jimin, I may come to a conclusion you won't be pleased with. I may even have to force Hoseok to put a bleeding mark on you."

"What?" I screamed.

My world was falling apart around me. "You . . . you can't be serious, right Yong Bae?" Hoseok said.

"I am, indeed," Yong Bae said. "Bleeding marks are forbidden due to the unusual selfishness of the ones who bestow it, but it helps you to dominate Jimin's thoughts wholly and discard the bad things from it. Again, I would only allow it if it's necessary."

I was taken aback by how simple Yong Bae said those words. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Tears simply fell like raindrops out of my eyes. At first Yong Bae looked like he was sympathetic but stubbornness started to fill his face as he looked at me.

A mate marks a mate to show possession and dominance—the marked mate will be the submissive other while the one who'd put on the mark would be the dominant. Yeah, it sounded sadomasochistic, but I heard it could add some type of . . . interesting pleasure to the relationship between mates. Giving and receiving marks were dependent on the immortal's will, it's all free.

But some mates bit their mates until they bleed, and their saliva rivulets into their mates' bloodstream, causing a dark, excruciating effect. The outcome of the bleeding mark was that the dominants could access to their mates' mind, giving them the ability to control their marked mates. It rarely happened anymore; bleeding mark was prohibited by most pack leaders. Unless they approve it for some reason...

Alpha Yong Bae's hand reached out and touched mine.

"Jimin, listen," he whispered as I sobbed, "I won't do that if you try harder. I'm worried, that's all—I don't want anything bad to happen in our pack. I have no choice. It's been a while since death has resulted from the consequences of our behaviors, and I don't want it to repeat for the very first time in our pack. You have to understand."

If Hoseok put a bleeding mark on me, I would be nothing but his living slave, controlled by his dark desires.

I couldn't stop crying—I sobbed and cried and pushed all the pain out of my chest.

"Hoseok, take your mate outside," Yong Bae ordered.

~ ~ ~

Hoseok had to help me out to the neighborhood street. He had his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his body. At some point it felt good to have his warmth again. But this person holding me would probably be my master, the dominant who would force me to obey everything he commanded and be submissive to him. The more I thought about it, the more freaked out I became.

"Bleeding mark? That's not bad," Hoseok said. He was still pressing me to him. I was too tired to argue. I wanted to go home and slipped myself under the covers and sleep like nothing had happened.

"Okay, okay, I'm kidding, alright?" Hoseok said.

I didn't respond.

"Jimin," Hoseok sounded genuinely worried, "I won't do that, okay? I won't cut you with my fangs— you know that. I'm still too young to be your dominant or whatever—"

The pain started to weigh down on my chest again—I wanted it to go away so I pulled Hoseok's face to mine and put my lips on his.

I kissed him like I was going to die. I kissed him so hard I felt like flying. I pressed my lips on his lips and sucked his breath into me like it was a remedy that could heal me. It did heal me . . . I could feel it.

I pushed his chest as hard as I could and he stumbled back a little.

"You think I give a fuck?" I said. "Go on, bite me till I bleed—you don't have the balls to do it."

I turned around and walked in the other direction. Hoseok stayed where he was, frozen like a statue.

Don't look back, I said to myself, but I ended up running to him, reached his face and squeezed my lips over his again.

Hoseok didn't have the will to stop my lips; instead, he devoured me, taking and pulling and tasting me more like it was our last kiss before the world ended.

When I finally pulled away, I placed my finger on his lips.

"Don't say anything," I said. "I just need this shit."

I wanted to kiss Hoseok again.

The way his lips felt on mine was the only thing that played in my mind. Hoseok's lips were meant to be on my mouth. I could say that selfishly—the other girls wouldn't feel the same thing as I did when I kissed him. When I wanted him to be rough, his mouth went wild on mine, but when I needed gentleness, he went all Romeo, passionate and sweet on my lips.

I wanted to touch him. I wanted to feel him everywhere on me. I wanted to photograph the feel of his touch on my skin and framed it in gold. Yong Bae warned me not to fight it—the threat fortunately didn't beat me down or anything, because Hoseok wouldn't have me so easily.

He could think that he had had me already, but then I could turn things around, and his world would turn upside down.

~ ~ ~

My cell phone rang just as I sensed he would call me.

"I'm busy," I said when I picked it up.

"C'mon, Jimin, we need to talk," he said. "Please."

"Hoseok, I think you're a coward," I said simply as I leaned my back on the headboard of my bed. "You allied with the Alpha. What a motherfucker."

"I have no time for your games," he said. "Come on, baby. Can you come out of the house for a little while?"

"I'm not your baby," I groaned.

"Jimin," he groaned. "Please."

"Not now," I finally said. "I'm really busy."

He sighed. I couldn't believe how vulnerable he sounded to me. He should have fought back—where was his egoistical bravado? It felt weird when all he wanted to do was to see me.

"You're killing me, kid," Hoseok responded.

"I'm not a kid. And you're a fucking asshole for letting the Alpha say what he'd said to me. I hate you."

"Jimin, what are you—"

I turned off the phone.

S E V E N

Jimin's POV

Hoseok called for the twelfth time while I tried to plot some graphs for class. I stopped myself from tracing the lines—it was hard for me to focus on schoolwork when he kept calling me. I was thinking about him too much and I knew it wasn‟t good—Hoseok struggling to get in touch with me kept on invading my thoughts and distracting me.

At the thirteenth call, my heart fluttered again and I decided to pick the phone up this time. “I‟m coming to your house,” he said immediately.

“Hoseok,” I sighed, “I‟m doing homework.”

“Why didn‟t you tell me that earlier?” he asked.

“Did I need to?”

“Don‟t answer a question with a question,” he said, sarcasm creeping into his voice.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I want to see you.”

“You will see me, eventually,” I said. “We‟re in the same neighborhood, Hoseok. I‟m not miles away or anything.”

“Why did you kiss me?”

I was stunned by the question. I tried to breathe in and calm the stupid butterflies fluttering around in my stomach— how should I answer that question? I didn‟t want to sound like I was trembling. I had to keep my guard up.

I wanted Hoseok to think that his actions no longer bothered me.

“I told you I needed it,” I answered.

“Don‟t you need it now?” He let out a flirtatious groan.

“If that can help me complete these motherfucking graphs, yes,” I said.

He laughed, and I could visually sketch out his smiles, the way his full set of white teeth were visible behind his plush pink lips . . . suddenly I wanted to feel the press of his body on mine again.

Then I heard a series of beep, signaling me an incoming call.

“Hoseok, I‟ll call you back,” I said. “Someone‟s calling.”

I turned off the phone and found Namjoon's number popping up on the phone screen.

“Hello?”

A heavy wheezing came out of the receiver as I picked up the phone.

“Dude, a little help,” Namjoon panted. “I—I‟m near your house. I don‟t know how I‟m here, but—but can you come out for a little while?”

Namjoon's eyes were heavily bruised like he had just gotten into a fight; under the sunlight, blood gleamed at the corner of his lips.

Panicking, I ran towards him. “What the—” “I‟m fine,” Namjoon groaned.

“What the fuck had happened to you?” I said. “Get inside.”

Herding him into my house, I made sure that Mom wasn‟t there. If she saw Namjoon hurt she would make such a huge fuss that the whole state would know about it within seconds.

I wasn‟t really sure what to do with a wounded person, so I went to the kitchen and took an ice pack. I helped Namjoon put it on his eyes as he sat down on the couch in the hall.

“I was at the secret abandoned basketball court with Luhan and the others,” he started. “And then things got shitty.”

“What‟s wrong?” I asked.

“Well . . . Yoongi opened up with how . . . well, you got tracked down by the pack leader and shit.”

My jaw fell opened. I couldn‟t believe Namjoon would be in the know with this whole me-being-a- coward stuff. It felt extremely peculiar and impossible, but he simply said it, like he was there at the gathering.

“They were asking if I knew you were a wolf just like them,” Namjoon panted. “And then they went crazy saying shit like how stupid you were at the gathering. I let Yoongi finish and it felt wrong so I ended up throwing a punch at him.”

He held out his hand, spots of black and blue covered his skin.

“Holy fuck,” I cursed.

“That‟s when he came at me. Luhan stopped us from getting into it, fortunately. What are you guys, anyway, cyborgs? Yoongi's face was as hard as a stone.”

“Don‟t do this again, Namjoon,” I said. “Mortals aren‟t as strong as we are. You can‟t possibly fight us.”

“Well, he was rude,” he rubbed the wound on his lips. “I guess I won‟t be playing basketball anymore.”

“What did they say?” I asked.

“Well, Yoongi said how stupid you were and he explained how you had hid from Hoseok. . . well, since Hoseok dated Tiffany Hwang, Yoongi also told me how unfortunate it was for Hoseok to have you as his mate. It‟s like the man could actually fuck the girl until you came into the picture.”

I gasped to the words Namjoon said—he really was really pissed off now.

“It‟s not funny,” Namjoon continued. “You see, Yoongi used to date Tiffany, but everything was over when Hoseok got with her.”

“He should be happy, then,” I responded. “Tiffany's free for him now.”

“Yeah.”

My heart started to race and tension was building up inside of my chest. Should I blame myself for what happened to Namjoon? Was it wrong to tell him about my lycanthropic identity in the first place? He was the last person who deserved to get hurt like this. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe. “Anyway,” Namjoon continued, “what are you doing? Where‟s Hoseok?”

I shot him a look. “Why would you think I would be with him now?”

“You‟re in love with him . . . well, aren‟t you?”

“Dude, please,” I groaned.

“I think I‟m interested enough to hear more about this whole mate thing now,” he said. “Wait, if Hoseok is meant to be for you, it‟s like . . . if you liked girls, you wouldn't be anymore because your soul mate‟s a guy?”

It was funny that my shape-shifter traits weren't the main focus of Namjoon's curiosity, but the mate theory was.

“Come on, let‟s go upstairs. I can show you everything you want to know.”

“Don‟t try to rape me,” he replied.

“Fuck you.”

“I just told you not to rape me, fuck me, or anything,” he retorted while laughing.

I ignored him as he trailed me upstairs. I walked into my father‟s office, took a stepping stool nearby to climb up a very tall bookshelf at the end of the room. On top of the bookshelf was the biggest hardcover book our house had; the Immortal Guide. The book was almost two thousand pages in size. I took the gigantic encyclopedia and brought it to my chest with care and climbed down.

“God, what the fuck is that?” Namjoon asked.

I couldn‟t answer him as I was still holding the book to my chest. I walked torturously to my bedroom while he followed behind me.

“Whatever that is, it looks like it can break some bones,” he added.

“It has the ability to break my bones,” I said as I threw the book on my bed. “But it will definitely crush yours since you‟re a mortal.”

“No wonder you always win fist fights,” Namjoon groaned. “You‟re practically cheating.”

I laughed when I turned to the chapter about immortals‟ and their mates. There were actually hundreds of subchapters about it, including The Bond Effect and The Mark; two of the topics I was looking forward to studying after this.

“You might want to read this,” I said.

“You think I would read this huge ass shit?” Namjoon said. “Hell no.”

I flipped a few pages to find the answer to Namjoon's previous question. I thought it would help him relate to how I felt about Hoseok now; it would be better for both of us. Then he would understand the whole not-being-literally-gay thing.

“See this,” I pointed out a line. “Mates will have a prevailing attraction toward each other . . . they will be drawn emotionally, romantically and sexually . . . and here‟s this . . . after discovery, they will never experience attraction toward others. That means I‟m not even gay, because if I was, I would want to have sex with you or some other guy. But I can‟t. I will only be drawn to . . . you know.” “Hoseok. . . Jung Hoseok is the only one who can turn you on,” Namjoon finished me.

I flustered at the truth. My blood raced to my cheeks as I looked down.

“Obviously you‟re in love with him now,” Namjoon said.

“I hate him,” I told Namjoon. “You do know how I really hate that motherfucker.”

“I don‟t know,” he said. “He liked to tease you and stuff, but you just didn‟t care. Maybe he even liked you before and those things he did was just his way of approaching you.”

“No,” I disagreed. “We really hated each other. I swear.”

“But . . . damn, you have Jung Hoseok! He‟s like . . . he‟s an idol!”

“Not to me, Namjoon.”

“I‟m going to look at the bright side,” Namjoon responded. “Hoseok is now yours. That means more girls are free from his charm. And then there‟s Tiffany and Sulli . . . damn.”

I let out a loud laugh. Namjoon mentioned those girls almost every day, but even now, he hadn't ever dated anyone. I guess we weren‟t that different from each other.

I observed as Namjoon tried to flip the pages of the gigantic book and squinted to read the small text in the book. I got up from the bed, reached for my graph papers and started to draw again. Placing it on my lap, I tried to draw a good line since I‟d messed it all up previously.

A couple of minutes passed. I watched as Namjoon rubbed the wound on his mouth, putting the melted ice pack on his eyes again and again, still attentive on reading the Guide. My stomach dropped as I saw Namjoon struggling with pain—he was wounded because he cared about me, defending me for the insults Yoongi had thrown at me.

I heard Yoongi and Hoseok had once argued and fought over Tiffany. It had something to do with Hoseok not being serious about Tiffany while Yoongi was actually in love with her. But still, Tiffany was a rich man‟s daughter who‟d never be serious in dating. Jessica loathed her so much she would explode if she heard her name. Rumor had it that Tiffany had slept with all the seniors during her sophomore year.

But now I guess there was no more Hoseok in the picture—Yoongi could have Tiffany in no time.

I didn't know why Yoongi might hate me. As far as I could tell, Luhan and his friends were just fine with me. Well, we rarely communicated since they were always busy forming the basketball team, representing Daeil High. Hoseok and Luhan were once good friends during their sophomore year. That‟s when Hoseok was the team captain. But then Hoseok switched interest to football and left the team.

“Damn, you and the man can never be apart from each other!” Namjoon gasped. “Look . . . mates are meant to be by each other’s sides. An unintended farewell between them may lead to light illnesses or depression. The mated pair would suffer headache, fever or loss of appetite. If the condition is prolonged it will worsen . . . you should go to your mate now, Jimin.”

“It happens with some mates,” I told him. “Not all mates have to be together twenty-four seven. He‟s okay without me . . . I think. Plus we don‟t have that „unintended farewell‟ thing. It‟s not like I told him we‟re over or anything. We‟re not even in a relationship yet.” I ended up tutoring Namjoon about this other life he‟d never know existed. I showed him the first few pages of the Guide where the book introduced us to the list of immortals and half-and-half. I answered a lot of questions he had.

“What the hell is half-and-half? Werewolves? Oh . . . there are more half-and-half than werewolves . . . God, are there vampires?”

“What‟s this whole Mark thing?”

“If you bite me, would I turn into a werewolf?”

I explained each of them, hoping it would make our friendship better, because I felt like it was the best I could do in return for him for defending me. Again, seeing blood stains on his face made my gut churn.

I smiled at Namjoon's enthusiasm and tried to ignore the tears pooling in my eyes.

~ ~ ~

Mom freaked out when she saw Namjoon's ruined face like I knew she would. Namjoon told her that he fell somewhere as he tried to get to my place to give me some homework. That was one hell of a lie, but Namjoon definitely did it well.

“I guess I'll see you at school,” Namjoon said.

I knew it hurt for him to smile, but he did anyway. Tremors went through my chest as Namjoon winced because of the cut on his lips.

“Bye,” Namjoon said again.

“Thanks, man,” I told him.

“No problem,” he responded, patting my shoulder. “I just had to do what I had to do, okay? You‟re my buddy.”

Maybe it was true; I had underestimated him before. I thought everything would be over if he found out the truth about me. He was determined to stand by me despite what people had said about me. I breathed in, my eyes watering.

Before I could respond, a figure of a familiar woman emerged out of the blur behind Namjoon.

My pulse raced. It’s Hoseok's mother.

Namjoon moved and said, “I‟m going, man. See you soon.”

My head could fathom nothing else when Haeun (a/n: Haeun is Hoseok's mom. I knew I'd said it before but maybe you forget? lol)approached the front yard. Oh God. My heart seemed like it had wings because I felt it flying out of my mouth.

I sprinted to the kitchen, approaching my mother. I ignored how busy she seemed as she prepared meals. “Tell Namjoon to stay,” Mom muttered, chopping some onions. “I‟m making something nice—”

“Er . . . he‟d just left,” I said. “Mom, help me—Haeun's out at our front door! What is she doing here?”

“I told you not to let Namjoon leave!”

“Mom, Hoseok's mother is out there! Please tell her I‟m not here or—”

Haeun's tiny voice echoed across the empty hall.

“Hello,” she said in a cheerful tone. “Anybody here?”

“Coming!” my mother shouted, ignoring the onions as she walked to the front door. I tugged on her sleeve but she ignored me.

My heart hammered in my chest, threatening to give out on me in no time. Sweat dribbled down my shirt and I didn't know why I felt so anxious—it felt like I was going to get murdered or something.

I stood behind the walls near the kitchen archway, silently eavesdropping on Mom.

“Is Jimin here?” I heard Hoseok's mother say.

“JIMIN!” my mother screamed.

Holy—

“Please turn the heat off! The potatoes should be boiled enough by now!”

In my head, I was mentally killing my mother, screaming at her because she knew I refused to see any of Hoseok's family members, not after my humiliating escape through their window. The thought of it made blood raced to my cheeks—I wanted to strangle myself, regretting the stupidity of my actions. I should have been more professional, there could‟ve been a better way.

“Oh, so he is here,” Haeun said.

I steadied myself, walked over to my mother‟s boiled potatoes and turned the heat off. Then I pressed myself to the wall behind a refrigerator in my kitchen as if I could hide in there.

Please, Mom, start a gossip topic, make her forget about me! Talk about Shin Min Ah, or Park Shin Hye, or someone else—

“I‟m here to see Jimin, actually,” she finally said it.

“He‟s in the kitchen,” my mother responded. “Is there something wrong?”

“Daehyun (a/n: Daehyun is Hoseok's dad)insists on meeting him personally. I mean, of course, the whole pack‟s a family, but Daehyun thought Jimin is a little more . . . special. He‟s probably going to be our son-in-law in the future, and it‟s not decent for us to not talk to him properly.”

My cheeks warmed.

She added, “I‟m making a special dinner tonight. Hoseok and his little brother are picking up their big sister in the airport. Jiyeon's on her semester break, she's been so excited since hearing about Jimin. She insisted on a pricey ticket for a faster journey home. So we want him to be at our place tonight. Daehyun thought he should spend a night with us.” “Of course!” my mom replied. “Your house isn‟t like ten miles away! I can definitely allow Jimin to spend the night.”

There was a battlefield of butterflies in my stomach at the thought of meeting Hoseok's whole family tonight. Even Jiyeon would be there. Hoseok's big sister was just a female version of him; when I was a child, Jiyeon enjoyed seeing my tears— she‟d throw spiders at me, play jokes on me, testing my limits so she could see me throw tantrums and burst out in tears. I had been secretly happy when she was accepted at some college in China last summer—it was a relief.

Now she was back.

“Jimin?” I heard Haeun calling me. “Come out here, sweetheart. I know you heard me.”

I forced a smile, trembling as I walked to the main hall. I tried to look silly, attempting to reduce the awkwardness in the situation.

“Hello, Haeun,” I said. She moved closer to me as she patted my head like I was a good little boy.

“There‟s my boy,” she responded. “Be at my place around eight. I am already preparing things. And oh, bring some clothes for tomorrow. After the sleepover you and the boys can go straight to school.”

I tried to come up with some excuses. I could tell her I had lots to do while swearing it was true, but nothing came to mind and she walked away too quickly.

“Thanks, Hana!” she said to my mother.

She turned to wave at us and walked out the door.

“What‟s wrong with you?” my mother said as she turned to me. “You look terrified.”

“I don‟t want to see them, Mom,” I groaned. “Not now! Don‟t you think everything‟s too early?”

“No,” she protested. “Everything is actually a little late, Jimin. I hate to tell you this, but you should've come to terms with your mate earlier than this. He should‟ve united with you a little sooner, but you hiding from him have messed things up. At least, listen to your future mother-in-law and go to the dinner.”

“Mom, please, I‟m not like . . . engaged or anything,” I groaned.

“Listen to me,” she said, squeezing my shoulders lightly. “Go. At least this is the best apology you can afford to give them. Go for the sake of guilt—have a little remorse, sweetheart. Think about how Hoseok could‟ve died if he hadn't kissed you the day we were gathered.”

I was stunned by how honest and linear Mom‟s words were. My brain froze. I could only stare as my mother cupped my face and whispered softly in my ear.

“Isn‟t this what you‟ve always wanted since you were a child? He‟s your mate, Jimin. You deserve to be happy.”

~ ~ ~

The sky was peach and pink from my window. Twilight was approaching. I was feeling a bit drowsy. I lay on my bed—if I dozed off, it would be the most perfect excuse for not attending the dinner. So what if the Jungs cooked a fancy meal tonight? Jiyeon would be there to finish the leftovers—I bet she was hungry enough to do that.

But I couldn‟t do this. It didn‟t feel right to behave this way.

I got up and went to the dresser, thoughts ran wild in my head. What kind of conversation would I have with Hoseok's family? What excuses did I have to give if they demand reasons for why I hid from Hoseok? Would it be okay to just tell Hoseok's parents that their son had been a big asshole to me?

"I can‟t," I said to myself. I threw the black sweatshirt and the pair of long pants I took from the dresser to the bed. I lay down again on the bed and closed my eyes, wishing that everything never happened. As I stared at the small clock on the bedside table, I really hoped time would turn back if I twisted its hands around.

Then it was nothing but empty blackness until I heard a scream.

“Jimin! It‟s seven-thirty and you‟re sleeping! You promised—”

I was up like a rocket when I heard my mother wailing in my bedroom. I glanced at the clock and it showed me something that seemed like two minutes before seven-forty. I rubbed my eyes and I wasn‟t hallucinating.

“Get yourself ready!” my mother slapped my back.

Should I go? Should I? I don’t think I should! I shouldn’t . . . I just don’t have to—

My mother pushed me and I stumbled into the bathroom.

I cleaned myself up and cursed when I saw how messy my hair looked. The drowsiness from my accidental nap didn‟t fade away.

Mom prepared me some clothes for school, putting it in a small bag as she handed it to me. She muttered something I couldn‟t decipher as I struggled to fix my hair.

“Should I wear cologne?” I asked my mother out of the blue. “God, I don‟t have one. Should I ask for Dad‟s Calvin Klein?”

“You don‟t need Calvin Klein to win Hoseok's heart, you know that,” my mother said sarcastically.

I shot her a look, looking away when I felt myself fluster.

Maybe Mom’s right; I don’t need any damn cologne.

I put on a sweatshirt and pants when it was already eight. My hair was still fucked up, so I decided to hide it under the hood. I grabbed the half-finished homework I had, stuffed it into the small bag and ran downstairs. My father was arguing with Jin hyung over sports featured on the eight o‟ clock news.

“Tell them I say hi,” Mom told me.

I nodded, rushing to the door when Jin hyung popped up beside Mom. He looked devastated— probably he‟d lost the debate with Dad. He glanced at me, his eyes travelling my figure up and down.

“What?” I said. “Nothing,” he responded. “Well, actually, I‟m thinking something.”

“What?” I groaned.

“I thought that . . . well, if you need condoms—”

“Shut up!” I screamed.

“Oh, I‟ve forgotten that mates don‟t catch disease,” he added.

“Like you have one,” I said. “The condoms.”

“You seriously have to get to know your brother, Jimin,” Jin hyung said.

I rolled my eyes. “Gotta go,” I muttered and sped out of the door to the neighborhood streets.

The Jung‟s place was a few streets away from my house. I had to walk down to the center of the neighborhood. Hoseok's house was a few houses from Jessica's and the Alpha‟s Main House. The wind blew and I shivered. Even if it was cold out, there were kids younger than me who still play in the neighborhood park, seesawing, playing basketball and cycling. Werewolves always preferred night, but the opposite was true for me—I did not favor the cold.

The neighborhood was stunning in darkness, though. Orange lights from the houses illuminated the night, dark silhouettes of mountains and hills to the north of Gyerim appeared in the horizon. People were barbecuing, running and laughing in the bright night. Nothing died here, everything kept on living and breathing and replacing sorrow with bliss.

My heart raced when I saw Hoseok's house. I tried not to focus on what my heart was doing when I walked straight to the door. I could already hear the mutterings and the commotions happening beyond the walls. By the front window, I could see Junhong making the whole family laugh with his jokes just like he did in the classes we were in together.

My heart skipped a beat when I noticed Hoseok sprawled on a couch, watching TV.

I‟d never given much thought about how Hoseok behaved with his family. He had been the bad guy in my head for years now. Sometimes, I thought of him as a werewolf cursed by Satan as he would always act notoriously wherever he was. But now, I wasn‟t so sure.

Maybe I didn‟t know him that well.

I pressed the bell and wiped the trickle of sweats in my palms on my pants. I tried to breathe, anticipating Hoseok's figure standing at the door, smiling at the sight of me. He would say I looked terrible, noticing how awful my hair was when he saw me.

I gasped when the door opened. A tall girl with a jet-black shoulder-length bob stood in the doorway.

Jiyeon seemed to have grown taller—she was about two feet taller than me. Damn, she looked like a supermodel—her long legs glistened under the dim light, her curves would have definitely driven Namjoon crazy.

She was so different now.

“You‟re late,” she said. “My brother‟s boyfriend is a jerk.”

“I‟m not his boyfriend,” I groaned. “God, you are a jerk,” she added. “You‟re late and you don‟t look nice. You should‟ve called me—I know a better look that can turn my brother on.”

“I don‟t need to be dressed up with some sexy girl clothes, thanks,” I answered. “Only that can turn Hoseok on.”

Obviously that wasn‟t true. Jiyeon sniggered as she kept staring at me; her eyes were full of something that I could only see as passion and excitement.

“It‟s okay if you don‟t want to let me in,” I added. It wasn‟t a good introduction to someone who‟d just been from a faraway place, but the urge to face someone who had been a childhood bully kept creeping in my head.

“Oh, please,” she rolled her eyes and pulled me to her, concealing me in her embrace. I wasn‟t comfortable with the thought of her boobs touching my skin. (a/n: what??? Just ignore that xD)

“I can‟t believe you two are mates,” she whispered. “That‟s fucking awesome.”

She pushed me lightly; staring at me like how Jessica had looked at me when she was happy.

“I can‟t believe it too,” I said.

“Frankly, puberty has done a lot to you. Look at you, hottie,” Jiyeon said, still looking at me with passion filling her eyes.

“Thanks.”

“It‟s all done,” Jiyeon said to me. “Hoseok had been bragging about how he could date all those fake bitches at school. Now he has you and he‟s all done.”

I couldn‟t hold in the laughter in my chest.

When I walked in, I caught Hoseok looking away from me.

“C‟mon, dinner‟s ready,” Jiyeon said.

E I G H T

Jimin's POV

My heart quickened at the thought of sitting under the same roof as my mate. After hours and hours of avoiding him, I was now inside his house. A million thoughts ran through my mind and I ignored them—I breathed in and put on a calm façade, forcing myself to act cool and be brave.

Jiyeon insisted that I sit next to her during dinner. She acted like a reporter, asking annoying questions as if Hoseok and I were a celebrity couple. I had to put up with it; at least she was trying to be nice.

“Like . . . what did you feel when you first felt the pull to Hoseok? How was it?” she asked. “I don‟t know . . .” I responded. I guess I could write it down instead of saying it aloud; how Hoseok's face suddenly appeared so beautiful to me and all I wanted to do was to kiss him, or how nothing could turn me on but him after the discovery. . . and I wouldn‟t tell Jiyeon about it with his brother on the other side of me.

Weirdly, Hoseok was silent throughout the exchange. He ate wordlessly, chewing his food without trying to start a joke like he usually did, looking down at his plate like he didn‟t notice I was there. Frankly, I did expect a few jeers or at least some teasing from him. The sight of him made my guts churn.

“C‟mon, just tell me!” Jiyeon insisted.

“How‟s the food, Jimin?” Haeun interrupted. I smiled at her, telling her it was good, but the truth was I was too nervous, my taste buds couldn‟t judge the taste of the meal.

“There‟s this guy in college,” Jiyeon spoke. “He‟s a werewolf too, and he‟s gay, and he has a male mate. However, his mate was straight. I‟m pretty sure you were the gay one here— weren‟t you, Jimin?”

I wasn‟t feeling comfortable with Daehyun sitting across from me. He ate his food while staring at me with a look on his face that I couldn‟t decipher. Was it a look of anger? Okay, he had reasons to be mad at me—his son had almost died due to the bond he had with me.

My stomach dropped.

“Jimin, I‟m asking you a question. Were you the gay one?” Jiyeon said.

“What? I—I don‟t know. I wasn‟t gay, I think,” I told her.

“So you were the closeted one, huh?” Jiyeon said to Hoseok.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Hoseok responded—what had made him so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't been paying attention?

“One of you must be gay to have a male mate,” she replied.

“Where‟s that silly theory coming from, Jiyeon?” Daehyun added, joining the conversation. “Mates are mates. Did the mortals in your college teach you about these ridiculous labels?”

“It‟s not like that, Dad,” Jiyeon said. “I‟m just wondering if my theory is right. I‟m just curious about mate bonding.”

“No, both of us weren‟t gay, I guess,” I said.

I heard Hoseok baffle. “How do you know?” His drollness was back—for a short second I thought I missed it.

“Well, I don‟t really care about this whole gay thing,” I told him.

“Nobody cares,” Haeun butted in. “Now, just eat the food.”

“Junhong!” Daehyun shouted towards the living room out of the blue, sending me to jump in shock. “Stop with your phone already! Jimin's here you've been on the phone all day.”

“Coming . . .” I heard Junhong groan in irritation. He slipped his phone into his pocket and picked an empty seat beside Hoseok, setting food on his plate. He winked at me as he started on his meal.

“Who are you texting, huh?” Hoseok said as he reached out to pinch Junhong's cheek. Junhong laughed as he tried to get away from his brother‟s touch.

My heart skipped a beat.

“Don‟t!” Junhong groaned.

“So damn busy with the phone all day,” Hoseok mumbled.

“There‟s this girl,” Junhong responded. “Soyou. Jimin, you know Soyou, right?”

“Yeah,” I said. Soyou was my classmate in Biology. She was really nice but we rarely talked to each other. She wasn‟t exactly the friendly kind either.

“You like her?” Hoseok asked.

“Why do you care?” Junhong asked him back.

I was asking the same question in my head—did Hoseok really care about his family, specifically his little brother? The affection he had for his family members were peculiar, and it shouldn‟t have been because I lived in the same neighborhood with Hoseok for many years now.

The fact that I hadn't been interested in getting to know Jung Hoseok before use to make me proud since it set me apart from everyone else who seemed to be devoted to him. But now, not knowing Hoseok didn‟t feel right to me—he was my mate and I should‟ve known him better.

“Anyway, Jimin,” Daehyun cleared his throat. “I want to say something.”

Brace yourself. “Sure.”

“Yong Bae came and talked to me about you and Hoseok,” he said. “I don‟t blame you at all, and I want you to know that. At first, it might not be easy for you to just suddenly accept you are not going to be with a woman and have children like normal wolves do—it has happened to many men who‟ve found men as their mates. It takes time for one to come around.” I nodded, although Daehyun was wrong. It wasn't the fact that I wasn't going to be with a woman that bothered me; the kicker was that Jung Hoseok was to be my mate for eternity.

“The mate bond you two share is too strong, and that rarely happens,” Daehyun added. “I mean, how could we have expected that? How would we know the shadowy visions of our mate had the power to kill us?”

“Dad,” Hoseok groaned.

“I‟m stating the truth, Hoseok,” Daehyun responded. “Anyway, I just thought that maybe you two should spend more time together.”

“I agree,” Haeun joined in.

“Me too,” Hoseok said.

I had an overwhelming urge to kick Hoseok's foot under the table. Junhong could only laugh as he watched me.

“It‟s not about a guy with a guy or a girl with a guy,” Daehyun continued. “Mates always click perfectly together, like a hand inside a glove.”

“Your metaphor sucks,” Jiyeon commented.

Daehyun ignored her. “You're perfect for Hoseok, because you are the best person for him.”

I was mentally gagging to what Daehyun said.

“You‟re right, sweetheart,” Haeun told Daehyun. “I can‟t imagine someone better for Hoseok. You‟ve put up with his waywardness for years now, haven‟t you, Jimin?—I‟m sure there‟s no other person that can bear that.”

“I think so,” I said. “I‟m tired of it, actually.”

Everyone stopped talking. Maybe I should‟ve just shoved a foot in my mouth.

“I mean, it‟s just . . .”

Daehyun and Haeun kept their eyes on me.

“Forget it,” I said.

“Well,” Hoseok said loudly, “I'm not that boy with the cute face, right?”

What the fuck? “Boy with cute face?” Daehyun asked.

“It‟s someone at school Jimin's been seeing,” Hoseok grunted.

“That‟s impossible—you two are together. Jimin wouldn't be attracted to anyone else,” Jiyeon said.

“Hear that?” I replied in response to Hoseok. “I wouldn't be attracted to anyone else.”

“Yeah, right,” Hoseok said.

“You two need some private time?” Haeun asked.

“No,” Hoseok and I answered in unison.

After the dinner, Jiyeon took me to Junhong‟s room to prolong her interrogation of me. Luckily, the questions didn‟t last with Junhong backing me up. Hoseok was in his bedroom; his phone remained in his hand and had for the last couple of hours. I didn‟t want to care about who he was texting since it might have been Tiffany—I was pretty sure she wouldn‟t like to hear that her hot boyfriend had turned gay out of the blue. Deep down, I wanted to take the phone away from him and throw it out the window because he should‟ve been spending more time with me.

Jiyeon showed Junhong and me photos she had on her computer of her life in Hong Kong. She had met guys, great people, and wolf packs when she was there. She told us about trying to sneak into Guang Zhou, the secret sacred Immortal Kingdom in the heart of China. The attempt was a failure, unfortunately.

“Why would you go there, anyway?” Junhong asked.

“Well, who knows if I could meet my mate there?” Jiyeon said. “The boys from the Institute are all hot. They‟re all brawny, trained . . . ooh.”

“Okay, I get it,” Junhong said.

“Jimin.”

I turned around and saw Hoseok standing at the door, shirtless. I gulped at the sight of his glistening bare skin under the light—I never felt any urge to touch anything like I wanted to touch him—the feeling was so overwhelming it terrified me. I actually wanted to run and jump into his arms; luckily I was sane enough to not do that.

“I need to talk to you,” he added. “Ooh, look at you, little brother, being half-naked and all—so intense,” Jiyeon responded. “So eager . . . I like it!”

“I was just working out,” Hoseok groaned.

“Jimin knows you got muscles, bro,” Junhong butted in.

“Shut up, both of you,” Hoseok continued. “Jimin, come on.”

I let out a grumble as I trailed him from behind. After I walked into his bedroom, he slammed the door shut, leaving thousands of atrocious thoughts in my head.

What the hell is he going to do to me?

He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at me with his usual mocking look again. I could sense that he was up to something, and I hoped I was ready for it.

“What?” I started.

“I‟ve been thinking that I shouldn‟t have pitied you,” Hoseok said. “It‟s useless.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Maybe it‟s true,” he responded. “Maybe I need to bite you to make you understand.”

“C‟mon, Hoseok,” I said. “I‟m not threatened at all.”

He pushed me and I fell backwards, landing with my back on the mattress. He threw himself on the bed, crawling towards me, pressing my shoulders with his strong hands.

My heart raced when he was on top of me.

“Here‟s the new thing I like about you,” he murmured. “You think you‟re so brave for standing up to me now. Just so you know, you‟re just my mate—it‟s not like I can‟t beat the crap out of you or anything.”

I didn‟t know why my pulse slowed down, or why I felt such strange disappointment. I sensed something weird in his words and I couldn‟t believe I had heard it. How could he say it?

“Just a mate?” I asked him.

When he sensed I didn‟t like where the conversation was going, his smile faded.

“Of course,” I said as I pushed him away from me. He didn‟t go against me. I pulled myself up and sat on the corner of the bed, trying not to face him. “I‟m nothing to you,” I spoke, my voice croaked. “I should‟ve remembered.”

I prayed for my inner voice to pop out and scream something at me, but now I felt completely alone. There was a crack in my heart, threatening to let tears spill out of my eyes.

“Jimin,” Hoseok called me. “Look . . .”

I didn‟t respond.

“Okay, this is how you play the game, isn‟t it?” he screamed. “You‟re trying to put all the blame on me again, trying to make me feel guiltier than how fucked up I feel already. You know what, it‟s not completely my fault, Jimin!”

I didn‟t expect that explosive outburst from him—I was so surprised I couldn‟t say a word.

Hoseok, however, was right about one thing; I did want him to realize it was his entire fault, because it was.

“From the beginning,” he continued, “you‟re the one who‟s trying to push me away, and now you blame me for what you wanted. I am just a mate to you, am I not, Jimin? What do you want, complete honesty? Do you want me to be honest with you?”

“I want you to feel how it is to be in my place!” I said to him. “What you‟ve done to me in my childhood, Hoseok, can you think about that? Do you think I can easily forget that?”

Again, I lied, because I simply couldn‟t lose this argument after all the years I‟d lost to Jung Hoseok.

He would always get what he wanted—the Alpha trusted him, the whole pack loved him, and he got to date the girls the other boys panted for. Call this envy, but it was the truth. Why should I be easy while I could make it harder for him to have me?—that would be the answer to his question.

“Okay, I‟m sorry,” Hoseok said. “I‟m apologizing to you.”

“That‟s not how you do it,” I said tensely.

“Then how? Do you want me to die? Is that how you‟ll be satisfied?” he responded.

“You can do it all, can‟t you?” I said cruelly. “Then do it—die.”

Hoseok stared at me, tears shining in his eyes. His breathing got rapid, his face was turning scarlet. I didn‟t exactly know how to react, but I wasn‟t going to be the one to console.

“You know I don‟t mean that,” I said, rolling my eyes. “No,” he groaned, approaching my face, “you do. You wanted to kill me in the first place, didn't you? When we were at Jessica's slumber party, you knew I was your mate, but you stayed where you were because you just wanted to see me die—isn‟t that true?”

“What a load of bullshit, Hoseok!” I screamed. “If I wanted you to die, I wouldn't have come clean when Yong Bae called me! I wouldn‟t have let you fucking kiss me, and I would have let you die!”

“You don‟t know how hard it was for me, to go through all of this, to be tied to the bond that you caused, while I didn‟t know who the hell you were! You almost got me killed! You don‟t know how that feels like!” he screamed, tears streaming down his face.

I had never seen Hoseok this vulnerable before. The only time I had seen Hoseok act out of character was when I was eleven years old.

-Flashback-

Junhong had asked me to come over to his place and wait in his bedroom because he needed me to help him out with some homework. I had stayed in his bedroom but he was late so I got bored and wandered around the house. I saw a thick book through a crack in Hoseok's bedroom door and I was eager to find out what the book was. Hoseok's bedroom had been an illegal territory for me before, but I walked in there and tried to see what the book was. It turned out to be just a dictionary.

Then a door had been slammed and Hoseok was there, staring at me with burning fury in his eyes. He pulled up his sleeves and advanced toward me, pushing me against a wall.

―You’re trying to steal, huh, kid?‖ he screamed at me.

―No!‖ I said. ―I swear—‖

―You want to die, huh?‖ he growled as he locked his hands on my throat.

I had been extremely terrified because the door was closed and no one would hear me. Out of the blue, tears ran down my face.

Then the unexpected happened: twelve-year old Jung Hoseok let me free to breathe and wiped my tears away forcefully with his fingers.

-End of Flashback-

That‟s how I cried in front of Hoseok for the very first time. Now, it was his turn and I didn‟t bother to wipe the tears away.

Guilt found its way to settle on my fragile shoulders, threatening to break me down. With what little remained of my resolve I pushed the feeling away. “And you don‟t have any idea how I felt about the mate bond with you. You even talked shit about sleeping with that bitch!” I roared.

I was making things worse by lying again and making things up. I didn't want to acknowledge that I should’ve felt guilty and I was pushing him away. I didn‟t want to think that this was my fault. This wasn't my fault and it shouldn‟t be.

I turned around to control the urge to cry.

“I did not sleep with her, Jimin.”

No, he’s lying. You’re lying, Hoseok.

“Because of you, I couldn‟t sleep with her. You were there in my head, pulling me to you when I dated her.”

“No!” I bellowed. “You‟re a liar! You lied! You just want to pin me down! That‟s what you like to do! You never wanted to see me happy! You just don’t!”

I screamed, letting my tears fall and fell back onto the bed, my face pressed into a pillow. I squeezed my eyes shut like it would wring all the tears away.

“You made me look weak when I was a kid,” I cried more. “Everyone loved you. And what‟s worse, you‟ve made me a coward after I had to confess that I was head over heels for you. Now you're trying to make me think that this was my fault. What else did you want? Can‟t you at least give me what I need?”

Hoseok let out a big sigh. The tears kept on coming, draining away the heaviness in my chest. It felt good to finally tell Hoseok the burden and the dilemma I had as a result of him being my mate. It wasn‟t easy but the thought of finally spilling everything made me feel better.

He uttered between my hiccups, “When I carried you out of the forest, I wanted you to know this one thing so badly. The moment I looked down at you in your sleep . . . I . . . I simply fell deeply in love with you. If that sounds stupid, then stupid is what I am. I‟m in love with you, Jimin. It's heartbreaking for me to hear that all the effort I put into winning your heart has only made you suffer.”

I couldn‟t breathe. Hoseok was drowning me, murdering me with his venomous words.

“But all I ever wanted to do was make you happy, Jimin. I love you,” he said. “But now, all you want is to run away from me.”

No, that’s not what I want.

“If that‟s the case, let‟s just ignore that we're mates. Hell, it won‟t work, but if proving that can satisfy you, then I'll do it. From now on, let‟s pretend that we‟ve never met. I‟m not your boyfriend or your lover, we won‟t date each other, and we‟re just enemies. That‟s better, isn‟t it?” No, it’s not! Say something, Jimin! Please!

“Cool,” I said, wiping my tears away. “That won‟t be hard.”

“Good, then it won‟t be for me either. I‟m fucking tired of trying to figure out all the right ways to win your heart over and over again. So. Fucking. Tired.”

Someone knocked on the door and Hoseok jumped. He threw himself on the bed and pulled me hard until I was lying next to him.

He slid his arm behind my neck and pulled me closer to him, my head stayed on his naked chest. The way he smelled was messing with my brain—I wanted to strip down his boxers and see what was beneath it, kiss him hard, and tell him I didn‟t want to do the whole pretend-I-wasn‟t-your-mate thing.

Haeun's head popped in with a smile. Hoseok pulled me closer and kissed my temples. I hugged him tighter, tears pooling in my eyes.

I wished this was real, but I knew it wasn‟t.

“Oops, sorry,” Haeun said cheerfully. “I‟m just going to go, boys. Have fun!”

She closed the door and I heard her running from the door.

Hoseok's grip loosened on me, and I knew it was time for me to let go of him. I wiped the tears as it rolled down my face, breathing in air, trying to stop crying.

“At least, let‟s just be what we‟re destined to be in front of them,” Hoseok said. “Your family, my family . . . they‟re happy for us, and I don‟t want to take it away from them.”

Hoseok reached over to turn off all the lights in the room and slipped himself under the covers.

In the darkness, I let out all my tears in silence.

~ ~ ~

In the morning, I lay on the bed feeling nothing but coldness beside me.

I don‟t know how I could've fallen asleep. Maybe the tears had worn me down, making me so exhausted I hadn't realized I‟d dozed off. If I had stayed awake last night, I could've pretended I was asleep, put my head on Hoseok's chest and breathed him in as much as I wanted to. I would've pressed my body to his and pretend that everything was alright, even if it was just for one night.

He didn‟t even talk to me when he walked out of the bathroom in the morning. It was hard to avoid having eye contact with him, but I had to put up with it now.

I cleaned up and got dressed, feeling too exhausted to cry. I repeatedly said how lucky I was to be near him—at least I had that.

Then Hoseok wrapped his arms around me from behind.

He smelled woody and green, like how I first met him in the forest. Only he wasn‟t hitting, punching, or hurting me—he was kissing me, his lips touching my temples. He sniffled my hair and held me tight like he was apologizing. I wished this was his way of taking back what he‟d told me last night. I wished he was saying that nothing was true about yesterday.

But then I realized Jiyeon was standing at the doorway.

When she was out of sight, Hoseok slowly let go. How could I forget? He wanted us to appear happy in front of everybody else. I didn‟t know why he was doing this. Maybe he was trying to make me feel guiltier . . . I don‟t know.

How could you break up with someone who wasn‟t technically your boyfriend yet? But that was my situation—it felt like a split-up, a farewell, a goodbye.

Hoseok put on his blissful façade throughout breakfast. Haeun and Daehyun clung to each other like they were the happiest couple in the world as they watched us. Junhong and Jiyeon asked us how our „first night‟ was. Hoseok joked about it, poking me in the ribs whenever I turned too silent or gloomy.

I knew, deep down, that it was worse this way.

Jessica waited for us by the van, looking bright and cheerful like she always did. Hoseok slid open the door like he was trying to crush it and crawled to the back of the van. I couldn‟t watch him anymore; the hatred he had for me poured off in the air like flaming heat and I was suffocating with it.

I ended up sitting beside Jessica, who was driving. She was singing like it was the happiest day of her life. Sometimes Hoseok seemed better; he joked around with Jin hyung and Jungkook, telling them stupid things.

“How‟s the family reunion?” Jin hyung asked.

“It was fantastic,” Hoseok responded happily.

Only if everything he said was true. Namjoon waited for me at his locker so we could head to English together. When I approached him, he pointed to someone behind me, eyeing me.

Turning around, I was a little shell-shocked to see Hoseok staring at me with Yoongi by his side. Yoongi obviously didn‟t like me as I caught him shooting a glare at me.

“Hey,” I started the conversation, keeping my voice low as he approached us.

How are you, Hoseok? Listen, I thought you didn’t mean what we argued about last night. Sorry for being such an ass to you. I honestly didn’t take it seriously. And, fuck, I miss you and I can’t stand not touching you. I need to kiss you, Hoseok. Can you please forgive me?

“What is it, Hoseok?”

He bent down to whisper in my ear.

“Don‟t say anything about our fight to anyone,” he said.

He turned around and left with Yoongi.

~ ~ ~

Two weeks passed since the day Hoseok had really broken my heart. Maybe it was too late now. Maybe destiny was a lie after all.

Maybe it was possible that I would be the first werewolf who would have his mate bond broken forever. I was, after all, the first coward in the pack who had hidden from his mate.

N I N E

Jimin's POV

Hoseok had been gone for a while and it felt like forever.

For the past couple of weeks, I had considered an attempt of mea culpa, but I knew it wouldn‟t work. I couldn‟t make myself apologize to him, or conjure him into giving me another chance. Every time I thought about what happened between us, my chest would hurt when I breathed. To make matters worse, final exams had begun and the issue was still unresolved.

During the first day of the final exams, I had tried my best to apologize to Hoseok, hoping he‟d come around since it had been quite some time since we really communicated. I had walked to his locker, reciting the apology I had memorized, silently to myself. I had promised myself to be cool and more yielding, but the sight of him made me tremble and my tongue frost to ice.

“Hi, Hoseok.” That was the best I could come up with.

“Hi,” he responded blankly.

“Er . . . how are the first papers?” I asked. “Were they hard?”

“They were fine,” he said. “I‟m pretty sure I can pass.”

I had seen in his eyes that he wanted to reach out and touch me. I even wished he would so I could at least feel the warmth of his skin. Say you’re sorry, I repeated to myself. Believe me; I tried my best to speak the right words. But I didn‟t want to risk heartbreak—I didn‟t want to face the fact that he might not want to forgive me.

“How‟s yours?” he broke the silence.

“Biology‟s hard,” I told him.

“Well, good luck. I‟m going to study with Yoongi and his friends. I‟ve promised the guy.”

When he walked away from me, I could smell his woody scent in the air.

I fucked up the first week of final papers. I couldn‟t study well; my focus was shot since I was troubled repeatedly by the thought of Hoseok and our broken relationship. Thank God Namjoon and Baekhyun were by my side— they had been the most help during the exams. Namjoon had always been good at math, so he tutored me, teaching me a few things and making sure I knew the material. Baekhyun had made me memorize some lines to act as triggers to help in my writing for English. Seriously, I was pretty sure my inner Shakespeare had been killed— maybe Hoseok was the murderer.

Whenever Baekhyun or Namjoon asked me about Hoseok, I could only lie, telling them that we were pretty okay. I knew they could sense the fishiness in that statement since Hoseok and I still kept our distance.

My head spun and I massaged my temples. I was thinking too much about what happened in the past week. I lay my head on my study desk, looking out the window, wondering what Hoseok was doing at the moment.

Is he thinking about me too? No, probably not—maybe he’s studying with Yoongi while I’m clinging on this silly hope for us to be a couple.

My chemistry textbook lay open on the desk, ionic and chemical equations waiting for me in the pages. I had to move forward if I wanted to survive high school. I had to put aside all my mate issues and focus for the final papers tomorrow, even if it was impossible.

Chemistry, the last paper for the examination, turned out to be okay. Now, I could finally breathe easy. The school year was ending, and I should‟ve felt excitement coursing through me, but all I felt was empty.

During lunch, Hoseok sat with his usual group of admirers, but now Yoongi, Luhan and the rest were also in the picture. I caught him staring at me once or twice, but it didn‟t matter. It wasn‟t out of the ordinary because we were mates and it was natural for us to be drawn to each other. We needed to love each other; we were made to love each other.

As usual, I sat with Namjoon and Baekhyun. I wasn‟t sure if Hoseok was pleased with Baekhyun hanging around with me and I wondered what he thought about it.

“It‟s funny, Jimin,” Namjoon said. “Yoongi's magically become a good friend with your ma—I mean, with your . . . er, you know, boyfriend. They were nemesis before and somehow you changed everything,” Namjoon said.

While Baekhyun was reading some books to kill time, Namjoon swung his foot around under the table, gesturing his silent apology for almost spilling my lycanthropic identity to a mortal. It wasn‟t like I cared anymore.

“What do you mean?” I asked Namjoon.

“Well, since you are dating Hoseok, Yoongi can actually try to win Tiffany back. Rumor has it that Hoseok is now Yoongi's love guru—Hoseok has been guiding Yoongi on how to win a date with Tiffany Hwang.”

I let out a little laughter. “Well, that‟s great, isn‟t it?”

“I guess everything‟s okay now between you and your basketball team,” Baekhyun said.

Baekhyun learned about Yoongi and the rest of the goingson at Daeil High at the speed of light. He was good at being the fly on the wall; in fact I could‟ve forgotten that he was here with Namjoon and me.

“Nope, I am really exiled from the team,” Namjoon said. “I don‟t really give a fuck. Can‟t understand why he hasn‟t apologized for saying shit about Jimin.”

“That guy, Yoongi is weird,” Baekhyun murmured. “Does he still hate you, Jimin?”

I shrugged as a response. I caught Yoongi glaring at me once or twice, but I was too apathetic to care. Namjoon and I had told Baekhyun that Yoongi was just some homophobic kid in school to make it simpler for him—I was just some random guy who got to date the school‟s superstar out of the blue. It would be complicated if Baekhyun learned about my werewolf identity and the mate concept.

“So,” Baekhyun continued, “if Yoongi hates you for being gay, why doesn't he hate your boyfriend too?” Baekhyun asked.

I looked at Namjoon, my eyes begging him to help me come up with an excuse to give Baekhyun.

“Well . . .” Namjoon started, “maybe Yoongi thinks he can restore Hoseok's legendary heterosexual prowess.”

Three of us looked at each other as we boomed out in explosive laughter. I cackled and laughed to Namjoon's hilarious response.

“Nice one,” Baehyun replied, panting hard as he guffawed. “Let‟s see if that‟s going to work.”

I couldn‟t believe I still had the ability to laugh to these little silly matters, and that‟s when I realized it was the first time in weeks I felt really happy.

~ ~ ~

The final bell resulted in the usual explosive roar of excitement—the whole school was running out of the building, screaming and shouting songs of victory. A group of seniors stole the crowd‟s attention with their rhythmic shouts of pandemonium—they were singing and screaming a cheer, celebrating the end of school.

I promised Baekhyun and Namjoon I would keep in touch during the summer break. Namjoon had already had a parttime job in the city. Baekhyun, on the other hand, was living temporarily with his aunt within driving distance.

I was walking out of the building when a hand grabbed my waist.

He pulled me to him, pressing me close to his body—I reacted to his scent immediately. I was engulfed in joy and comfort and safety and I wanted to be this way forever.

“Jessica thinks we‟re not okay,” he whispered. “Here she is. You have to sit with me. Got it?”

“Okay,” I said. I didn‟t really care; I wanted to be near him like this no matter how it was going to be. I wrapped my arm around his waist and squeezed myself closer to him.

During the drive home, Hoseok had been kissing and touching me and it had made me feel better, even if it was only an act. Deep down I knew this wasn‟t just an act for Hoseok, just like it is wasn‟t for me. He needed me.

When we arrived home, I couldn't help but want to stick to my mate as long as I could.

“Kids,” a voice called out as we were all about to disperse from Jessica's front yard to walk to our own homes. It turned out to be Mr. Jung. “The Alpha‟s gathering some kids in his house. I think you guys should be there, too.” (a/n: pls don't confuse. I use Mr. Jung as Jessica's dad. And I use Daehyun as Hoseok's dad.)

Hoseok thought the most important person to convince our mating was going well and that we were happy was the Alpha. On the inside, I was shamelessly joyful that I got to walk with my mate to the Main House. I was jumping up and down, thinking that Hoseok would continue touching me with affection, trying to appear romantic and passionate just like other normal mates would. I hoped the joy I felt didn‟t appear in my facial expression.

“So,” Hoseok said as we moved, “any plans for the summer?”

This is another chance, Jimin. Tell him you’re sorry!

“There are a few,” I said. “Sleeping is one of them.”

Hoseok sniggered. “You can still sleep well now?”

I gulped, regretting that joke I attempted. I hadn‟t expected it would go in a different direction.

“I can‟t,” Hoseok added, a sardonic smile plastered on his face, his voice going heavy.

“Hoseok,” I sighed.

He wrapped his arm around my arm, his fingers found mine as he gripped my palms strongly in his hand. He swung out our hands in the air, avoiding eye contact as I looked at him. I knew it would do no good if he started to glance at me—I remembered how he couldn‟t resist putting his lips on mine each time he stared into my eyes. Touching only meant that we wanted each other more; we couldn‟t resist the pull of the bond.

“You‟re good at resisting it,” Hoseok whispered.

“What?”

“I know you want to be with me,” he said. “Because I feel the same.”

Yes, it’s true, and I don’t think I can resist it anymore. Please come back to me.

I couldn‟t respond.

“You know what?” Hoseok continued. “I really thought you were the one who knew more about mates. Have you forgotten what you‟ve learned from the Guide about mate theory? Maybe you didn‟t read carefully, because if you had, you would know that mates always want each other. A mate doesn‟t simply miss their other—if one mate misses the other, the other mate might‟ve been missing him or her too. If one mate is turned on by their mate, the other is turned on by their mate too. If I miss you, Jimin, it only means one thing; it means that you are missing me too.”

I wanted to say that he was right, but at the same time, I wished I could deny everything he said. But there was nothing to disaffirm, because I did miss him, and I did want to touch him. Since we mutually shared a soul, I wanted him when he wanted me, craved for him when he craved for me, and there wasn‟t any other way.

“You‟re trying to deny the truth, aren‟t you?” he added.

Again, I lost the ability to respond to him. I had to admit that he was right. It would be better if he knew how much I missed him.

“Well . . . aren‟t you, Jimin?” Hoseok urged, forcing an answer out of me.

“I guess the Guide has said it all,” I murmured under my breath, my voice quivered.

That was not what I wanted to say to him. I thought I would be more vulnerable and yielding but I was just stupid, so fucking stupid I couldn‟t resist being more shitty to him. I hated this unapologetic side of mine that appeared out of nowhere.

Hoseok turned to me, squeezing my shoulder blades as he faced me.

“It does say it all, Jimin,” Hoseok said. “But it‟s useless if you don‟t want to come terms with it. Nothing will ever be the same if you can‟t admit it to yourself that you‟re in love with me. You are in love with me because I am in love with you. In fact I‟m so deeply in love with you maybe I‟ll die soon with this whole pretending shit.”

He walked away, rage burning in his face. I missed the chance to grip his hand and stop him, and I hated this feeling in between wanting to touch and not touching him—it was impossible for us to separate from each other forever.

The boys ran into the Main House, where the Alpha stood happily with his arms crossed over his chest. When I walked into the house, the humongous interior once again took my breath away. There was a glass spiral staircase to my left, leading to the rooftop patio of the house where you could view other houses lit up beautifully in the nighttime. The dim flashes of childhood memories ran through my head of when I used to play around the building with the rest of the Little Pack. Piles of boxes were situated on the wooden floor near Yong Bae's foot. He gestured at us to come closer to him and we did. I let out a breath of disappointment because Hoseok wasn‟t by my side anymore—I almost forgot the initial plan was to appear very in love with my mate in front of the Alpha, but it had failed.

“Are you free now?” Jessica whispered as she stood by my side.

“What do you mean?” I whispered back.

“Well, you seem busy,” she said. “Busy being in love.”

“Shut up,” I groaned and laughed. I wished what Jessica said was true—to say I was busy falling in love wasn‟t accurate; but saying I was busy dealing with heartbreak was.

Yong Bae cleared his throat, standing next to the boxes. He looked happier than all of us, who were still overjoyed with summer commencing.

“Summer‟s here, guys! What do you think?” Yong Bae shouted.

Everyone let out joyful murmurs. The conversation continued when the Alpha asked some of them about parttime jobs and stuff. Sun Woo and Hoseok were considering working a few weeks in an all- ages club in the city.

“Well, well, well,” the Alpha said, “before taking that job, you might want to finish the one you already have. It‟s lying behind you.”

He kicked a box, and it slid across the floor to us.

“These are party decorations,” he said. “Tomorrow night, we will meet Junmyeon's mate for the very first time. She's a solitary who‟s going to join our pack. The pack wants to throw a surprise party for Junmyeon. We want to celebrate Seohyun's pledge to be a new pack member. It‟s been a while since we have had a newbie, hasn‟t it?”

Jessica got all jumpy and happy at the thought of decorating for a party. I knew this was her kind of job, unlike some of the boys who didn‟t seem pleased with this idea.

“So,” Yong Bae clapped enthusiastically, “I hope there isn‟t a problem.”

“But, Dad, summer‟s just here! Let us chill out and—”

“If you prefer to lock your ass in the bedroom and be lazy, Jungkook, then I can‟t stop you. Your friends seem to have no problem with this. Just don‟t make me take your video games and cut your allowance,” Yong Bae responded.

Jungkook grunted while all of us exploded into laughter.

“So when can we start?” Jessica hopped on and off the ground.

“Well, we‟re going to have more people coming tomorrow to help out, so you can start tonight,” Yong Bae responded.

“Cool,” Hoseok said. “See you tonight, Yong Bae.”

When the circle dispersed, I remained a few feet away from Hoseok and watched him.

“Oh, Hoseok,” Yong Bae called him. “Come here.” I could only stare as he cracked his knuckles and approached Yong Bae. The sight of him was ecstasy to me—I wanted to put my hands on him and squeeze that chest like I hadn‟t touched it before and kissed every part of him with my lips in a filthy way.

Oh God. What’s wrong with me?

“What is it, Yong Bae?”

“This year‟s Combat is going to be held in Seoul. Are you joining?” Hoseok caught me staring at him as I pretended to check the boxes out.

“Yeah,” Hoseok responded. Of course; Hoseok had won the annual Wolf Combat for years in a row now—I was pretty sure nothing about his competitiveness had changed. He was still the same amazing future Alpha everyone adored.

“Hoseok!” a voice called out from outside the house.

I looked at the door and Yoongi's face popped in. Slowly, he walked inside, approaching the Alpha with a tired smile on his face.

I spotted uneasiness in Hoseok's eyes. Or was it just my imagination?

“Hey, Alpha. I was just searching for Hoseok. Dude, you are coming, aren‟t you?”

A burning spark started up in my chest and tears stung my eyes. I felt a hollowness spreading in my chest and I didn‟t like it.

“Gotta go, Yong Bae. Yoongi, let‟s go.”

~ ~ ~

I felt like a stalker, and I probably was since I found myself sneaking behind trees as I followed Hoseok and Yoongi in the woods.

I wished I could act like Yoongi. He could freely slide his arm around Hoseok's neck. Their friendly touches shouldn‟t have made me feel any envy, but it did. If I was in Yoongi's shoes, I would be touching Hoseok in a much better way, standing on my toes and kissing his cheek and he would return my affection passionately. Out of the blue we might‟ve ended up making love behind thick bushes or something. Call it morbid, but I heard that‟s how mates reacted to each other if they were touching too much.

Yoongi and Hoseok walked into narrow paths between huge trees. I counted a couple of seconds before I started following behind them again.

I noticed Hoseok glancing behind him a few times, like he could smell me, and I really thought he could because I was his mate. I jumped behind a thick bush to my left and felt his eyes catching mine for a few second. Then he turned to the usual conversation again.

“Tiffany doesn‟t seem to like hanging out with me this summer,” I heard Yoongi say.

When his voice faded, I moved again. “You can try harder,” Hoseok responded to him.

“Yeah, maybe,” Yoongi said. “I think she still digs you, man.”

“I don‟t know,” Hoseok said unenthusiastically. “Maybe you can find some other girls.”

“You‟re being ridiculous, dude. You know I can‟t like them,” Yoongi said.

“Well, maybe not them, but that‟s the choice you made . . .”

The two disappeared in a secluded corner. I walked silently and turned to where they headed.

Two feet from the low cliff under my feet was a large empty basketball court. It was a cemented open ground; its floor was blackish and muddy. I was pretty sure this was the place Namjoon had been referring to.

Hoseok and Yoongi pumped their fists and murmured loudly as they approached Luhan and the basketball team, laughing and shouting with excitement, one of them shooting a ball to Hoseok.

Maybe this was my mate‟s real life, and this kind of life mattered a lot to him. I was probably nothing compared to this. He had his buddies; his admirers who made him feel a lot better and more appreciated. I was just his mate, who was in denial about being madly in love with his own mate.

I moved away, running quickly while holding my tears in because I didn‟t want to cry again.

~ ~ ~

The sight of the forest reminded me a lot about how I discovered my mate. I found Hoseok as we had a ridiculous physical fight in the greens—all of a sudden his face had stood out so beautiful, his scent had overwhelmed me and there was this sudden urge to touch him and be with him creeping up in my thoughts.

I didn‟t want to feel tears running down my face again so I focused out and allowed my lycanthropic adrenaline free rein. Slowly I felt a weird sensation come over me as fur covered my exterior. My sight turned monochromatic and my limbs shortened.

I kept my speed up when I landed on the ground on four legs, jumping and thumping the earth like it could make me stronger. I went in all directions, climbed all the hills I could reach, jumped down from cliffs, crossed over swift streams of river, and kept the motion going.

I would rather die than to cry over Hoseok again.

I am the one who should make my mate laugh. I am the one who’s supposed to be by his side.

I stopped and accidentally let out a howl. It had been a while since I‟d shifted—I was supposed to take time in adjusting myself to my wolf side, but now I felt like an expert shifter. For a short second I wished I was a fullform wolf—I wouldn‟t have to have a halfsoul and have to cling onto a mate. If I was a fullform wolf I wouldn‟t have to have Hoseok in my life, hate him and suddenly love him because of destiny. Life would be easier.

I hoped I was on a ground high enough so my howls wouldn‟t be audible. I tried to keep it down but I was too frustrated on the inside, it just kept coming out louder and louder. I breathed in and stopped. Keep breathing, I told myself. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.

My mind was such a big fat liar because nothing was fine and everything it said was bullshit.

I kept on roaming the woods. I walked down the hills I climbed; passed by the river stream and finally sat on a flat empty forest floor to rest. I laid my head down, closed my eyes and tried to forget things for as long as possible.

I heard a crackling of twigs a few feet away from me. It might've been further than I sensed because my wolf hearing was just that damn sharp. When I breathed in, I smelled something familiar, but I knew it wasn‟t Hoseok.

“Hello, who‟s there?” a voice said.

Namjoon. It was his voice.

I got up and tried to shift back to my human form as soon as possible because he might freak out if he saw me. But it was too late.

Namjoon stood a few feet away from me, wide eyed; doubts filling his face as he watched me. But he didn‟t seem afraid. I walked backwards, trying to provide him more space in case he wanted to run. What the hell was he doing in the woods, anyway?

“Wait . . . Jimin, is that you?”

His sudden guess really surprised me. I flipped my tail like he could understand the gesture. I blinked my eyes a few times, hoping he would get something out of it.

“Um, tailflipping means yes . . . wait, so it‟s really you?”

Wow. Had Luhan taught him lots of things about us?

I flipped my tail once again.

“I knew it!” he enthused. “I recognized your eyes. Like, they‟re similar to yours—well, it‟s your eyes anyway. What the hell am I babbling about? By the way . . . man, you‟re a beautiful wolf!”

Maybe I was a beauty to human eyes. I had a silky white exterior that could gleam stunningly under the sunlight —at least that‟s what Jessica told me.

“I don‟t mean it in a creepy way, but . . . can I touch you?”

If only Namjoon could hear my laughter . . .

I approached him, a little bit too fast, he‟d almost freaked out and I closed my eyes.

I felt his hands travel down my flank and pat me.

“Wow, that‟s so smooth! My neighbor‟s dog would be so jealous of your fur, Jimin!”

Again, I wished Namjoon could hear my sniggers. My chest eased a little. I was really glad he was here with me when nobody else was. Everyone thought I was now running around with my mate, making love in the forest. No one could ever know the truth.

“I was just trying to get to your house. I found a shortcut, just near the basketball court Luhan showed me. I tried to use that shortcut and didn‟t expect to encounter you in this shape.” I moved my snout around his hand. This was an affectionate humananimal interaction, but that was the only way I could respond to him.

“Well, let‟s take a walk around. Maybe you should change now.”

“Who‟s there?” I heard someone call out.

My heart stopped when Yong Bae appeared in between the trees. Namjoon walked to my side as I moved farther in front, trying to explain this whole Namjoonknowing-us situation.

“Who are you?” Yong Bae asked Namjoon.

“Uh, er . . .”

I used the lycanthropic telepathy to communicate with Yong Bae—you can do that with all halfandhalf immortals if you are one.

He’s my friend, Yong Bae. He knows about us a long time ago. He’s just searching for me in the woods. We meet here sometimes, I said.

Yong Bae glanced at Namjoon apprehensively before his eyes relaxed again. He always liked newcomers and mortals. Then he smiled at Namjoon, walking closer to us.

“I heard howling, Jimin. Was that you?”

Yes. I’m—I’m sorry. I just—

“It didn‟t sound well,” he replied to me. “Are you having a fight with Hoseok, Jimin?”

Oh, no.

Yeah. It’s my fault, but I promise it’s not a big problem.

“Well, if that‟s the case . . .” Yong Bae said, reaching out to touch Namjoon's shoulder. “I‟m Yong Bae, the pack‟s Alpha. Seems like you‟re a good friend to Jimin. We‟re throwing a party tomorrow—feel free to join us. They‟re preparing the party tonight—if you want to help out, you‟re welcome. That is, if you have no plans this early in the summer.”

Yong Bae let out light laughter before he started to walk away. I hoped Namjoon wasn‟t surprised with Yong Bae being shirtless.

T E N

Jimin's POV

“We‟re celebrating Chanyeol's father discovering his mate, recently,” I said.

Due to the rushed shifting, I‟d destroyed my clothes, leaving them as pieces of torn fabrics in the woods. I was grateful to have Namjoon who snuck into my house to get me some clothes so I could change in the trees. He kept asking if the neighbors would freak out when they saw a human-sized wolf roaming around the streets. I told him that it was a normal thing in this neighborhood. I could only snort as he gasped in apprehension. Although my mate kept on popping up in my mind once in a while, chatting with Namjoon all day helped to keep my mind off of him. Darkness started to cover the sky, but Namjoon still had so many questions to ask about my werewolf pack.

“So Chanyeol's mom is not his dad‟s mate?”

“No,” I answered. “They split up when Chanyeol's mom found her true mate. Some wolves go against the odds, but they have to face the consequences. That‟s why you just have to wait for your mate to marry her—or him.”

I winked and Namjoon shot me a look.

“Speaking of mates,” he continued, “I saw yours with Yoongi.”

“Yeah.”

“I don‟t like it,” Namjoon said. “They‟re getting too close. It‟s weird.”

“I am not supposed to tell you this, but my relationship with Hoseok is pretty much fucked up at the moment.”

Namjoon's eyes widened. “What happened?”

“Well, I didn‟t really like him, right?” I said. “I just . . . I went overboard. He got mad and decided to teach me a lesson by ignoring me, although it‟s impracticable.”

I didn‟t expect the nimble laughter from Namjoon. “He‟ll come back to you,” he said.

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“Well, I don‟t know how to explain this exactly,” he muttered. “Jimin, it‟s just weird, because I‟m not gay but I have to be honest with you. Hoseok and you look . . . I don‟t know, great together? Even though I rarely get to see you with him, but you used to hate him so much so maybe this is the silver lining, you know? It‟s like you have to love him now, with no choice. Do you get it?”

“Yeah, everyone says the same,” I sighed. “And they‟re all like „Hey, where‟s Hoseok?‟ and this and that every single time.”

“Well, that sucks,” Namjoon said.

“Don‟t you think Hoseok is like . . . too popular, for me?”

The word „popular‟ tasted like acid in my mouth—it felt awkward to say it.

“I guess that‟s why you are his mate,” Namjoon replied. “He can‟t have everything, can he? He used to have it all; the chicks, the fame, but now he‟s screwed since he has you, a guy, to love forever. Fair and square.”

I was about to respond when I heard a commotion, like someone was running from downstairs to my bedroom, menacing footsteps booming outside the door. I shot straight up sitting on my bed when Jessica popped into my bedroom.

“Jimin, let‟s go—wait, what is he doing here?”

“Hi, Jess,” Namjoon said, his voice lacking any expression. “Wait, Jimin, I don‟t think—”

“I know you‟re a half-dog,” Namjoon interrupted her.

“Excuse me?” Jessica pulled up her sleeves. “What did you just say? A dog?”

“Well, I mean—”

Jessica advanced on him, her brown eyes broadened.

“What makes you think you can say that?” she pressed on, her hands locked on her hips.

“Jessica, calm down,” I said. “Yong Bae has met him. He‟s known about us for a while.”

“Yeah, the pack leader also invited me to help in the setup of the party, you see?” Namjoon slid into the conversation again.

“Shut up, you mortal,” Jessica groaned.

I knew this wasn‟t going to end up so well.

“What‟s wrong with being a mortal?” Namjoon argued.

“You don‟t get it.”

“Yeah, I don‟t,” Namjoon said. “You‟re too weird for me to understand.”

“What are—”

“Guys!” I shouted. “Enough. Jess, can we bring him to the party? Please?”

Jessica and Namjoon quarrelling wasn‟t something new. The two detested each other like cats and dogs. I guess it was in Namjoon's nature to piss Jessica off.

“Now, or I eat this douchebag alive,” Jessica said as she turned and left the room.

I looked at Namjoon, who shot me a disconcerting look.

“She‟s just called me a douchebag,” Namjoon said in awe. “But—wait. You guys eat humans too?”

Jungkook's mother cooked a gigantic meal for all of us. About an hour before, my parents found out about Namjoon knowing all about our pack. Mom turned out feeling pleasant about it. Dad had always thought Namjoon would know eventually because we were so close. In fact, everyone else adored Namjoon, his outgoingness charmed and comforted everyone.

Hoseok's presence caused goose bumps to rise on my skin. I apologized to Namjoon in advance as he saw the boys pushing and rearranging heavy furniture with no shirts on.

“Damn,” he groaned, staring at Sun Woo's muscular build. “Now I wish I was one of you shifters.” Namjoon's number one problem was that he couldn‟t gain any more mass no matter how many carbs and proteins he consumed. He was envious of me for having the muscles I had and I couldn't do anything about it.

Werewolves have high metabolism, since we‟re shape-shifters our human halves benefit from this. If we were to work out in our human form, our wolf side would strengthened and vice versa. It was easy to have these beautifully shaped muscles when all we had to do was shift and spend a few hours a week climbing up a mountain. I wasn‟t a fan of this, unlike most of the wolf boys were on this planet.

“I think this table should go to this side—”

Jessica had been directing us all night on where to reposition the tables and decors, acting as The Boss of the night. Hoseok and the others were unpacking more beautiful decorations to be hung on the wall.

After what felt like two hours, a meal and a refreshment section had been positioned and a new set of chandelier lights had been put up on the ceiling. Chairs and sofas had been rearranged for a suitable communal event we would be having tomorrow.

Jin hyung switched on the new chandelier, and orange lights illuminated what had been our efforts for the past couple of hours.

My father and the rest of the adults entered the hall in amazement. The good thing about the Main House was that the interior was huge enough for grand parties. Everyone gave applause as we begged for more air to breathe. Namjoon and I were sweating like pigs from taking Jessica's orders.

“What a great day!” she said.

“Yeah, for you,” Namjoon groaned.

“You can leave if you want.”

A rumble of a motorcycle was heard from the front yard and I turned around to look at where it came from.

The sight of the gigantic superbike I‟d always envied my entire life signaled to me who it was.

“Seungri's here!” Jessica said enthusiastically.

The boys rushed out to the front yard to see our new visitor.

“Is that her boyfriend?” Namjoon asked, pointing to Jessica as he joined the crowd.

“Cousin,” I corrected him.

“Sorry, guys,” I heard Seungri say as he set his helmet down, walking into the house. “I‟m late. I should‟ve listened to Dad! Should have just used the damn broom—oh fuck!”

A huge flying insect that looked like a roach approached Seungri's nose.

Quick as a wink, Seungri took a wand out of his pocket and pointed it out at the insect. A bright glowing spark lit up and it turned to dust, dissipating in the air.

“WHOA!” Namjoon exclaimed. “Who the hell is this guy?” “A rare werewolf breed,” I whispered. “He‟s a half-wizard instead of being a normal half-human. Jessica's aunt found a wizard mate.”

“I thought werewolves only mated with werewolves!” he murmured excitedly. “Mates—they—can—”

“I told you, mates are completely random.”

Seungri was a special immortal breed as no one could be a half/half immortal like he was. I considered Seungri the luckiest boy in the world—his ability had allowed him the skills to do every single fun thing in life; he could fake his I.D. and driving license, for example.

“Oh God,” Seungri said as his face turned gloomy. “I had no intention of killing it, I swear. I thought it would turn into a butterfly.”

“Boys,” Yong Bae said, “ask him inside.”

We did what he bid us. Seungri was awed at the sight of the decorated hall. I was quite surprised with his attendance. I knew he‟d always spent the summers in Gyerim but not to the start of the season. Jessica showed him around the house, when Seungri saw me, he started over towards me.

“Honestly, he looks a little bit like Jessica,” Namjoon whispered silently into my ears. “His eyes—”

“Hi,” Seungri cut Namjoon off. “Who‟s this?”

“I‟m Namjoon.”

“A mortal friend,” I added.

“Wow, hello man. Cool to see you,” Seungri said, pumping his fist to Namjoon, smiling at him before he stood beside me.

“Jimin, I heard about you and Hoseok. Oh. My. God.”

“Shut up, or I‟ll kill you,” I said.

“I mean—hey, he‟s mine! Damn! You know he‟s my all-time boy crush,” Seungri told me. “And you‟re not even gay, are you?”

“Are you?” Namjoon asked Seungri.

“Duh, it‟s obvious, my dear mortal,” Seungri responded. “Isn‟t it true, Jimin?”

“Yeah,” I retorted in sarcasm. “No one can be gayer than you are, Seungri.”

“That‟s why I‟m so fabulous!” Seungri responded and I couldn‟t hold in my laughter anymore.

“You don‟t seem gay,” Namjoon said.

Seungri slid his arm around Namjoon's waist. I could see Namjoon flinching, and I laughed again.

“Now do I?” Seungri batted his lashes at Namjoon, shooting flirtatious looks at him.

“Yes, yes—you are, an amazing gay half-wizard half-wolf . . . even though I‟m not sure whether it‟s right to assume people‟s sexuality when you just met them,” Namjoon replied. Seungri chuckled and let go of Namjoon. “Yep, that‟s true, dear mortal. I was just testing if you‟re still having that . . . ordinary mortal mentality.” Seungri turned to me. “So why‟s Hoseok just around? He should be sticking with you. My friend‟s mated and she just can‟t breathe without her boy.”

“Just stay around the summer, you‟ll get tired of me and him,” I lied.

“Ooh,” Seungri murmured. “Can‟t wait to see that. I love gay couples.”

Times passed by so quickly since Seungri got here. We ended up sitting on a couch placed in one secluded corner of the living room, basically chatting about the latest goings-on in seungri's life. He and Namjoon bonded pretty quickly, and that certainly amazed me.

“Anyway,” Namjoon interrupted, his face reflecting uneasiness, “how can you be a half-wizard?”

“Well, it happens when a werewolf has wizardry skills present too—it's nothing special if you‟re not passionate about magic, like I am. I only learn spells that do good things for me.”

“Like . . . turning attractive guys gay so you can hook up with them?” Namjoon asked.

Seungri let out a snigger. “Maybe?”

“Ah . . . well, I don‟t need to worry too much. I‟m not attractive.”

“You don‟t know that.” Seungri shot a flirtatious look at Namjoon, and I knew my friend was trying to hide how freaked out he was.

“Well . . . I don‟t think I‟ll mind if . . . err, I‟m going to enjoy it if you want to . . . if I have to . . . err . . .”

“Seungri, stop bullying my friend,” I said. “Namjoon, what he meant was like . . . he had the abilities to fake IDs, cast spells on his motorbikes, and stuff,” I said.

Seungri laughed. “Exactly. Well, I‟m not my father or Kim Taehyung.”

“Kim Taehyung?” Namjoon asked, suddenly intrigued again.

“He‟s the scariest creature in the world!” Seungri said, fluctuating in a theatrical choreography move. “He‟s a half-wizard half-vampire—a very, extremely rare breed of our kind. He‟s a wizard dominant, too—knows how to figure out thousands of excruciating spells. You do not want to mess with him. He‟s fucking creepy—even the sight of him makes you shiver.”

If you are a half-blood breed with no human side like Seungri, your two entities are imbalance. Seungri was more dominant as a wizard than he was a werewolf, although he always thought being a werewolf was more badass.

Kim Taehyung was widely known among the immortals for the cruel murders he‟d done years ago. He was a South Korea wizard‟s son, whose whole family was killed during a rogue vampire attack about a decade ago. After he‟d been bitten, he transformed into a monstrous creature. His layers of magic, wizardry and vampirism, didn‟t mesh well together. He‟d killed violently and without any control, his thirst for blood and revenge overpowered him until the Immortal Custody had taken him to a rehabilitation cell. A vampire group called the Kims had claimed him for their clan, taking responsibility to not let Taehyung go wild again.

“Wait,” I said to Seungri. “You‟ve just recently met him, haven‟t you?” “Yep,” Seungri responded. “We were in Daegu and Dad turned out to know the Kims. I tried get out of going but he insisted on me meeting Taehyung. He thought the half-vampire could give me some advice about magic.”

“How did it turn out?” Namjoon asked.

“He‟s okay, not that friendly, though,” Seungri responded. “He performed some dark spells—it was fucking scary. Vampirism and wizardry magic could never blend, with him being in the exception. I heard about a few wizards who volunteered to be bitten so they could be like Taehyung, but they only ended up dead. I just wanted to get away from him as soon as I could.”

Just when I let out a gasp, I heard a deep voice behind me.

“Boys.”

Yong Bae stood smiling behind us. I didn‟t know how Yong Bae could remain happy and calm most of the time and I wished I could be like him. Or maybe I could just ask Seungri to cast a spell on me so I could forget Hoseok for a day.

“I‟ve laid out futons upstairs,” Yong Bae added. “You can stay, Namjoon. It‟s late. I can call your parents if you want.”

“Uh . . . we‟ll see,” Namjoon said, his voice filled with doubts.

“Ooh, a communal sleepover,” Seungri murmured. “Just like old times, right Yong Bae?”

Yong Bae winked and nodded. “Just like old times.”

~ ~ ~

I couldn‟t sleep if he decided to remain in my thoughts.

Up at the house was huge empty room surrounded by large glass windows. Slumber parties at Yong Bae's place were a usual occurrence in the summer and especially after the full moon hunt.

Japanese futons would be laid out on the empty space, extending from the perimeter to the center of the large room. The boys would sleep here, staring out at the beautiful night sky through the window as we tried to fall asleep. On nights after the hunt, it felt like camping outdoors, with a view of the dark purple night sky above and the stars aligned and sparkling.

Tonight, Namjoon and Seungri were to my right side. Both had fallen asleep a while ago and were emitting light snores. Looking into a dark corner of the room, I noticed a figure leaning against the wall and knew immediately who it was.

He was looking right at me, observing what I was doing, and not pretending he wasn‟t looking. I was pretty sure he could sense that I had noticed him by now.

I stood up and walked over to him, trying not to step on the sleeping bodies on the floor. They were all deep in slumber.

The crescent shaped moon hung beautifully in the sky, as if it was watching over me and acknowledging the hollowness sparking deep in my chest. “Can‟t sleep?” Hoseok muttered as I approached.

“You‟re right,” I said. “Of course, I can‟t sleep.”

He let out that snigger I missed the most.

“How can I help you with that, Jimin?” he asked.

“Hoseok, I‟m—”

Again, everything I wanted to say to him for the past few weeks got stuck in my throat. The harder I tried to speak, the heavier it felt in my body.

“What is it, Jimin? Say it. I‟m not going anywhere.”

I couldn‟t turn these feelings of remorse and pain and guilt into audible words, so I could only put my cold hands on his face. His skin felt so warm under my fingertips, and I pulled him to press my lips on his. I pushed him down; his back touched the ground, his pulse raced, and I could see vibrations in his naked chest as if his heart could never beat faster.

I pinned him down and kissed his skin, trying to capture the feel of his touch and commit it to memory. He pressed my body harder against his, sliding his hands underneath the thin fabric of my T-shirt, feeling every part of me with a passion I had been dying for.

What I felt was what he felt. Nothing could feel more right than this moment.

He broke the kiss for air.

“Hoseok, I—I miss you. I swear—”

His lips shut me up again.

Although I had a feeling that this wouldn‟t last, at least he was here with me at this moment.

Finally, these touches were real and not one brought on by nightmares or hallucinations resulting from longing. It was all Jung Hoseok, the boy I was madly in love with.

~ ~ ~

I woke up to coldness. Hoseok was no longer by my side.

I inhaled the morning air, exhaling frustration, and a big sigh escaped from me. The sky outside the window wasn‟t that bright and Hoseok had already left.

What was I thinking? I shouldn‟t have had my hopes up that he would still be there when morning came. He was devastated; his heart had been damaged by my actions.

I recalled the words he said to clarify how deeply in love he was with me. I wished I could have his confidence to say what was in my heart as clearly as he had yesterday. Hoseok, forgive me. Over and over, those same words kept on repeating in my mind. Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me.

I didn‟t know how I could be so selfish.

No matter how selfish, how stubborn, how hard I was, there was one thing that would never ever change:

I loved him.

I would always love him. My feelings wouldn‟t go away like a storm. My love wouldn‟t die even if my heart stopped beating. My urge to be with him was immortal even if it was possible for creatures like us to die.

The whole day, I was nothing but a silent doll—lifeless and empty.

I wanted my mate. I never wanted anything as badly in my life as I wanted him.

~ ~ ~

It was sundown and the party would commence in a few minutes. My family was still preparing themselves for the party. I was staring at my reflection in the mirror, blankly, when I noticed another figure coming into my bedroom from behind me.

A tall girl stood behind me, dressed up in a pearly orange dress that sparkled under the light.

“Were you ever informed that we had to dress up nicely for Junmyeon's mate?”

Jiyeon crossed her arms and I tried to force a smile, but it was strained. The whole day I hadn't felt happy no matter how hard I tried to be. There was a wound deep in my heart, like a missing piece of a puzzle.

Hoseok was the complement of half of my soul and he wasn‟t here with me. How could I feel complete without him?

“You look terrible, brother-in-law,” Jiyeon added. “Are you okay?”

I nodded as she came to sit beside me on the bed. Like a mother soothing a little child, she began rubbing my shoulders and stroking my hair. When I felt tears welling up in my eyelids, I looked down at my lap.

“You‟re having a fight with him, aren‟t you?” she asked.

“How do you tell someone you love him?” I blurt out.

Jiyeon kept on rubbing my back as I wiped the tears away. It was stupid to just watch your boyfriend‟s sister watch you cry over him.

Hoseok wasn‟t actually my boyfriend yet though.

“The first step is,” Jiyeon said, “to impress him through how you dress tonight. Come on, get up and get cleaned. I‟ll wait.” Solemnly, I got up and went to take a shower. When I walked out of the bathroom, a shiny black suit and a red tie was laid out on my bed, its smooth texture caught the fluorescent light of my bedroom. I continued drying myself off when Jiyeon handed me a shirt, trousers and a belt.

“Wear them,” she commanded and I did.

She brought me to the mirror and had me put on the black suit jacket. She finished by tying the necktie around my neck, positioning it perfectly, as we watched my reflection in the mirror.

I looked like a gentleman.

“Whose suit is this?” I asked.

“Yours,” she replied. “I bought it as a gift, actually. I didn‟t remember giving it to you during the family dinner.”

I continued watching myself in the mirror, a smile started to form on my face. Jiyeon's hand locked around my bicep, gripping it hard, looking pleased with how I turned out.

“At least he‟ll see you wanting to look nice for him,” she told me.

“This is weird,” I said. “I feel like a girl going out on a date.”

She slapped my arm, hard. “Jerk.”

I laughed as Jiyeon sprayed some perfume on my neck.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” I said. “Thanks for helping me.”

“Aw, that‟s sweet of you,” she replied. “Now, everyone‟s waiting for you downstairs.”

There was something in Jiyeon's voice—an edge like she wanted to surprise me with something. Maybe Hoseok was downstairs for me, holding his hand out like how the guys in the movies waited for their dates during prom night. I smiled to myself when Jiyeon walked with me to the main hall with her arm wrapping around mine.

Standing at the end of the staircase were Mom, Dad and Jin hyung.

There was no Hoseok.

“Wow, looks like someone‟s getting married tonight,” Dad said. I pretended a laugh when everyone cracked up at the joke. I did feel like a groom, though I wasn‟t the only one in a suit. Jin hyung and Dad were in brown-colored suits, the one they always wore for formal occasions. Mom was dressed in an emerald flowing gown; her hair done up into a nicelooking bun. She looked so pretty, I was certain Jiyeon was the one who had styled it for her.

The whole neighborhood walked out of their homes dressed to the nines. We all converged into the lit street as the sky darkened. The Main House gleamed beautifully from afar; its orange lights shimmered in the dark night. When we got closer, slow tunes and hums of music could be heard.

We parted ways as we entered the front doorway. The tables we‟d set up had mostly been occupied; chitter-chatter could be heard among the crowd. Standing around me were people in beautiful suits and dresses, but my mate was nowhere to be seen. I searched around, hoping I would spot him. I wanted to go right up to him and tell him how I really felt about him. My eyes stopped wandering when I spotted Luhan and Yoongi. The two of them were walling Hoseok into a corner. They had drinks and were laughing with each other. Hoseok didn‟t seem like he miss me. I don‟t think he even remembered me.

“Hey, Jimin. Come here!”

I turned around and saw Seungri, Namjoon and Jessica sitting at a table a few feet away from me. I approached them, trying to take care not to wrinkle the brand new suit I put on.

“You look nice,” Seungri said. I smiled at him and watched Namjoon who had dressed up in a decent- looking shirt and trousers. Jessica, who didn‟t really like dressing up, ended up wearing an orange dress that she always wore for weddings. She still looked nice, though.

“Oh God,” Jessica exclaimed. “You aren‟t just nice—you‟re charming!”

“Please, Jess,” I said.

“Brand new suit?” Namjoon asked. “Pleasantly, werewolves look just as normal as the humans when it comes to parties. I honestly expected the no-shirt thing.”

“I thought Hoseok would come with you,” Jessica blurted out gloomily. “What‟s wrong with him? He‟s acting like a jerk. Have you seen Bora and Baek Ho? They‟re like the most stunning mated couple when they walked into the room just moments ago. I wished like hell you two could‟ve just stolen the spotlight from them.”

“For God‟s sake, Jessica,” I said. “We‟re not Brangelina.”

“Yeah, they‟re not Sterek, too,” Namjoon said to Jessica. Once again, he had us throwing that look at him.

“What?” he asked. “You know, that MTV show? Teen Wolf?”

“Can you please stop being nonsensical?” Jessica said.

When the two continued their argument, I heard the Alpha announcing Seohyun and Junmyeon's arrival. All of us were supposed to be at the door during their arrival. I was the first to stand up and walked to the doorway, with Jessica, Namjoon and Seungri trailing from behind. I smelled something weird near me and turned to look at Seungri.

“Are you wearing some sort of weird perfume?” I asked.

“Kind of,” he said. “It‟s a charmed cologne—it‟s supposed to attract guys to me—something I found from the online community. It works, actually.”

“Oh, am I supposed to have a hard-on smelling you now?” I asked.

His eyes widened. “You have a hard-on now?”

I ignored him, looking outside the door, which had a large crowd already blocking the doorway. A black BMW, followed by a bright-pink Bentley, entered the gigantic lawn of the Alpha‟s house.

Yong Bae opened the car‟s door, reaching out to a smooth white hand, pulling a woman out of the car. Her face glowed extraordinarily, looking young and alive. Her skin shimmered under the faint glow of the moonlight as if there were glitter on her skin. She looked stunning in her flowing white dress, appearing simple and sweet as her mate escorted her to the doorway after she greeted the Alpha.

The crowd made way for Seohyun and Junmyeon to pass when they approached the house. She smiled at us like we were fans and she was the celebrity of the night. When she was in the house, everyone followed.

Before the party really started, Seohyun had to do the pack-pledging ceremony. She would put a blood fingerprint on a sacred paper that would claim her to be a member of the pack before the meals and the dances started.

I started to walk inside to the center of the house when a hand reached for my shoulder.

I turned around and saw Baekhyun looking at me with his eyes opened in shock.

“What are you doing here?” we both shot at each other at the same time.

For a moment, we could only stare at each other. Then Namjoon came to me, his expression was indifferent. As Seungri joined him, I spotted him flustering, then silently turning and disappearing back into the crowd again.

I could see there were words stuck in Baekhyun's throat. What could all of this mean?

A woman in a glittery pink blouse with a large hat walked into the house with her stilettos on.

“Baekhyun, what are you doing standing here—oh, it seems like you‟ve made some new friends!”

She walked in and ignored us. Baekhyun kept on staring behind my shoulders as if someone was looking at him in a menacing way. I turned around and saw Chanyeol watching us shortly before he glanced away.

“Jimin—are—you—”

“Baekhyun, what‟s going on?” I asked.

“Do you know these people are werewolves too?” Namjoon added.

“You are a werewolf too?” Baekhyun pointed to me.

Jessica ran toward us, shouting against the sound of the loud music.

“Guys, what are you doing there? Come on, the ceremony‟s starting!”

I followed Jessica as she dragged me into the house.

In the middle of the hall, the crowd circled a raised platform where the pack pledging would take place. Yong Bae, Junmyeon and Seohyun stood in the center of the circle, fronting a cream-colored constitutional paper that would mean eternal membership for the pack. Seohyun seemed extremely pleased as Yong Bae handed her a knife.

I watched as she gave a little cut on her forefinger and pressed it on the paper. As she did, everyone applauded. She smiled at us when her mate reached down to kiss her lips. This seemed almost like a wedding, but a pack-pledge was an important ceremony, too. The head of the family, which was currently Seohyun, had to sign the legitimate pledge that would make the whole family official members of the pack. This kind of ceremony was a rarity for our pack since there weren‟t many new members to join.

“Thank you, everyone,” Seohyun said cheerfully. “This is nice! I don‟t know much about this, as I‟ve lived so long in solitude with my son, but I‟m sure our life will be amazing here. I really appreciate all your help.”

Everyone gave another loud applause.

“There are a couple of people I want to introduce to all of you,” she said. “This is my younger sister, Yoona.”

The woman I saw earlier with Baekhyun walked up to the platform and waved at us. At another glance, Yoona seemed friendly. I watched as she backed away and disappeared among the crowd.

“And my son‟s also here,” Seohyun continued. “Sweetheart, come here.”

I gasped as Baekhyun moved and pressed himself through the crowd. Taking slow steps to the platform, he walked up to be by Seohyun's side, looking solemn and doubtful.

“This is my only son, Baekhyun,” Seohyun said. “He used to have trouble adjusting himself with mortals. I hope he‟ll have a better time with the kids in the pack.”

“He‟ll be fine,” Yong Bae assured them as he patted Baekhyun's back.

Whoa, Baekhyun's a werewolf too?

“Whoa, now I‟m alone again,” Namjoon said. “I‟m the only mortal again.”

“C‟mon, dude,” I reassured him. “That‟s what makes you special, being my only mortal friend.”

“Ooh, I like that,” he replied, “although it might sound gay.”

“Shut up,” I groaned, and he responded by laughing.

~ ~ ~

I was really thinking about requesting Seungri a spell that could make me forget Hoseok. Once in a while, I wanted to enjoy the party—I wished I could get up and dance, or eat all the food at the buffet table, or just ask Seungri to do some magic tricks that he knew. But I kept on staring around, trying to spot Hoseok among the noisy crowd.

Namjoon and I sat around at the couches near the entrance of the main house. He was talking about some football game that he missed yesterday when a strange commotion outside the house caught my attention.

My heart raced wild, and I didn‟t know why I felt such anxiety. The noise sounded so troubling, goose bumps rose all over my skin.

Something terrible is happening.

“Wait—where are you going?” Namjoon asked. “Stay here for a while,” I told him.

The arguing voices seemed louder as I walked to the front door. I breathed in and tried to reassure myself I wasn‟t hearing Hoseok, but then the voices got loud enough and I was sure he was one of the guys who were shouting.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Listen, you motherfucker—”

They groaned in whispers and small shouts. I approached the nearest wall so I could peek at them without being seen.

They were about ten feet away from the front door in the center of the front yard. I walked out the door silently; paranoia crept up each step I took. The shouts got fiercer and more menacing as I got closer; burning anger erupted in the air like heat that could suffocate me.

I leaned my back on the nearest wall, trying to make myself invisible near the door.

Yoongi.

He was pushing Hoseok's chest with both of his strong hands, fury occupied every single space in his face. Whatever they argued about, it looked awful. I didn‟t know if interrupting them was a good idea. I knew it wasn‟t my business, but I swear to my immortal life this didn‟t feel right.

I watched them again, quietly, as they kept pushing and shoving each other off again and again.

Hoseok pointed a finger right at Yoongi's nose this time.

“Listen!” he groaned. “I love him and you should just stay out of it! Stop being a fucking pussy and stay—out—of—it!”

Yoongi advanced, closing the distance between him and Hoseok. I saw as his chest only rose and fell repeatedly. Then, the heat of pure hatred and danger poured off in the air like a venomous radioactive wave.

This time, I wasn‟t afraid. I started to move away from the wall, taking steady steps toward them.

When I saw Yoongi clenching his fist to his side, I sped up my pace.

“Don‟t—” I said, barely realizing that I was standing in between them.

That‟s when Yoongi flung out his arm in full speed and his fist met my skull.

The world went black as I felt as if my head was being ripped into two.

E L E V E N

Jimin's POV

The only thing I remembered was the way my face hit the grass, and my head felt like it had been split in half. Then, empty darkness.

The pain hit me when I started to open my eyes—it flooded into my head, it was so intense my ears were ringing. Damn, the agony I was feeling was no joke—I let out a small yelp, wishing the venomous pain would go away by doing so.

But there was a sweet-smelling heat by my side that helped to relax and ease my pain.

He pulled me so my head landed right on his arm with my cheek touching his stony chest. I snuggled into his scent as much as I could; trying to convince myself I wasn‟t a pervert because I felt desire.

In fact, I ignored what my mate would think and buried my face deeper into his body.

God, my mate smelled fantastic, like vegetation and the woods.

“Hey,” he murmured. “Are you okay?”

I could only groan in response. You could say I was being nuisance, but if this was the only opportunity I had to touch my mate freely, then I couldn‟t care less. I draped myself over his tummy, his T-shirt crumpled in my tight grip. Through the crack of my eyelids I noticed the bright morning sunshine.

Damn, I missed the whole night.

“It‟s alright,” Hoseok whispered as he stroked my head. “You‟ll be fine.”

I didn‟t say anything; it felt good to stay this way. I didn‟t know cuddling with him like this could be so relaxing. I was so fucking turned on there was no turning back.

“I‟m sorry, Jimin,” Hoseok pleaded. “And you—what were you thinking? Why did you decide to be such a stupid asshole last night? I didn‟t need saving.”

“Sorry,” I murmured. “I was just—”

“Your skull got cracked, you hear me? This is unacceptable, Jimin.”

I pulled myself up to breathe some fresh air. When our eyes met, I smiled.

“I‟m okay,” I said. “It‟s fine.”

“You should be thankful to have a mate,” Hoseok said. “Yong Bae said mate bonds can help internal injuries. I hope you‟re okay.”

“I‟m fine,” I pressed on. “Thank you, Hoseok.”

Hoseok pushed my head back onto his chest again. Engulfing myself in him, I wrapped my arms freely around his body, stroking his muscles with my hands. Under my fingertips, his heart beat faster in his chest. Nothing could be better than this.

It wasn‟t rocket science how mate bonds help with pain—having Hoseok by my side was so blissful the idea of being physically in pain seemed ridiculous.

“I was just worried he was going to hit you,” I said. “That‟s not a good excuse to not use your brain,” Hoseok grunted. “I don‟t want you to do that, ever again. Promise me, Jimin.”

“God, Hoseok,” I said. “I‟m a guy too. I have pride.”

“Then use that damn pride of yours for other things instead of getting a punch you don‟t deserve.”

I pulled myself up and push Hoseok down so he lay down on his back. “Like this?” I murmured.

Hoseok laughed, his eyes trailing me as I sat on top of him. “Now you deserve a punch.”

I‟d almost forgotten how beautiful this man was. As I put my hands around his hair, I watched as his dark brown eyes glimmered under the morning light.

My fingers lingered around his face, and I descended lower so my torso met his. I gave his lips a brush from mine, a smile forming on his lips, the kind of smile that showed me how deeply in love he was, the kind of smile I wanted to see on his face forever.

“What‟s going on between you and Yoongi?” I murmured.

He ignored me and rolled until we switched position. As Hoseok pushed me down on the soft mattress to sit on top of me, something from the past flashed across my mind, a memory I would never forget. It felt as if the hands of time were turning back to the moment when I first found him—in my mind, the background changed; we were in the woods as I was caught in disbelief to discover Jung Hoseok as my mate.

Only he wasn‟t trying to hurt me now—the same hands that had once punched me and pushed me was now caressing on my face. It was wonderful how I could fall for Hoseok's tenderness.

For once, the idea of hating my mate was completely irrelevant.

“I‟m sorry, Jimin,” he whispered. “I—I never thought—”

“Why are you sorry?” I asked.

“Jimin, you‟ve been hit! Your skull—things might get worse—”

“You‟ve hit me before, too. Aren‟t you sorry for that?”

He looked at me, his expression changed, and a sigh escaped from him.

“Okay,” I said abruptly, “that was a joke. I‟m sorry. Don‟t take it too seriously, Hoseok.”

He smiled again. It seemed like nothing could go wrong in the world. This was the moment and I had to seize it—I had to tell him how I really felt. Nothing could stop me now.

―I love you,‖ he said it; again, so casually. Those were the right words in my brain, but Hoseok's lips were colliding with mine, kissing me as if there would be no tomorrow. He kissed me until I couldn‟t breathe. He kissed me like he could never do this again, as if something was going to separate us. As if he was just afraid I might turn into a bitch sooner or later, forcing him to continue with the whole pretending-to-be-so-in-love shit again.

His lips parted from mine, panting. Trickles of sweat dribbled down his temple, gleaming under the dim light pouring into the bedroom.

“I‟m going mad, Jimin,” he told me. “I can‟t deny how much I want you.” I flinched when his lips touched my neck, his teeth teasing a sensitive spot.

“God,” he groaned as he looked at me again. “I hope this isn‟t so gay.”

“I‟m glad you noticed.”

We stared at each other again before both of us broke into laughter. Our voices fade, and our eyes met once again. Now it wasn‟t just some blank stare— Hoseok was looking at me like I was the only person that mattered to him in this world, but then his expression changed, solemnity filling his eyes, like I would somehow fade and disappear. I wanted to tell him that I would stay with him and I wanted him to know how sorry I was for being such an asshole before.

“Hoseok—”

He advanced toward me, locking his lips over mine.

“Shh, don‟t say a word,” he grunted, his lips pulling away from me. “I don‟t care how you feel about me, Jimin. I‟m really going to win your heart.”

I didn‟t expect to let out a snort. “I‟m not Tiffany Hwang. I hope you remember that.”

“Do you hear what I said, Park Jimin?”

“Yes, sir,” I said.

His hand tugged hard on my T-shirt, making me smile brighter. I felt the heat of his touch on me burned all over the place, and I was certain the bed would catch fire soon.

“Is Jimin okay—oh God,” said a voice.

Hoseok and I turned our heads toward the door to see Namjoon and Jessica at the doorway, their mouths agape.

The bed might not have gone up in flames, but my face had.

“Oh, sorry—we—I—thought to see if you‟re okay—I—didn‟t know—bye.”

Namjoon pulled Jesscia away and slammed the door shut.

“Fuck,” Hoseok cursed. “I knew I should have locked the door earlier.”

~ ~ ~

I was told that a few doctors had to check my head after Yoongi had hit me. Hoseok had been with me through it all while I was unconscious. But he had to leave now to explain to our Alpha about the scuffle he had with Yoongi.

I attempted to make Hoseok talk about the issues he had with Yoongi, but none of my endeavors worked. His expression stiffened whenever he heard Yoongi's name escaping my mouth. Right after Hoseok left, Dr. Min came to check on me in my bedroom. Thank God we had a doctor in this pack; I didn‟t like hospitals that much. He flashed a penlight into my eyes, his fingers were careful on my skin. He wanted to make sure I didn‟t have a concussion. My X-ray had shown my skull with a hair line thin fracture running across it.

It was hard to believe that Yoongi's father was the one who was trying to mend me back to health. I tried to look like I didn‟t mind what his son had done. Hoseok had glared at Yoongi whenever they crossed paths. It hurt my head to realize I didn‟t really know the reason behind the argument Hoseok had with Yoongi.

I was made to stay in my bed all day. I didn‟t really feel like leaving it, either—everyone was still celebrating Seohyun's arrival.

The party’s a little bit ruined because of you.

My cheeks warmed.

A boy peeked out from behind the wall, half of his body visible in the doorway.

“I‟m up,” I said to him. “You can come in.”

Baekhyun advanced toward me with a glass of iced orange juice in his hand, a kind smile on his face.

I still couldn‟t fathom the fact that the boy standing in front of me was Seohyun‟s son.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I‟m good.”

I shot him a funny look, hoping he would get I was a little annoyed.

“What?”

“Nothing,” I said. “It‟s just I have a friend who I barely know, that‟s all.”

He laughed, and I took the orange juice away from him. I gave it a sip and set it down on the lamp table beside my bed.

“How was I supposed to tell you?” he said. “You were such a dick, too. If I‟d known earlier that wolves fill up most of the school, things might‟ve been easier for me.”

“I know,” I told him. Suddenly, my throat seemed like it had dried up again and I drank the entire glass of orange juice.

“That explains how the hot jock is your boyfriend,” Baekhyun said. “Apparently he‟s your mate. And Yoongi—damn, he‟s in the pack too! Won‟t it be a pain in the ass for you?”

“I don‟t know. I try not to give a damn, though,” I said, ice cubes occupying my mouth. “Where‟s Namjoon?”

“He‟s somewhere with Jessica,” Baekhyun told me.

We lapsed into silence. The quiet sort of killed me. I never felt so claustrophobic in my own bedroom before.

“I want to get out of here,” I groaned. “I don‟t think that‟s a good idea. Your head—”

“I‟m okay now,” I told him. “Trust me.”

“Yeah, I know. I‟ve just been informed that a strong mate bond can heal, right? So, I bet you‟ve just . . . uh, you know, done it . . . right?”

I almost choked on the ice cubes I was chewing on. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“How does it feel, dude? You know, to do it . . . with a guy.”

“You‟re insane!” I told him. “Now shut up. We do not need to, you know, do it, to heal my injuries. Why are you so curious anyway?”

He stared blankly at the wall for a good few seconds. I wondered what might‟ve been playing in his head right then. According to what I discovered last night, Baekhyun was good at keeping secrets. I was pretty sure there was more of it, hidden and locked away.

“Baekhyun?”

“Huh?” he flinched, transported back to reality.

I pat down a space beside me, gesturing him to come over. “Come and sit here.”

At first he shot me a look, and then he approached and came to sit on the bed right beside me. I watched as he took a deep breath and looked into my eyes.

“What?”

“Are you gay?” I asked.

I noticed his cheeks turning rosy. He looked down at his lap. “You are not Min Yoongi, are you?”

“What?” I asked.

“You know, gay-hating? Homophobic—you‟re not a homophobe, aren‟t you?”

I rolled my eyes. “God, Baekhyun, I really hate the word, homophobic—why does everyone think I‟m that kind of a person? First it‟s the Alpha, now it‟s you.”

“No, that‟s not what I mean, Jimin.”

“I know,” I said, throwing myself against the mattress. “Plus, I‟m mated to a guy, so how can I be homopho . . . whatever the fuck that word is?”

Baekhyun laughed and I realized what was wrong with my sentence. Mated to a guy?

“So you did hook up with Hoseok?” Baekhyun asked.

God. My cheeks caught fire. “No, I—I mean, that‟s—that‟s—you know what I mean.”

“Whatever,” Baekhyun muttered, joining me on the bed, lying down on his back. “Well, it won‟t hurt, then. Yeah, you can say that.”

“What?” I asked. “Can you not make me say it?” he groaned.

“You‟re confusing me,” I said. “Don‟t try to throw me off balance with your words; I almost had brain damage yesterday.”

“You said you were fine!”

“You deserve a kick in the balls,” I grunted. “Get to the point, Baekhyun.”

“The answer to your previous question is yes,” he explained. “It‟s—I‟ve never came out to anyone else except my mom and aunt before. I‟ll appreciate it if you keep it to yourself.”

“Say it, and then I can promise you it‟ll be a secret.” I lifted my eyebrows in amusement, which I wasn‟t really good at, because I wasn‟t Hoseok. He tensed beside me, and I laughed. It was somehow entertaining to see Baekhyun squirm because of this. Mom told me that mortals could be more discriminating than us—I guess that‟s why it was hard for Baekhyun now, since he‟d lived years and years surrounded by them.

Plus, it was good to have a gay friend. A gay friend would be more understanding of my situation, right?

“What should I say?” he groaned.

“Say a solid and direct sentence that clarifies your sexual orientation.”

“You‟re nuts! What are you, a reporter?” Baekhyun responded.

“Probably.” I crushed the ice cubes in my mouth again, throwing Baekhyun an evil look.

He punched my leg like he wanted to break my knee.

“Ow!” I screamed. “What was that for?”

“For being an ass,” he said.

He laughed as I massaged the sore spot he hit. Damn, this guy’s strong.

“What else you‟ve been hiding away from me?” I said, glaring at him. “First, you‟re a werewolf. What else, am I going to find out you‟re a China‟s Combat victor next too?”

He chuckled. “That‟s impossible. I‟m a solitary, Jimin—I can‟t participate in Combat.”

“You were a solitary,” I corrected him. “Now you are one of us.”

Silence entered the room again. His kind smile helped settle my nerves, loosening my mind up from the chaos that I‟d been through. It‟s weird how much a smile could help heal so much pain. Hoping it would do the same for him, I returned his smile with one of my own.

“Let me just say it,” Baekhyun said as he took a deep breath. “I‟m gay!”

“Now, that‟s better,” I told him.

“It feels great, you know,” he said. “To have a gay friend.” “No one really cares here,” I told him. “I‟m not the first one to find a male mate. And you can‟t simply bash a mate couple—that simply isn‟t done, unless you want to be punished severely by Yong Bae.”

Baekyun grabbed the nearest pillow and put his head on it. “Has anyone been punished before for bashing mates?”

“Um, I don‟t think so,” I told him the truth. There were voices of disbelief by some of us who didn‟t believe the mate bond theory, but that was dirty laundry best kept to themselves.

Maybe I understood Baekhyun; how could this difter to me telling Jessica about Hoseok for the very first time?

Baekhyun let out a sigh. “My mother had been telling me that it‟s going to be okay here. I didn‟t think it would, but then I met you and Namjoon. He‟s not an ass, too, although he knew you‟re with a guy. But then I still have this huge anxiety toward gay bashers, and there‟s Min Yoongi.”

“I can make Hoseok kick his ass if he throws slurs at you, you know?” I said. “Plus Hoseok is the GSA President at school.”

“I heard about that,” Baekhyun said. “I don‟t know, Jimin.”

His voice was filled with a mysterious heaviness. I was eager to know why that was I was so curious, but I didn‟t like pressuring people. Whatever it was, I was certain Baekhyun had memories from his past he would like to forget.

A pair of eyes peeked in through the crack of the door. He pushed the door open slowly and I sensed something peculiar from his presence.

“Your stepbrother‟s with me,” I informed Chanyeol.

In a flash, Baekhyun jerked away, pulling himself up from the bed, and stood. His eyes bulged out when Chanyeol came into my room, electrified with extreme shock as if he‟d seen a ghost.

“What are you doing here?” Baekhyun said, stroking his chest back and forth.

“What‟s wrong with you?” Chanyeol scowled. “I was just showing Seunri the way to this room.”

Seungri slipped into my bedroom and advanced toward me, a wand in his hand. I had been picturing him turning flowers into colorful birds for kids, demanding money for the show.

“Actually, I know how to access Jimin's bedroom, thanks,” Seungri responded.

Baekhyun raced toward the door, his gasps clearly audible.

“See you later, kid,” Chanyeol said to me as he left.

Seungri gave me a weird stare. Great, another visitor.

Seungri stared around my messy bedroom, pausing on the scattered papers and other rubbish on the floor. He swung his wand in the air, chanted a weird, unfathomable spell causing sparks to fly from the wand.

I gasped as paper and rubbish flew in a whirlwind around the room. I watched as pieces of rubbish turned into tiny dust that vaporized in the air. Pencils and pens made their ways into my stationary case, and books piled themselves up into a nice stack. “Thanks, bud,” I told him.

“Dad has been tired of Mom nagging at me for not making the bed and tidying up my room,” Seungri said. “So he taught me this spell. Mom can‟t point a finger at me anymore.”

Oddly my throat felt dry again. I guess I could ask Seungri to use his magic filling up the orange juice in my glass again.

“So how‟s your head?” Seungri asked.

“It‟s okay now,” I responded. “Thanks for asking.”

“No problem. Yong Bae asked me to perform a healing spell on you, but I‟m not that advanced yet. The best I could do was a pausing spell. Then I asked Hoseok to . . . uh, you know. Mates can do powerful things with their bond—”

I didn‟t want to prolong the conversation about the power of mate bonds or Hoseok.

“So what‟s a pausing spell?”

“It . . . stops things, like bleeding,” he explained. “So I just stopped the damage in your skull from going worse. Then I told Hoseok to make out with you so the healing would speed up but weren‟t conscious so—”

What the fuck?

“Uh . . . oh, sorry,” Seungri laughed. “It‟s just—err, I learned a lot about mates. Sexual drive between them have so much power and—”

“Seungri,” I groaned. “We didn‟t . . . do it, and I am healed anyway.”

“Well, that‟s good—wait, but that‟s impossible. Hoseok must‟ve touched you and did things to you while you were asleep —”

Loud footsteps sounded outside the bedroom. I pulled myself up to lean on the headboard when Jessica and Namjoon came panting in.

I stared at Jessica as she crouched beside Seungri. Seungri took the empty glass from the lamp table and Jessica let out a scream when he smashed it on the floor. He shook his wand again, and the broken pieces of glass moved in a rewinding motion, taking its original shape.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I‟ve just presented you the reverse spell!” Seungri announced.

Namjoon put his hand over his mouth, but I shot a look at Seungri. This magical stuff was nothing but a game to him.

“Seungri,” Jessica groaned, “why don‟t you fill the glass with water or something? I‟m dying here.”

He swung his wand in the air once more, and a single droplet of the drink inside the glass bloomed out into more liquid, filling the glass with full iced orange juice. I should’ve asked.

“Thanks,” Jessica said, grabbing the glass and draining the orange juice down to its last drop. “Now that‟s one of the useful things you should learn how to do more of.”

“What‟s the hurry?” I asked Jessica. “Yoongi. . . Hoseok. . . Jimin, what‟s wrong between the two?” Jessica panted, slamming the empty glass hard on my nightstand.

“What happened?” I asked, even though I wasn‟t ready to hear what was coming.

“Yoongi. . . he wants to compete against Hoseok. . . in the upcoming Combat.”

~ ~ ~

I was relieved when the next day came, and finally I could get out of my bedroom. Hoseok waited for me in the morning as I agreed to have a little walk with him.

In the early days of summer, kids would be out and around the neighborhood, playing tag, screaming and laughing out of joy. You could spot kids dating under shady trees and women gossiping around the park. The boys would be playing basketball with no shirts on. Grown men, like my dad, could be seen washing their cars in their front yard. It would‟ve been a beautiful sight if Jessica hadn‟t told what had yesterday.

An official wolf pack usually sends only one guy ranging from the age thirteen to eighteen to participate in the annual Wolf Combat. A group of volunteers would be evaluated by the Alpha and the strongest would be sent off to compete. Hoseok had traveled almost the entire country competing in the traditional game. For three years in a row he had returned the victor of the Combat.

Hoseok had been the youngest competitor when he first started competing at the age of thirteen. During his second game when he was fourteen, he‟d beaten Kang Hojin, a vicious eighteen-year old competitor who‟d been the reigning champion for several of years. That‟s one of the reasons Jung Hoseok became so well known—he pushed Hojin out of his throne and conquered it.

In the pack, no one really volunteered to be evaluated by Yong Bae. Probably because most of the boys didn‟t want to experience the excruciating training required to go against Hoseok. In fact, most of us were used to rooting for Hoseok at every Combat. Last year, the whole pack went to Ilsan to support Hoseok winning the game. He didn‟t disappoint us as he took the trophy, bringing Yong Bae's name to fame for the third time. We were expecting the same kind of triumph this year.

The Combat would be held three days from now. Seoul, our home, would host this time. There wasn‟t enough time for Yong Bae to determine who would represent the pack, so he gave the green light to both Hoseok and Yoongi to compete against each other in the game.

“Yoongi is insisting on competing in the competition against me and the other competitors,” Hoseok explained, our hands intertwined as we roamed around the neighborhood.

Our pack had never sent two competitors before; it was against the odds.

I had asked Hoseok again why he quarreled with Yoongi but once again he avoided the question so I didn‟t think it was wise to repeat myself.

“So what will you do?” I asked.

He looked at me and smiled. I knew he could see the worry forming in my eyes; I didn‟t need to admit I was afraid of what he would face for him to know it. I could sense him feeling it as my fingers tightened in his grip. “Yong Bae has no choice,” he sighed. “Our pack‟s sending two competitors this year.”

I gulped. This was not what I wanted to hear.

“But—” I tried to say something, but the words got stuck in my throat.

“You‟re worrying too much Jimin,” Hoseok snorted. “Let‟s just hope that asshole loses in the first round so I don‟t need to beat him up. I‟m afraid things will get worse if we meet repeatedly in battle.”

I thought about how Yoongi cracked my skull. The searing pain was unbearable, and I was fortunate enough to faint and not experience the agony for too long. And I had been luckier that my mate was there to heal me. What if Yoongi did something much worse than what he did to me against Hoseok in the game?

“Dude . . . I think we have another option. You know, you‟ve won the trophy for several years in a row, so . . . why don‟t you, uh, consider surrendering this time?”

Hoseok let out a laugh. “Are you telling me to back down, Jimin? Certainly not.”

I tried not to let him hear my sigh, but I knew Hoseok heard it when he rubbed my back gently. We advanced toward a bench in the neighborhood park.

His lips brushed my cheek and he paused to stare at me. My heart sped up.

“What?” I asked. He laughed as his fingers ran down my face and rested on my lips. “How surprising. You do care about me, Jimin.”

My cheeks burned. I looked away and tried to find a way to breathe normally. “There‟s nothing funny about that. It‟s normal.”

“What makes you say that?” Hoseok asked.

“Because . . . because . . . ” because we’re mates. Because I love you and I want you and I don’t want you to get hurt.

I wanted him to get hurt before—it was peculiar that the urge had switched position now.

“Are you showing signs that you‟re losing against me, Jimin? Are you . . . falling in love with me now?”

A weird kind of fire lit up in my chest. It burned from my heart up to my cheeks. “Shut up.”

“What if I don‟t want to shut up, unless you kiss me?” he said, chuckling, torturing my emotions.

“In that case, go on. Keep talking,” I said.

“C‟mon, Jimin. Be a real man. What kind of a dude are you, afraid to kiss me? Only those girls I dated hesitate to do it.”

I‟d done this before, so it wouldn‟t hurt if I tried again.

I put my lips on his, pressing his mouth gently with mine. He responded quickly, urging to show to me that he was better at this than me, better at breaking me down into pieces through touch. I remembered how nothing mattered as my hands touched his body. I remembered how I wanted to capture his touch so I could memorize it forever, as if my hands on him were an artistic painting and my head was the museum. I remembered everything when I touched him.

I pulled away to say, “I‟m not afraid of you. Not anymore.”

He ignored me and went for my lips.

“Maybe you aren‟t afraid of me now like how you used to,” he whispered. “But that doesn‟t mean you‟re brave enough to face what you feel towards me. You‟re still denying it to yourself, aren‟t you, Jimin?”

Since I couldn‟t argue of how accurate Hoseok was, I just kept my mouth shut.

T W E L V E

Jimin's POV

I couldn‟t believe it when I saw the sunrise outside my bedroom window. I‟d been dreading this day as if it was an approaching apocalypse. It’s Combat day.

Almost the whole neighborhood gathered at Mr. Jung's house before we escort Hoseok to the battle venue. Hoseok would be escorted by Yong Bae, Jungkook and Sun Woo. If the event had been held somewhere farther, we might have begun travelling a week earlier, but Greenfield Park was just a twenty-minute drive from Gyerim. This would be the first Combat I‟d attend in Seoul, The best thing about it was I could tag Namjoon along to his first Combat ever.

“I hope I don‟t end up too casual-looking,” Namjoon said as he waited for me in my bedroom. Namjooon was lying on my bed, whistling some random tune to himself while I dried my hair from the shower.

I crouched by the dresser trying to find some clothes to wear. “We‟re going to a physical fighting competition where its participants are werewolves,” I said. “We‟re not watching live football.”

I knew he got the sarcasm—Namjoon was wearing an athletic jersey, a cap and a Spiderman glove toy.

“I was thinking of only wearing a tank top, short pants with a red headband,” he responded.

“We‟re not going to WWE.”

“Okay, if you‟re such a fashion expert, tell me what an appropriate outfit is,” Namjoon groaned.

“No … what you wear now is fine,” I responded.

“Well … that‟s relieving to hear,” Namjoon said. “I thought you were going to tell me to go shirtless or something.”

I jumped when Jessica came storming into the room. I glanced at her outfit; jet black sleeveless blouse, skinny jeans and stilettos. Wow, she looked hot. I noticed the way the colors of her irises stood out as she darkened her eyebrows. Damn, Jessica Jung had put makeup on her face—that was a rare occurrence. “You look nice.” Namjoon noticed, too.

Is Jess blushing? “Thanks. Now, what‟s wrong with you, Jimin? I‟m a girl and I take less time to prepare myself. Decently, even. Everyone else is waiting at Hoseok's place now.”

I was still stunned by her hair. “Who was your hairdresser?”

“Who cares?” she responded.

“Your hair looks unusually nice,” I said.

“Thanks. I‟ll take that as a compliment.” She advanced toward my bed and pulled Namjoon to his feet. “I need to tell you something,” I heard her whisper to Namjoon.

I watched as the two left the room, leaving me alone in my bedroom. With Namjoon knowing about the existence of werewolves, the two had gotten closer. Although their relationship wasn‟t a pleasant one, at least Jessica knew Namjoon wasn‟t a jerk. Back in our freshman year, Namjoon had asked Jessica out on a date and it turned out badly. Jessica had a theory that all guys who asked her out on a date were just some perverted douches who wanted to touch her boobs.

I put on a plain black T-shirt and wore a pair of knee-length baggy pants. Suddenly I realized I was breathing uneasily.

Hoseok. He was going to have to fight Min Yoongi.

If I had been more careful, I knew Yoongi wouldn‟t have entered himself in the competition. He was pretty malicious especially after I found out what he did to Namjoon, so I was certain Yoongi was up to something. Stupid conspiracy theories were starting to run around my head about him, and I knew I had to stop.

I knew Hoseok had won Combat numerous times so I needn‟t worry. I was feeling anxious and I knew Yoongi wasn‟t the reason. The only reason for these feelings I could think of was that I was now Hoseok's mate. It was possible even with Yoongi out of the picture that these feelings would have come naturally.

I was standing in front of the bathroom door when two arms wrapped around me from behind, interrupting my thoughts. I flinched and cursed out of shock.

“Hoseok,” I groaned. “You scared me.”

His lips touched my ears. I inhaled his scent and closed my eyes. His touches still felt foreign to me, but I was not afraid of it like I used to.

“Are you okay?” he murmured in my ear. Tickling me with his warm breath and making me bask in the moment.

“Shouldn‟t I be asking you that?” I said.

“No,” he said. “Because . . . you‟re obviously worried about me.”

I turned around and pressed my face to his shoulder blades. “How do you know everything, Hoseok?”

“I just happen to know,” he said as he ducked down and touched his forehead to mine.

My pulse accelerated. Man, I had to learn how to keep my breathing normal every time I face Jung Hoseok. “Just be careful, man,” I said, his nose touched mine. “Don‟t worry about me or anything else. Keep your head in the game, okay?”

He advanced forward to kiss me. I let his lips do their work and relaxed. I breathed out in his mouth, letting all the heaviness out of my chest. I felt his teeth on my lips when I pulled away.

“But I don‟t want you to be afraid,” Hoseok said. “I want you to believe in me.”

“Maybe it‟s natural,” I told him. “It‟s all new—you can‟t blame me for feeling like this.”

“I know,” he said. “Hmm, well, you‟re coming with me, aren‟t you? To the venue, I mean.”

“No,” I told him. “Jessica will drive me, Seokjin, my mom, and the ladies—”

“Yong Bae thinks it will be better if my mate stays beside me and give me some encouragement,” he cut me off. Time stopped when he laughed; my heart skipped a beat when he smiled.

“I‟m learning not to give a fuck about what Yong Bae thinks, you know?” I whispered to him. “He just loves to exaggerate things.”

Hoseok laughed in surprise. “It‟s okay. I‟m not making you.”

“Wow, now you‟re being charming,” I said.

He chuckled again, warming my face with his minty breath. Then he caressed my face, leaning in closer to me until there was no distance between us anymore.

“If that‟s the case,” he said as he slid his fingers through mine, “I have to go now.”

“Okay. See you in the game.”

I waited, but neither of us moved. We could only stare into each other‟s eyes in the awkward silence. It was like a staring game; one of us had to wait to see who would blink first to end the game. But neither of us did; our bodies frozen there, like time had stopped.

Hoseok moved forward only to kiss me again. He pressed his lips harder this time, squeezing and pouring more burning heat into me. He pulled away, panting hard, leaving me breathless.

“I‟m going now,” he said hesitantly again behind his heavy breaths.

“Okay.”

I felt his grip tighten in my hand. I wanted him to walk away because I needed a private moment to myself to break down and think about how sexy his kisses were.

I cringed at his sudden movement setting us apart. The air felt cold now without his warmth. Our fingers were still attached, not wanting to let go.

“Bye,” he said, loosening his grip around my hand. I knew he didn‟t want to let go, but he eventually released my hand back to the chilly atmosphere. My skin felt cold and lonely without his touch, and I could only look on as he exited the room and disappeared.

I listened as his footsteps faded away.

“Hoseok—” I called out. Wait, I want to come with you. But it was too late, and I had a feeling that I was making a big mistake by not staying by his side.

~ ~ ~

“Who‟s going for a ride with me?”

Namjoon raised his hand eagerly. He‟d been drooling around Seungri's superbike for quite some time now. The bike was pretty enough Yong Bae ordered Seungri to drive by his side so our team would look heroic as we arrived at Greenfield Park. Aside from the fact that we were escorting Jung Hoseok, the rest of the werewolf community were also anticipating our presence because Seoul hosted the game this year, and our pack was one of the few official packs in the state.

“Cool, get on,” Seungri said, twisting the gas throttle. Namjoon went all jumpy like a little kid as he climbed at the back. There wasn‟t much space for a passenger, but miraculously Namjoon could sit there. Maybe it was due to one of Seungri's spells.

Jessica would drive me, Seokjin hyung, my mother and some of the neighbors to the game site with her van. My dad would carpool with Junmyeon and JiHwan to the Combat venue. The older women made sandwiches and some fried snacks for the whole pack; my mom had baked some mini muffins and had packaged them into little colorful boxes as little gifts for her friends from the other pack.

I climbed into the van‟s front seat. Once the ladies entered, noise and chatter broke the silence. Seokjin hyung entered after the ladies. Then, an argument broke out between Mom and him; my fingers went eagerly to find the radio button.

“Seokjin, I prepared a nicer outfit for you,” Mom started. “How can you attract girls with these indecent clothes?”

“These are better than the flannel you were trying to make me wear. I don‟t want to be mistaken with Dad!” Seokjin protested.

“Your dad‟s a handsome man!” Mom shot back.

Jessica pressed the gas peddle too hard causing the ladies behind me to shriek out of shock.

“Young lady,” Hyorin said, “make sure you follow the speed limit. Your dad didn‟t buy this van for nothing.”

“Yes, ma‟am.” I could hear the grunt underneath Jessica response. She continued down the road, following the rest of the cars in front of us. I tried to ignore my mother‟s quarrel with my brother and the women‟s whispers on me not being Hoseok's cheerleader.

“Now I can‟t deny how cute the boy is with your son, Hana!”

“My daughter was very envious at first, but she eventually got over it!”

“Jimin's a lucky boy! Hoseok is, too—I‟m sure your son‟s a great guy for him! With him being a little cocky at certain times —”

Some generic-sounded pop song was on the radio and I turned the volume up.

“Where are you driving to?” I asked Jessica. “The other pack,” she responded. “We‟re gathering in the town with them. They will join our pack to shepherd Hoseok as well. Once everybody‟s there, we‟re going to proceed to the Park.”

“What about Yoongi?” I asked.

“I don‟t know,” Jessica muttered as we stopped at a red light. “It‟s not like we‟re abandoning him or anything. Junhong did try to find him this morning, and he was nowhere to be seen.”

Yoongi disappearing could mean he wanted to surrender silently, which relieved the worries I had. But he could‟ve left to have special training, which started my anxiety all over again. My heart raced as Jessica pressed the gas peddle harder. I stumbled forward. The ladies behind me were cursing; groaning at Jessica's brutal driving. She could only grin in amusement at that.

The sky was bright blue; fluffy-looking clouds floated high above me. It was a pretty and sunshiny day, an ironic environment to what I was feeling. In my head it was storming, Hoseok and Yoongi were in a bloody war, fighting to the death.

I brushed the thoughts away.

“There they are,” Jessica murmured as she pulled off in the middle of the town, waiting for the rest of us to gather. Bigger motorbikes and cars were on both sides of us. Noises erupted into the air. Yong Bae rolled his window down and slammed his hand on Moon Jong Up‟s shoulder. He was the Alpha of the other Seoul pack. The two had been great friends since I could remember. Shortly, pitch-black shiny metal blocked my view of Yong Bae. Broom, broom—Seungri twisted the throttle harder, motioning a show-off gesture to me.

Namjoon was in complete joy.

“Woo hoo!” he screamed over the noise. “This man used an illusion, Jimin! We were flying just now! It felt so fucking real!”

I laughed. Namjoon had never been this happy before. It was times like this that I felt that the idea of him knowing about us wasn‟t so bad. I guess he was quite lucky to have me as his best friend—other wolves might not have trusted any mortal enough to drag them into our world.

The ladies behind me murmured in amazement. Two gigantic werewolf packs were conquering the road. If there were any mortals watching, they would freak out for sure.

“Guess who the other pack‟s sending to the game?” I asked, winking at Jess. She must’ve known.

She kept on murmuring the lyrics of the aired song. “Who?”

“How come you don‟t know? It‟s Lee Sung Yeol,” I told her.

“Sungyeol who?” she asked.

“Lee Sungyeol! It‟s that guy you had a crush on during our freshman year! You made me ask him for his number, and we were thirteen years old!”

As the memory flashed in my head, I laughed so hard.

“Oh God!” she said over the noise. “Please don‟t remind me how stupid I was.”

I couldn‟t stomach my laughter. It‟s funny how childhood memories could burn our cheeks so bad.

“Stay put, Jessica. The guy might be your mate.” I expected Jess to laugh, but instead, she only stared at me, her face empty. Her mouth puckered like acid was lingering in her tongue. Have I said something wrong?

“What?”

“Jimin—”

The chaotic noise of the road rumbled. Seungri gestured a sign and shouted something outside, and then we started to move in a big group. Jessica pressed the peddle hard, again, making the women behind me swear unintentionally. Now I really wished I was the one who had driven.

Greenfield Park was a leisure place for mortals whom loved to seek green scenery. There was a beautiful waterfall and lake; big trees grew green on the wide land, suitable for family picnics. However, not all the citizens loved these kinds of things since the city outside Daeil had more entertaining venues. I guess that‟s why Greenfield Park was chosen for this immortal event.

Jessica proceeded behind the mass of vehicles in front of us, driving through a pathway that would lead us to a winding road up to a clearing where the game would be held at. I couldn‟t really see what was in front of me. The road became narrower as the van roamed farther into the woods.

Jessica crashed into a gigantic boulder, and I almost had a panic attack.

A wide road opened up in front of us, inclining up toward the clearing.

“Relax, Jimin,” Jess said. “It‟s a spell, an illusion to repel mortals away from the place.”

Oh. I should’ve known. Since Combat was an important occasion for almost the entire lycanthropic community in the States, some wizard guards would be hired by the Royals. They would cast illusions, charms and spells to safe guard our presence from the mortal world. I wondered how Namjoon handled going through the boulder; he might‟ve suffered a heart attack.

The cars in front of us slowed down. I observed Yong Bae drive up the hill. Jessica parked the van in between two black Ford Rangers. Mom, Seokjin hyung and the ladies got out of the van, patting their costumes and fixing their looks in the reflection of the van window.

“Why don‟t we follow Yong Bae? I don‟t see the Tent from here,” I told Jessica.

“We‟re not competing in the Combat,” my brother interrupted. “Hoseok has to be in the preparing area so Yong Bae has to go.”

I heard Namjoon screaming out of joy when Seungri's motorbike rushed past us.

“That mortal friend of yours . . .” Seokjin hyung shook his head.

“God, I think we have to climb higher by foot,” Jessica groaned. “And I‟m in heels!”

“Stilettos,” I corrected. “Well, what the hell were you thinking? We‟re going to a Combat, not a fashion show.”

I knew she would smack my head for that.

I glared when Seokjin hyung laughed at me.

“Sometimes,” she whispered, “you have to look tall. And I know I‟m short, Jimin, if you dare mention it . . .” Seokjin hyung ignored us and followed my mom and the rest of the women up the hill.

“Let‟s go.”

Even though I wasn‟t the one in heels, my feet were already throbbing from the ten-minute walk.

The sight of the gigantic canopy emerged in the clearing, rising ten feet into the air. The white canvas was splattered with colors and mural paintings of fighting werewolves.

“The Tent,” I whispered.

“Or The Portable Amphitheater,” Seokjin interrupted me again.

The theme was red and white this year, like blood splashing on snow. The splatters of red paint on the canopy surface turned into blood—Hoseok's blood—in my head. Yoongi's fist went into Hoseok's mouth, breaking his jaw. Then Hoseok dropped to the ground and stopped breathing.

When I was a child, the thought of Hoseok dying might have amused me. Not now, not when I was in love with him.

~ ~ ~

After what felt like almost an hour, we made it to the entrance. Coincidentally, the Royals from JangSang (a/n: i don't even know if that the place even existed -,-)appeared, driving the crowd crazy. I groaned as a group of young girls shoved past me, trying to get a peek at the young princes. The gentlemen were eager to shake hands with the King and Queen; the women struggled to give them gifts.

We found decent seating, although I wished I could sit somewhere farther away from the battle ground. I was sitting between Namjoon and Junhong, and yet I was still worried of my apprehensiveness. Junhong kept assuring me everything would be fine.

“Whoa,” Namjoon said as he looked around. “This place looks like Coliseum—only made of . . . uh, fabric? I should‟ve brought my camera!”

“No, you shouldn‟t,” Seungri said, taking a seat in between Jungkook and Jessica. “If you had brought more mortal stuff, I don‟t think you could have gotten in.”

“Oh,” Namjoon said, letting out a sigh.

People filled the seats below and above us. Then I noticed the acquaintances I knew from the other Seoul pack, waving at me as they walked by.

This is not going to be a fun reunion.

“Hey bro, your mate‟s going to win again!” one commented.

“Heard the story, dude. Can‟t believe The Man is your mate! How do you feel?” another one commented.

―You have a male mate? Oh God, me too!‖ Everyone jerked their heads forward when The Royals started to take their seats, looking up to their elevated seats high up in the air along with the judges‟ in the midsection of the amphitheater. I heard some girls screaming out of awe when the princes settled in their velvet-cushioned chairs, glancing around the crowd.

“Who are they?” Namjoon whispered to me.

“They‟re the Royals,” I said. “There are the King, the Queen, and their children. They came all the way from JangSang, the Kingdom of Immortals.”

“Jang-what? Where the hell is that?” Namjoon said.

“It‟s somewhere hidden in South Korea. It‟s a forbidden, sacred place,” I explained.

“Have you been there?”

“Of course not, Namjoon,” I told him. “You can‟t enter the place without reason.”

“What reasons do you have to gain entry?” he asked.

“You can be recruited to be in the Institute,” I told Namjoon, my voice rising over the noise of the crowd. “It‟s the Royal Academy of Lycanthropy. If chosen, recruits would receive a letter at the ages of thirteen or seventeen, depending on how many years you‟ll spend there. It‟s compulsory for all recruited male werewolves to attend, or else you‟ll be disgraced by the Royals, and you don‟t want that. You‟ll continue your education there, and graduate in your twentieth year. All JangSang post- grads are adored by the chicks, you know—they‟re usually buffer and tougher than us.”

“That‟s awesome!” Namjoon said. “How do you get chosen?”

“No one knows how the choosing system works,” I said. “The Royals make us believe that the chosen ones are selected by destiny.”

“That sounds like bullshit,” Namjoon said. I laughed, because deep inside, I agreed.

Behind me, Jessica was rambling on about the young princes to Junhong. She was one of their fans, feeling gratified and cocky that she had memorized the details about the princes.

“ . . . that cute tan guy, that‟s Lee Jinsoo. He‟s mated to some chick . . . well, that one, that‟s the King‟s eleventh child, Lee Jungwoo . . . that‟s the twelfth, sixteen, our age . . . Lee Gunho . . . I mean, Junhong, you can turn gay by just looking at that shiny golden hair and those glowing eyes!”

Namjoon groaned, and I didn‟t know why he did. “So, the King and Queen are werewolves too? And don‟t they have any daughters?”

“Yes, they are werewolves,” I answered. “And they do have daughters. The current King and Queen have twelve children —the other nine won‟t be attending the game because they must have so much to do in the palace. Those three princes; Jinsoo, Jungwoo and Gunho, are still young so they have to follow their parents around. Don‟t ask me why, I don‟t know.”

I didn‟t know much about immortal monarchy—no one really does, anyway. There‟s no way for you to learn it properly unless you‟re recruited to be in the Institute. According to Yong Bae, who‟d attended the school since he was thirteen, said that the monarchy system of the Royals wasn‟t so complicated.

From what I knew from Yong Bar, The King would always be one of the descendants of the Lee line since they were the ones who civilized werewolves and immortals. After any man from the bloodline reaches a certain age and has mated, they will be the next ones in line for the throne. The event continued as one of the commentators, Ahn Young Jin, started with his boring speeches. He introduced the competitors, and when it was announced that our pack had sent two competitors, my cheeks burned with embarrassment. Everyone gasped in shock. Farther down from where I sat was Yong Bae, who struggled to answer the shooting questions from the rest of the audiences.

“And after the honorable King Lee Jisung hit the gong, the Combat will commence! Will the beloved, famous three times winner from Gyerim holds the trophy again?” Young Jin said through the microphone.

The amphitheater boomed with cheers and hollers. Above me, Hoseok's loyal followers screamed and shrieked their throats out. I wondered how Luhan and his friends would react—they used to be as devoted to Hoseok like everyone else, but now their good friend Yoongi was up in the game too. I wondered which guy they rooted for now.

Maybe I was drowning in my thoughts so much that I hadn‟t realized King Jisung had hit the gong, a symbolic mark that the game would commence. Only the sound of extremely loud cheering woke me up from my forlornness. Relax, I told myself. He’s good at this, Jimin. He’s going to be fine.

“Here we go,” Young Jin spoke from his elevated counter, his voice filled with wild excitement. “The event will start with Akihiro, from Silent Fire pack, and Kim Dongwoo, from Ash Eyes pack battling for the first round . . . ”

There were two locked doorways at the ends of the overstretched battle ground. The steel rods of the doors opened simultaneously; Akihiro appeared on the west side while Dongwoo appeared on the east—their muscular human exterior glistened under the scorching sun.

“Here we go with the shirtless scene again,” Namjoon murmured.

The two combatants walked toward the center. They started at a brisk walk and increased gradually to a jog, forming a rapid run. By the time they made it to the center, they were already in their wolf form, having shifted full speed.

Youngjin counted down from ten. Akihiro and Dongwoo paced backwards to take position.

“Three . . . two . . . one!”

I observed as Dongwoo lunged at Akihiro, his teeth attempting to rip at any part of his opponent‟s body. Akihiro struggled to keep his balance in check, steadying his four feet on the ground.

Beside me, Namjoon flinched, his hands covering half of his eyes.

Akihiro raged against his opponent in a fierce, rapid jump. His quick movement sent Dongwoo flying high in the air. Dongwoo landed on the ground twenty feet away from his opponent. Akihiro didn‟t linger, he started on a run and lunged toward Dongwoo, his fangs ripping out his opponent‟s neck. Blood splattered on the yellowish-white sand, and I almost closed my eyes like Namjoon did. Youngjin's commentary went fast and inaudible now.

I watched as energy faded away from Dongwoo's wolf form; I could tell by the way his eyes drooped.

Bing. The tiny sound of the bell rang, and Akihiro was officially the winner of the opening round.

The crowd cheered energetically, only because it was the start of the show.

“Whoa, that was fucking intense,” Namjoon said. “Would the other guy die?”

“No.” The fight proceeded for an hour. My calculations found that a round would take about five to fifteen minutes. There were almost hundreds of pack present and the event would last until sundown. A Combat would fit about forty to fifty battle rounds, depending on how quick the fights were.

By the third round, the roars from the fighting ground became deafening, some of the contenders howled so painfully I couldn‟t stomach watching the game anymore. The splashes of blood on the white fine sand increased and I felt nauseous.

“I‟m going to buy some drinks,” I said as I stood up, but then Hoseok's name was announced.

Oh God.

He was contending against Lee Sungyeol, or Jessica's crush when she was thirteen years old. We were surprised that Sungyeol had beaten Akihiro in the previous round; judging by the size of his wolf form, it was easy to underestimate him.

The crowd screamed as Hoseok appeared in one of the doorways. He was the star of the show—I remembered how calculated and smart his movements were when Tae Chi Hu lost to him a few years ago. Hoseok's stealth was a combination of his intelligence and his surreal muscular complexion.

Hoseok threw a smile towards the audience as he walked out of the doorway. I couldn‟t imagine seeing him wounded or bleeding, but I knew that was inevitable in competitions like this.

No, I don’t even want to see a sliver of scratch on you, Hoseok.

Hoseok shape-shifted and Sungyeol headed towards him too fast. He tried to reach and claw Hoseok's tail, a strategy he used on Akihiro, but his movement was flawed. In the blink of an eye, Hoseok captured Sungyeol and threw him upwards. The crowd gasped as Sungyeol's wolf form flew high in the air. I flinched as he landed on the end of the battle ground; the impact was so explosive the earth shook.

Cheers boomed in the air; The Royals stood in admiration. Hoseok advanced slowly toward his opponent; Sungyeol looked like nothing but a corpse now. Then I watched as he transformed slowly back to his human form, gesturing a quick surrender.

Bing. Hoseok won—bam, just like that. He threw Sungyeol off and he conquered the round.

I remained seated as Hoseok wiped out all his opponents. He made the game proceed at a faster pace. He encountered wolves of all size, and none of them were a problem for him.

Then Hoseok encountered Im Daewon, a guy from a Red Hill pack. They looked like they were bleeding to death. Damn, Daewon was good—Hoseok lost lots of his defense against him. He had wounds all over his fur; the wet red marks on his body shone under the bright noon light.

My heart stopped and I stood up.

“Jimin,” Junhong said, tugging my arm, “calm down. It‟s okay.”

I breathed in and forced myself to sit down.

Hoseok's four feet moved a few steps backwards and he lunged himself toward Daewon. Daewon had strong defenses, resulting in the two of them dropping down to the ground. It was getting sick for my sight now—Namjoon had no words left to say. The audience huffed in anxiety, but it was no match to what I was feeling. The judges waited before they could ring the bell—one of the fighters had to surrender or else the game wouldn‟t end.

C’mon Hoseok, just back down! You’re hurt. Please don’t do this to me.

Daewon shifted slowly back to his human form, and the bell rang.

“Hoseok is up against the next round! Daewon is disqualified . . .” Youngjin announced.

Four people stormed into the fighting site, bringing two stretchers. Daewon was in his human form while Hoseok still hadn‟t shifted. They will cure him soon, I said to myself. He’ll be fine.

“That—was—sick!” Namjoon said. At first, I could only identify excitement in his eyes, but then his expression shifted, signaling to me how nauseous he was. “How come there are no deaths in a game like this?”

“Immortals don‟t die easily,” Junhong explained. “For werewolves, only silver metal through our heart or brain can kill us. Although we‟re bleeding so badly, it‟s still hard to die.”

“But that doesn‟t mean all those shit don‟t hurt, right?” Namjoon asked.

Namjoon was right; Hoseok was still in big pain no matter what. My chest hurt. My mind was telling me to stop watching this game, to stand up and go outside and find fresh air. There might be more vicious attackers than Daewon after this. What if I couldn‟t take it all by myself?

Then all of a sudden Jessica reached out to touch my shoulder from behind.

“Jimin. . . look.”

She pointed somewhere far to our left, to a man trying to hide in his long gray coat. His eyes were pretty and malevolent. In his left hand was a metallic stick—a wand, longer and shinier than what Seungri had. His face was pale and glossy, and I felt sicker as my thought confirmed who this guy might be.

“It‟s Kim Taehyung!” I said to Jessica. “Why‟s he here?”

“I don‟t know! He‟s creepy—and hot, too—”

Youngjin's voice interrupted Jessica's, and panic started to creep back up on me.

“And now, according to the lifesaving med team, we can proceed in today‟s event!”

The audience cheered again, although now they sounded less enthusiastic. I wished Hoseok had declared his surrender when he was being mended by the medical team, but that was impossible. I knew Hoseok and his ego; if he got wounded again I didn‟t think I could continue watching.

“And now, for the moment that we‟re all waiting for, we will precede with the big oddity in this year‟s game—”

Fuck.

“Two contenders from the same pack, fighting for the big honor, ladies and gentlemen, from Gyerim, I present you, Jung Hoseok against Min Yoongi!”

Almost the whole amphitheater stood on their feet. This whole thing sounded impossible—two contenders from the same pack fighting with each other were against the odds. The audience continued shouting either out of joy or anxiety, and I sat here trying to eradicate the dark thoughts playing in my head. He’ll be safe, he’ll be safe, he’ll be safe —

Hoseok appeared out of the west door. His face was empty as he observed Yoongi standing on the other side. They walked, while shifting, towards the center and waited for the countdown.

Then the wait was over, but neither moved.

Silence.

Hoseok dove at Yoongi with his formulated movement, but the opponent still hadn‟t budged. Yoongi's wolf form stood there like a stone, still and solid.

At the speed of light, Yoongi ducked and rolled a few feet backwards before he started at a run, jumped high in the air and landed directly on top of Hoseok's back.

Hoseok crashed to the ground.

My thoughts jumbled up, wondering how Yoongi could be so light, flying high in the air like a soaring feather.

There was a painful roar from the battle ground. Hoseok paced a few steps backwards and started running toward Yoongi. Again, Yoongi's four feet remained still on the ground. He twisted sideways and lunged to Hoseok, his teeth buried deep in Hoseok's neck. A loud howl echoed in the amphitheater. The audiences gasped, the commentators couldn‟t say a word.

This can’t be happening.

Hoseok lay on his back on the sandy floor when Yoongi jumped on top of him, his fangs ripping Hoseok's throat. He didn‟t stop, not giving Hoseok chance to breathe.

This fight was irrational; it was performed under rage rather than competitiveness. I wanted it to stop.

Hoseok tried to walk backwards but that‟s when I saw Yoongi clawing at his back. He bit Hoseok's neck and ripped off his flesh, his mouth sprayed out splatters of Hoseok's blood into the air.

The gasps and shouts went wilder, and the world started to spin around me.

“What the fuck, get back up—Hoseok, he‟s bigger he should—” Namjoon muttered.

My sight blurred out, and I could feel as a heavy ache formed right in the center of my chest. Hoseok was dying, and I was dying, because Hoseok was a part of my life. He owned the other missing portion of my soul inside him, and both of them were dying down there, facing a bloodbath coming out of a deep hatred from Yoongi.

I couldn‟t do this anymore, so I stood on my feet, attempting a move when something flashed before my eyes.

Hoseok flew high up in the air and crashed to the ground.

The ground shook so hard like the earth was tearing into two. Yoongi stood a several feet away on the other side—his body was barely hurt, there were no spot of blood on his fur, except for his snout and mouth. He stood there, static and calm. In my head, he was smiling, enjoying this moment to the fullest. Hoseok remained sprawled on the ground; his fur was covered in thick blood. He had to back down now. I waited for any part of him to turn into skin again, but nothing happened. He stayed there, lying on the sand with his eyes closed.

He’s dead.

I looked away, wiping the tears forming in my eyelids with my sleeves. I could feel myself collapsing when I saw a movement, peculiar enough to catch my attention.

Kim Taehyung swung out his wand, his mouth moved in a gibberish way, as if he was chanting a charm.

Bing.

“Jung Hoseok was down in this round! I can‟t believe it—” the other commentors commented through the microphone.

Wait, Hoseok hasn’t shape-shifted into his human body yet, has he? He still hasn’t surrendered.

My eyes searched for my mate. He was now in his human form, blood covering his face, fresh cuts crisscrossing all over his torso. Yoongi walked back into the east door. A group of med team put Hoseok on a stretcher. Then my mate was missing, and I started to panic again.

This time, I stood up and ran, shoving past the crowd beneath me. My mate needed me.

T H I R T E E N

Jimin's POV

I pushed through the people in the crowd as if they were liquid until I reached the bottom of the amphitheater. From there, The Tent looked humongous—I bet there were millions of people seated in the audiences around me, half of them rooting for Hoseok's victory just like I had. But he lost.

That wasn't what mattered at the moment, his safety was priority.

But I had no idea where Hoseok was. My vision blurred out, and a faint throb started in my head.

I flinched as someone bumped into me from behind.

"Jimin?"

I let out a breath of relief as I saw Yong Bae standing behind me. His face was crimson; sweat was dribbling down from his temple. I knew he was trying to tell me something, but he was panting too hard to do so.

Of course Yong Bae would be terrified—he couldn't only side with Hoseok since Yoongi was in the game, too. A glimpse of what seemed like confusion started to fill his eyes, and Yong Bae never lost his head before.

With him standing in front of me like this, the terror inside of me worsened.

"Yong Bae, where's Hoseok? He needs me, he's hurt—" "Calm down, Jimin," Yong Bae shouted over the noise.

Before I could say anything else, Yong Bae grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the crowd.

I found myself standing in front of a huge door. Yong Bae and I were facing two men in complete white attire, blocking us from going in.

"Only the Alpha can visit the contender," one of the men said.

"Please," Yong Bae pleaded, "Hoseok needs this boy. This boy is his mate."

The guys squinted at me, their expressions changing. I could feel as my cheeks burned, but I ignored it.

"Jung Hoseok has a male mate?" one of them asked.

"Yes," I retorted. "Is that a problem?"

I was surprised as the words came out of my mouth. I never sounded like this before; it sounded as if the words I was saying were catching fire, and it was peculiar. I forced myself to breathe and contained my anger. Yong Bae looked at me like he didn't know me anymore. I ignored him; I couldn't just stand here. Maybe the meds would mend Hoseok, but I still needed to go in.

"Only one of you can go in," one of them finally said.

Yong Bae pushed me into the room. "Go."

The doors slammed shut behind me. I was standing in a narrow vestibule, caught in between two entrances. The air smelled like medicine and antiseptics. I wasn't sure which room to go into.

But my doubts were gone when I heard a moan.

"Aargh—"

Decision made, I entered the room I heard the moan from. In the room, there were rows and rows of beds. One of them was enclosed by a curtain. I sprinted toward it and flicked the curtains open, finding my mate beaten and bloody on the bed.

"What the—" one of the doctors said.

"Hoseok," I said, approaching him. I wanted him to know I was here for him. He might have thought that I didn't care—he might have thought I was still the old me who would find joy from seeing him in pain. The great Jung Hoseok who had spent his time bullying me was now covered in dark-red blood and patches of fresh wounds—I should've been applauding.

I reached out to touch his chest. I caressed him until my fingers found his face—this man held the other half of my soul, and he was hurting.

Tears stung my eyelids. I said his name in his ear, repeating it as if my voice could bring him back his lost energy. Well, maybe it could.

"Jimin?"

When I turned to look at him, he was smiling. Then I noticed his shoulders shaking, and that's when I knew he was actually chuckling. "Why the fuck are you laughing?" I groaned. "You are dying and you are laughing? What's so funny?"

Even though there were blood and bruises and open wounds everywhere on him, he was still beautiful. Maybe it was just my eyes, but his smile was demanding my attention, pleading for me to give him a kiss on his lips.

It was a few minutes later when I realized the medical crew were staring at me.

I turned to them. "What?"

"Who are you?" one of them asked.

"I'm his mate," I grunted. "And please, I hope you can give us some privacy here."

It took a moment for them to realize that I wasn't joking. After a couple of minutes, they started to walk away, one by one. I could finally breathe with ease.

"Dude, what the fuck is going on?" I said. "You're hurt—no, don't move! Don't be so fucking stupid, you might have internal bleeding and you're moving—"

"Jimin," he breathed out my name like it was the last thing he would say, as if he was going to die. "Jimin—I—I've failed." He winced to the agonizing cut on the corner of his lips. "I've . . . failed."

"Failed what?" I asked.

Before he could answer, he had a series of heavy coughing fits. He struggled into a sitting position, and my gut instinct was telling me to stop him because he shouldn't move too much, so I reached out to hold his face and slid my hands under his head.

Now that I had the chance to hold Hoseok in my arms, I realized how weak he was.

It will, I assured myself. He's going to go home and everything's going to be fine.

"I—I've lost the game," he said. His body was getting warmer under my hands; he might've caught a fever. Not good.

"I should've won," he continued. "I should've—"

"Stop it, Hoseok," I groaned. "I told you. You've won three times. Give it a rest."

"No—that's not what I meant," he said, shooting me a sharp stare. "I had to win, Jimin. I had to win . . . for you."

Tears slipped down his eyes, washing away the blood from the cuts on his face, mingling to turn the clear liquid pinkish.

There was a small towel on the bedside table. I took it and pressed it on Hoseok's cut, hoping it would stop the bleeding. Seeing him like this made me forget that we were werewolves, that we recovered ten times faster than humans, allowing these wounds and cuts to heal soon.

"What do you mean?" I grumbled. I didn't want to cry in front of Hoseok, but the tears just flowed out of me. Maybe I had to get used to this, because who knew what would happen next? Maybe Hoseok was right—I was a crybaby after all.

"Why are you trying to blame me now?" I said. "Why? Fuck, now you've made me cry." I wiped the tears away with my hands hard, as if that could make my tears manly.

"No . . . I'm playing this game . . . with you . . . and—and I've lost in it. I'm not winning, like I thought I would."

"I don't understand," I told him, the words coming out more like a sob. I rubbed his cheek and wiped his tears away. His skin felt warm under my hands.

I pulled a chair from near the wall and put it right beside the bed. My hand stayed on Hoseok's face, stroking his hair, hoping my touch would really speed up the healing process. At least he was smiling now, showing me the bliss he felt from my presence, and I knew just what he was feeling. I knew how idyllic it felt when I woke up by my mate's side the other day after Yoongi had beaten me up.

Hoseok was trying to say something, but I could barely hear him. I ducked down, bringing my ear closer to his mouth.

"I—I didn't know what else to do, Jimin," he panted the words out. "I did so many things, I'd tried so hard to gain your forgiveness, and . . . and it wasn't working. And I really, really want this to work—"

His voice was drowned out by his heavy wheezing. His hand reached for mine and I took it. His grip was faint, signaling to me his exhaustion.

When he found his breathe, he continued.

"Maybe, yes, you miss me, and you want me, but that's just because we're mates. But I'm positive that you can never force love, no matter what." I gripped his hand, wishing I could understand the point he was trying to make. What was he trying to say? Was he relinquishing his goal to earn my forgiveness? If so, I had already thought he'd given up a long time ago when he started to ignore me and made my life shitty.

"Hoseok—"

"I want to change how you feel about me, beyond our mate bond, Jimin."

"Hoseok, please." That's all I could come up with.

"But beyond the mate bond, I'm only an asshole, a jerk, a douchebag to you. I don't want to be that anymore. It's not me, Jimin—believe me, maybe I was at the start because I thought it was the right way to start the game we were playing. Maybe I've started this whole game before anything happened, Jimin."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "What game are we playing?"

Nothing was a game about us. It was a truth, it was the nature of our kind—a mate who falls in love with another mate. We were meant to be together, and I believed in it. I was meant for Jung Hoseok, no matter how hard it was for me to accept it.

"Winning your heart," he said. "I tried to win your heart; it's sort of a game for me. Remember our deal?"

As I heard those words, a burning sensation crept up inside my face. Then I remembered everything; how I refused to fall for him, even though I knew it was impossible. I remembered the day when we were in bed together, with him assuring me that he would win my heart. I'm going to win your heart, his words flashed in my mind. Our relationship seemed like a game after all. All the false intimacy, the tug-of-war I had with myself, the indecision between not wanting and wanting him at the same time . . . maybe it should stop now.

He was my mate—well, fuck that. Even if he wasn't, I would definitely still be head over heels for him. Maybe even if we were humans, we would still fall for each other.

"I've done so many things, Jimin," he continued. "I tried so hard to make you fall in love with me. So many things. None of them worked, and I can't lose you, so I thought . . . maybe by winning this game, your feelings for me would change."

He coughed violently this time.

"You are so fucking stupid," I told him. "Why did you think by winning against that asshole you could win my heart, or whatever you were trying to do? You can't be any dumber than this, you know that?"

"I couldn't stop trying," he wheezed. "I'm clueless, Jimin. All these Combat triumphs I had, all those girls I dated . . . it isn't worth shit. What is my life worth if I can't even make my own mate fall in love with me?"

He let out another cough. His body felt hot now, and I was terrified.

"Jimin. . ." he murmured. "Jimin. . . say something."

What could I say?

"Stop trying, Hoseok. Whatever you do, just stop."

I looked away as if that could prevent me from becoming flustered. My heart sped up like crazy and I had to breathe in again and again to ease the nerves bubbling in my chest.

"I don't want to stop—" Hoseok argued.

"No," I groaned, "just stop. You won, okay? If you want to put it that way so much, you have already won."

His body froze; his eyes wide just staring at me. I kept my gaze still, eyes stuck to the walls, refusing to look at him.

"I win?" he said, shaking my arms like I had gone unconscious. "Jimin, am I winning this game we're playing?"

"Shut the fuck up," I said. "You've won a long time ago. You're just too stupid to realize it."

"You're—you're losing, and you don't mind, Jimin? Are you letting go?"

God, please kill me.

"So, are you in love with me?" he pressed on.

"Whatever," I groaned. "Game over, alright? Don't do anything stupid."

He laughed. "Oookay . . . since I've won, I guess I deserve a prize."

"Oh God, what now?" I grumbled. "A kiss," he said. "I deserve a kiss."

I didn't linger on it because I didn't want to resist it anymore. So I ducked down and pressed my lips to his.

He pulled away and breathed. "Wow, you're good."

"Shut up."

Staring at each other, we broke into laughter. For a moment, I felt invincible; nothing would hurt if I had my mate with me. Nothing mattered now because we were together.

"Will you kiss me like that again, anytime I want?" he asked.

I squeezed my lips on his one more time and whispered, "Anytime."

~ ~ ~

Jessica volunteered to drive Hoseok and me home. When we arrived there, I helped him to wash himself before I put him in bed for the whole day. If not for an old television set in his bedroom, I would have been bored to death as he slept by my side.

I survived having a dinner with The Jungs with no difficulties. Neither Daehyun nor Haeun knew who won The Combat because none of them stayed after Hoseok went home.

When Hoseok had awakened, the night had fallen. We were watching How I Met Your Mother in his bedroom, nibbling on some Lays as I lay on his arm. He seemed better now, and it had only been a few hours since he'd been wounded badly.

He stroked my hair back and forth; his fingers running down my face as he pinched my nose. I pushed his hand away. "Stop it."

"You're beautiful."

My eyes searched his as I looked up.

"I'm not," I told him.

"I never thought I would have this feeling, you know?" Hoseok murmured, twisting my short curls around his finger.

"Same here," I said, "never thought I would . . . fall for you."

"It must be disappointing for you. Since you were a kid, you always thought your mate was going to be a girl. I saw it— how passionate you were about those mate stories."

"You're right," I told him. "I thought it would be that way, running in the woods with a girl as my mate. But when I'm looking at it now, I don't think that would work."

I felt him shift beside me, moving like his arm was already sore from pillowing my head. I ignored him and continued snacking. I didn't want this to be over yet. "What do you mean?" Hoseok asked.

"Like, come to think of it; I'm clumsy, I'm accident prone, and I can barely take care of myself. So how can I take care of a girl, like those damsel-in-distress mate stories I fantasized of having?" I told him.

There was a hum of happy tune behind his chuckles. "Agree."

I snorted. Jung Hoseok would always be Jung Hoseok. "Jerk."

"Well, no damn girl deserve to be by your side—I'm the only one who deserves to be your side," he said.

I turned to look at him and smiled. He was right, he'd always been right about everything.

Hoseok's foot was tangling around mine under the covers. I could feel as his toes moved around on my feet, tickling me.

"Stop it!" I said.

"Your feet's warm—I like it."

"And yours are cold," I groaned.

That didn't stop him from continuing though.

I reached deeper into the bag of snacks when I felt Hoseok's foot kick mine hard.

"Ow!"

I kicked back at him as hard as I could in retaliation. I laughed as he winced.

"You wanna play, huh?" he said.

He reached down under the covers and pulled down my pants.

"What the fuck?" I groaned, pushing his hand away. He didn't stop what he was doing, though. Was he really trying to strip me naked? Honestly, I wasn't ready for any steamy action, especially now that he was trying to recover from his injuries.

He rolled over and laid on top of me, his chest pressed against mine. Under my thin T-shirt, I could feel his hard wood as his belly was pressing mine.

Well . . . maybe there will be some steamy action after all.

His gaze traveled all of me. I jerked up and pressed my lips on his. He returned the kiss ferociously; his hands squeezing both of my shoulder blades hard, kissing my face and moving down to my neck. I felt myself shiver as his wet lips landed on my neck—goose bumps rose everywhere on my skin. The thought of wanting him flashed like fire in my mind.

Now I could never be more positive: I wanted him forever in my life.

~ ~ ~

I didn't remember dreaming as I woke. I was aware I had slept and remembered hearing Hoseok's steady breathing as he slumbered. He had held onto me all night, his grip strong, refusing to let me go.

So when I woke up, I thought I would feel his presence, but there was only coldness beside me. I rubbed both of my eyes to clear the blurry vision from just awakening only to find my mate lingering in the center of the bedroom. The sight of him brought a smile to my face.

"Morning," I said, but he didn't seem to notice.

In his hand was a phone—then I realized, the phone was mine. There were creases in his forehead, his brows furrowed as he stared straight into the phone in his hand. He took slow steps toward the bed, fidgeting around.

"What's wrong, Hoseok?" I asked.

"Oh, you're awake," he said. He looked at me, flinching to realize I had been up. "Have you been up long?"

"No," I said, pulling myself up. "Is everything okay? Is that my phone?"

He didn't answer me, instead he threw me a look, as if he was saying, I don't know how to start on this.

My heart made a weird thump. I raced over to him, peeking at the phone screen.

Hey, babe, it's me. Meet me at the basketball court – got something to show ya. Be quick, mate.

"What the hell is this?" I asked.

"It's not from me . . ." Hoseok replied.

"Duh, obviously," I snorted. "You haven't called me 'babe' yet."

When I heard his chuckle, I could finally let out a breath of relief.

"So who's that from?"

Hoseok didn't answer—I knew he heard me, but he just left the room. Then I realized I should've taken the phone away from him. He seemed anxious and uncomfortable about something, unlike his usual self.

I sped to the bathroom to clean myself up. I looked into Hoseok's wardrobe to find any T-shirt that I could wear, hoping like hell Hoseok wouldn't mind. I finally found a black tee that looked way too big on me and put on my own pants because it was still clean. I guess I'd been sweating yesterday since my clothes were all smelly.

I ran downstairs to find Hoseok having breakfast with his family. The forlornness was still all over him, but his expression changed as he spotted me. He waved at me to come and sit by him at the table, so I did. That's when I noticed I couldn't spot my phone anywhere.

"Dude, my phone is with you, isn't it?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, I guess—" There was a weird edge to his voice. He sounded afraid. Hearing it from Jung Hoseok was extremely peculiar.

I flinched when Jiyeon stormed into the dining area. Her hairs were all over the place, messing up her face. Well, I think she was prettier this way; messy and unorganized, looking very natural. She had nice eyelashes and smooth skin— Jungkook once admitted that he had had a little crush on her when we were little. I guess I could understand why.

She was pretty, even when she fought toast like it was the last piece of food in the world.

"I thank God I have a mother who cooks so good," she said, spreading the homemade apple jam on her hot toast.

"Thanks, even though it's just a toast and a jam," said Haeun to her daughter.

"A toast from a homemade loaf of bread, and a homemade jam," Jiyeon replied. Haeun hummed out a happy tune.

"Jiyeon, be polite," Daehyun groaned. "What, are you starving to death?"

"Yes," Jiyeon said. "God, this is delicious."

She shoved the toast in her mouth and caught me staring. She gave me a look and I looked away.

Laughing to himself, Junhong grabbed a seat to my left. Then he ducked down and whispered, "She's been like this since college."

Jiyeon's hand landed on Junhong's head hard. "I heard that."

"It's funny how you are not fat yet," Junhong replied.

"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment," Jiyeon responded.

"I said you are not fat yet . . . you know, according to how you eat—"

"The only thing that's going to be fat is your ass when I smack it—"

Junhong broke into a sprint, escaping from her vicious sister with two pieces of toast in his hand. I could only laugh as their parents reprimanded them to sit properly at the table. Then I started on my food.

"Let your sister eat," Daehyun said. "She misses your mom's cooking. I know college food sucks."

"Thanks, Dad," Jiyeon said, sticking out her tongue at Junhong. "By the way, school food is okay now."

"Um, excuse me."

I was surprised to hear that coming from Hoseok. I watched him as he stood, pushed his chair in and walked away from the dining area. This time, he was staring at his phone, his fingers were keenly typing on the keypad. I gulped, not liking the uneasiness I felt deep down in my stomach.

"Is your boyfriend okay?" Jiyeon asked, giggling to herself. I shot her a look.

"You're not fighting with him anymore, are you?" Junhong asked. I felt as my cheeks burned. "What do you mean?"

Junhong leaned in to me and said, "C'mon, brother, I know. No more secrets with me, okay? After all, I'm your brother-in-law already . . . in some ways."

"Shut up," I groaned as Junhong chuckled in amusement.

"Anyway," Jiyeon joined in, "guess who won yesterday, Jimin?"

"Yoongi?" I told her blankly.

"Nope," Jiyeon said. "After his round with Hoseok, he was beaten up badly within a few seconds by the next contender. He looked stupid and everyone was confused—why couldn't Hoseok take this kid down while the other could so easily?"

"Yeah, yesterday was boring," Junhong groaned. "No one's as good as Hoseok."

"Yong Bae didn't train Yoongi," I muttered. "He was so good when he took Hoseok down."

"Well, the other Seoul kid won, though," Jiyeon said. "Sungyeol."

"What? Lee Sungyeol?"I wondered what Jessica thought when she heard this.

"Yeah. He was good—he was the one who took Yoongi down. It was still embarrassing though; Yoongi was still a kid from our pack after all."

I couldn't keep up with the conversation for long because I still expected Hoseok's presence to return. But even as I helped to load the dishes into the dishwasher, he was still nowhere to be seen. His troubled expression kept on flashing in my head.

I was walking from the kitchen to the hall when I noticed something on the kitchen counter: my phone. Maybe Hoseok had forgotten that he left it there.

I picked it up and pressed the home button and found the text message again.

I scrolled through the details of the message. First of all, despite the word 'babe', the text was clearly written for me by Hoseok. Hoseok, however, told me it wasn't from him, and he wouldn't be telling me to go to the basketball court like the stranger said in the text message.

My first instinct told me that maybe it was someone who sent it to the wrong number, but then I knew that wasn't the case. If it was, Hoseok wouldn't be acting so restless.

I waited for ten more minutes, but my mate still hadn't show up.

I walked out of the house silently and roamed around the neighborhood streets. Some of the kids who passed by me came to say hi, but I really was in no mood for any friendly reunions. I searched for any signs of my mate, my heart beating like crazy in my chest.

Still, no Hoseok could be seen. So there was only one option left.

The basketball court.

There really wasn't a good neighborhood basketball site in Gyerim. The only one that passed for an acceptable clearing was the one where Namjoon had first discovered the existence of werewolves. It was a place I rarely visited due to the thick and thorny bushes littering the path and the huge thick trees. Stepping further into the woods, I realized why I hadn't even bothered to venture into this part of the woods. The sun shimmered down over the massive green covering creating a beautiful play of light over the ground. I could hear the sound of a small stream northwest of me, the swift flow and slip of water through rock.

I was nearing the basketball court when I heard voices. When a sense of paranoia crept up in me, I decided to hide behind a gigantic tree.

". . . he has the right to know what happens between us . . . "

". . . it's over. You don't want me. It's time for me to move on and he's there . . ."

Then I realized the voice belonged to Hoseok. He was arguing with a guy who had his back to me. From this distance, I was pretty sure they wouldn't sense me, and that was good since I didn't want any of them to know I was here yet.

"It's just bullshit, Hoseok. . . an illusion. Get over it . . . "

"It is not an illusion . . ." Hoseok stammered.

The voice of the other guy was loud enough for me to hear now. And I knew exactly who it was.

Yoongi.

Suddenly I remembered how he had almost cracked my skull into two and fear crept up in me. What was he trying to do to Hoseok now? I couldn't let anyone hurt my mate; he'd just been healed from the chaos of yesterday.

I made my move out of the trees, but that's when I spotted Yoongi's arm wrapping around my mate's waist.

"But I love you," he said.

Suddenly I felt as if the seconds stopped ticking.

Two of them were standing still, facing each other. Hoseok's face was filled with worry, sadness and fear, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was confused. And I didn't like the fact that I agreed with how I could understand his confusion.

There was someone else in his life, someone he cared about.

Someone he cared about before me.

I don't know how the certainty sparked up in me, but once it did, it went wild in my body.

"I can do anything to start again, Hoseok. Just tell me," Yoongi said. "I—I can come out for you. For both of us."

"You should have done that back then," Hoseok said, his voice monotonic and uncertain. "You should have done that when my heart was free, when I was completely ready to be with you."

"Hoseok, please," Yoongi groaned. "Give me a chance. I can make you happy again, Hoseok. I swear . . . God, that boy. He doesn't even like you!"

"It's none of your business," said the immobile Hoseok. Yoongi pulled Hoseok—my Hoseok, my mate—toward him. Then he pressed his lips to Hoseok's, and their colliding bodies were so painful for me to bear that I shivered and I was certain I would black out.

I blinked and Hoseok didn't pull away, his lips remained on Yoongi's mouth.

Who are you, Jung Hoseok? Do I really know you? Do I really deserve to be your mate, while there is this boy who may know you better than I do? Would you trust me like how a lover should trust a lover, because if you do, I would have known about all of this. If I do know about all of this, maybe the touches you share with this boy who'd almost smashed my brain won't confuse me too much.

I took a deep breath in and forced a smile as I walked out of the trees.

"Wow, what's happening here?" I said.

Hoseok flinched to my voice and pushed Yoongi's chest off him. When I stared into his eyes, I could see fire. Hoseok let out a gasp as if there were words stuck in his throat.

"Jimin, why—"

"Why am I here? Really, is that what you are asking?" I shot at Hoseok, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Good, now that he's here, why won't you explain everything to him, Hoseok? He deserves to know."

Yoongi was good at being the fuel to turn the flame in me into a blazing hellfire.

"Shut up, you son of a bitch!" I yelled, approaching Yoongi. "Don't you fucking—"

"No, stop, Jimin, please," Hoseok said.

"Yep, of course, maybe Yoongi's right, Hoseok. Maybe I deserve an explanation."

I turned to Hoseok and shivered as I noticed tears gleaming in his eyes. He had never looked this terrified before. But I was mad—I was furious and confused, and the two wasn't good when combined together.

But he remained there, immobile.

"God, just fucking say it, Hoseok!" Yoongi started. "Just tell him how all that mate bond is bullshit! Tell him how you don't even believe it! Tell him—"

"Shut the fuck up, Yoongi!" Hoseok screamed, and his face was scarlet.

He turned to look at me, and I lost it.

I balled up my fist and punched my mate across his face.

I turned around and walked away. I didn't look back.

F O U R T E E N

Jimin's POV

My fist still burned from hitting my mate on his face. I rubbed my knuckles repeatedly, trying to soothe the stinging sensation there.

I'm not supposed to be jealous.

Well, fuck that. Of course, I would be jealous. Someone else had kissed my mate, and I didn't know why it had happened.

I stormed into my bedroom, still couldn't shake off the visual of Yoongi's lips on Hoseok's. Hoseok was mine; his lips were for me alone, not for some random guy.

Is Yoongi really just a random guy in Hoseok's life?

I let out a loud grumble. I had the urge to throw things. I wanted to punch a mirror and watch as the shards cut into my skin. Above all else, I wanted to go out and find Yoongi and literally murder him by putting a bullet into his heart.

I tried to suppress my tears but it only left a heavy burning pain in my chest. I pressed my face into a pillow and screamed; I didn't want anyone to hear me.

Hoseok should've kissed me, not that asshole who had almost killed him yesterday!

I took out my cell phone and pulled up the text message that was sent about an hour ago. I dialed the unknown number and already knew who would pick up.

"Hello?"

I knew it.

I'd never hated anything or anyone so much in my life before, but Yoongi's voice was like gasoline on my burning heart. I clawed into the mattress, my sight turned monochromatic. My emotions were out of control and I had to calm down. Focus, I thought to myself. Nothing's going to work if you keep panicking around like this.

"Who the fuck is this?" Yoongi asked over the silence.

"You pathetic bastard," I growled. "What kind of question is that? You texted this number."

A static silence came out from the phone. The fire in my chest burned wilder; I could feel my whole body growing hot.

"Answer me, you coward!" I screamed. "What do you want? Why are you doing this to Hoseok?"

I knew Yoongi planned all of this. I remembered the way he noticed me hiding behind the trees as I followed Hoseok from behind. He knew I was coming and the kiss he and Hoseok had shared was obviously strategized. I breathed out and gripped the phone so hard I was pretty sure it would shatter in my palm. My heart raced and I was trembling. My hands were sweaty. This was not good.

Silence.

"Fuck off, you faggot."

The line went dead.

I crashed backwards onto the mattress and closed my eyes, breathing to relieve the heaviness in my chest. I felt like screaming and obliterating everything near me. The anger throbbed in my head and chest.

"Jimin?"

I flinched at the voice and sat up. Hoseok appeared at the doorway. I didn't want to look at him; I didn't want to see the area of his face my fist had connected with not too long ago. My heartache collided with my anger, leaving the pain to intensify more in my chest. I focused on calming myself and tried to forget.

"Jimin," Hoseok pleaded, crouching by my feet, "what you witnessed wasn't what you thought it was."

I turned to him.

"I was there and you didn't even pull away from kissing him, Hoseok," I said, trying to sound calm. "Why?"

"It's hard to explain, but—"

"But you have to explain."

He reached for my hands and I let him take them. My fingers laced with his. I pulled him up so he could sit beside me on the bed.

Tears trickled down his cheek. "It's—it's my fault."

"Hoseok, please," I grumbled, shivering as I spoke. "You're freaking me out. Please. Just tell me the truth."

"No," he said, "I should've told you this earlier. It shouldn't have waited until now."

"Just let it go and tell me."

"First of all," he stammered, "he framed me. Yoongi, he knew you were coming—"

"Skip that," I said. "I already knew."

His eyes widened, and the sunlight from the window made his tears shimmer. Reaching over, I brushed the tears from his face. He smiled, taking my hand and putting it on his cheek, pressing on it and like he didn't want to let me go.

"It's okay," I murmured. "Tell me."

"Yoongi and I . . . we . . . back then . . . last year, we . . . we were dating." I could feel myself flinching at the revelation, but I tried to retain an outward appearance of calm. "And?"

"And . . ." he continued, "God, how do I start? We began to know each other at the school Sports Expo trip last year. The school sent two representatives for Daeil High. During the trip he told me how he had secretly observed me. I was confused and then . . . that's when he . . . he kissed me."

If I had paid more attention to Hoseok before discovering our mate bond, I might have noticed Hoseok and Yoongi's close friendship. Yoongi was Daeil High's basketball star and Hoseok was the school's quarterback. Hoseok had always been in the group of athletic jocks at school, but he had been closer to Yoongi than anyone else too. The thought of he and Yoongi dating now made sense to me.

"And?" I asked.

"And I was confused," he said. "I fooled around with the girls but they never really wanted to, you know, be more serious with me. So I thought Yoongi was the only one who wanted something more than a hookup so . . . I got into it. And I thought I could like him, you know?"

I sighed and looked away when I sensed my eyes getting wet again. This boy, who I never thought wanted anything more than sex, had craved affection, and I knew nothing about it.

"Hey," Hoseok whispered as he pulled me on to his chest. Smelling his scent, I felt calmer, so I kept barreling my face into his body.

"I didn't love him, okay? We never had that chemistry. Our relationship wasn't what I expected it to be," Hoseok continued.

"How can I not know all of this?" I whispered into his clothes.

"It's my fault, Jimin. I'm truly sorry."

I took a deep breath again.

"What happened next?" I asked.

His hand lingered around my head, twirling my short curls in his fingers. "I was ready to let all of you know about us, about me dating a guy. But when Yoongi found out I was going to do that, he went crazy and we had a fight. He didn't want to be outed yet, and I told him it was irrelevant because nobody cared anymore. Then he went on and said, 'If you want people to know what a faggot you are, go on. I'm not joining you.'"

Hoseok laughed and stared outside the window. I could only let out a smidgen of chuckle to Hoseok's imitation of Yoongi; I was too hurt to laugh.

"When he said that," he continued, "I lost control and punched him in the face."

That explained why Yoongi and him had gotten into it. Everything they told us was a lie.

"So he made everyone believe you two were fighting over Tiffany?" I asked him.

"Yes," Hoseok said, smiling at me. "Tiffany found out about that bullshit he was spreading to the whole school and started dating him. Clever, wasn't it?"

"Well, he isn't so clever now." Hoseok chuckled and pressed my lips with his slowly. When he kissed me, everything felt normal again, like nothing had been wrong between us.

"Just so you know," I told Hoseok, "that you do deserve the punch."

"I do," Hoseok agreed. "I'm really sorry, Jimin. If I were you, I might act crazier."

"If I had been the one to kiss Yoongi, you might have literally killed that dude. Just saying," I said.

Hoseok let out a heavy breath, pulling away from me. "I'm sorry. It's—ugh, I don't know what else to say. I really didn't mean to hurt you."

I looked at him, and I knew he saw the pain in my eyes. I didn't want to hide it anymore. Maybe Hoseok needed the guilt he had.

"You can't do this to me like that again," I said, looking away. "You might think that because we have a mate bond, I can forgive you easily."

Hoseok went on a dead silence. When I turned to him, he was looking at his lap, more tears running down his face.

"Do you even hear me?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Good," I said. "Now tell me the rest of the story. We don't need to hide anything from each other anymore."

He took a deep breath and continued. "Well, after the fight we had, I was pretty fucked up. But I could already sense that you were near, and I got pretty messed up with our mate bond I couldn't pay more attention to Yoongi any longer."

"And then I came into the picture, fucking around with your head," I said, chuckling.

"Yep, then the unthinkable happened; everyone found out that you were my mate, including that closeted case. Now he wants me back. He wants to take me away from you."

"Just like old times, eh, Mr. Jung, getting seized by girls and boys?"

Hoseok busted out in laughter.

"You can say that," he answered. "But it doesn't matter now. Thanks for giving me another chance, Jimin."

I pulled myself up, reached out to his face and kissed him. "Sure. Honestly, I'm just tired. I'm tired of having to pull away from you again. We'd been too fucked up to go against each other again, Hoseok."

Hoseok nodded.

I continued, "Still, I'm not the first boy you kissed."

I let out a pretend-sigh, pouting.

"But you are the first and the last person I would be in love with," Hoseok told me. I rolled my eyes. "You might have said that to all the chicks you dated before."

"I'm serious," he urged, trying to convince me.

You might have said that, too, I was going to say to him. But I ignored the words in my head; instead I leaned in closer and stared right into his eyes.

"I love you," the words trembled on my tongue. It was funny how those three words came out of my mouth awkwardly even after all the kissing and the touching we'd done.

"Are you sure?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows.

"Yep, I'm a hundred percent positive. I'm sure you know I've been in love with you for a while now."

"What makes you say that?" Hoseok asked.

"Well, we're mates," I said. "You are in love with me, and that can only mean one thing. A mate does not simply miss his other, because if he misses his mate, the other mate might've been missing him too."

Hoseok lifted his eyebrows.

"That means," I added, "that I am in love with you, too."

Hoseok chuckled and pressed his lips to mine again. He pushed me so I lay on my back, sliding his hand underneath my Tshirt—

My phone rang.

"Damn it," I groaned, slipping my hands into my pocket to pick up the phone. "Wait—hello?"

A series of wet sobs came out of the phone. I couldn't decipher more but I was pretty certain the disturbing noises were sounds from someone trying to stifle their weeping.

"Hello? Who is this?" I panicked.

"J—Jimin."

Jessica.

"Jess, are you okay? What happened?" I asked.

"Can you come over for a while?" she pleaded. "Just for a while, please."

~ ~ ~

Ji Won was at the door when I arrived at Jessica's house, watering some plants. She smiled at me as I greeted her.

"May I see Jessica?" I asked. "Of course, darling," she responded, looking very cheerful. "Where's Hoseok, though?"

"He's at my place," I told her.

"Okay," said Jessica's mom. "She's upstairs in her bedroom."

I sprinted toward her bedroom and found her sitting in front of a mirror, her face smudged with black ink which I was positive was caused by her eyeliner. Blotches of red lipsticks covered her mouth.

"Are you okay?" I said as I approached her, touching her shoulder. "God, I thought you were like . . . being shot or something!"

"Relax," she said, her voice was monotonous. "I'm okay."

"No, you're not," I slid her hair over her shoulders. "You were crying and I need to know why."

She sighed and gripped both of my shoulders. Her blank expression changed, and she burst out in tears again. She fell over me and put her face on my chest, pushing me down onto the floor.

"Hey," I murmured, "it's okay. Everything's fine. You can tell me."

"It's your fault," she muled through my clothes. "You shouldn't have—" She was shrieking and I couldn't decipher the next words she said.

"I shouldn't have what, Jess?" Her crying only became more hysterical with my question. "God, seriously, you're freaking me the hell out! You called me and cried like—"

"You shouldn't have brought Namjoon into our pack! Now I have to deal with falling in love with him!"

My jaw dropped in shock and the rush of panic I felt since hearing Jesscia sobs over the phone evaporated.

"You—what—falling in love—what do you mean?" I asked.

She leaned into me and cried into my shirt again. I tried to comfort her, but the eagerness of finding out what was going took up all my attention. "I'm—his—mate."

"You're what?" I shrieked.

"Don't make me repeat it!" she screamed and pulled herself up. "He's my mate, Jimin! Kim Namjoon, he's my fucking mate! That weird best friend of yours shares a mate bond with me!"

I watched Jessica in terror as she paced back and forth. What the fuck did I just hear? It sounded peculiar and impossible. Namjoon, who Jessica had spent the previous few weekends arguing with, was her mate? My mortal friend Namjoon, had the other half of my other best friend's soul?

"Wait a second—" I said as I started to stand up.

"No, Jimin, you can't be excited right now," she said.

"I mean—I'm not excited, I'm just—"

"Liar," she said, throwing me a look.

"Okay, a little, but—" "Jimin, it's bad! It's fucking bad!" she groaned.

"Why would it be?" I asked.

"Okay, I was feeling these little sparks before school ended and I repressed it like—like, I don't know, a moron? And I got really angry and—God, I don't know, Jimin. I was such a bitch and until recently, he really thought he was a jerk. Then, with me and my fucked up little mind, I kissed him." She threw herself on the bed and continued sobbing into the pillow.

Was it coincidence, or did finding a mate just completely turned a person into a crybaby?

"When did you kiss him?" I asked.

"An hour ago," she told me. "I mean, I'd never kissed anyone other than that dorky guy during the full moon party last year. Now I'm such a great kisser Namjoon immediately fell for my charm."

"Fell for what—what the hell are you talking about?" I asked.

"I told him I was sorry and escaped," she explained. "We were meeting somewhere in town just now, and he went all, 'It's okay, I understand everything, Jessica. Don't go, please, I like you, and I understand' and shit. Like, he doesn't get it, Jimin! How can I explain this without appearing like a bitch because before this I told him he was not my type at all—"

"Wait, Jess, hold on." I ran to her and held her shoulder. "Look at me."

"I don't want it to be this way, Jimin," she cried again, wiping her tears. "He's a sweet guy. I thought I hated sweet guys before but, no, I like him. I like him and all his flaws. But I screwed everything up. I'm a total bitch—"

"Hey, listen, I get it, okay?" I said. "And I get what Namjoon was trying to tell you."

"What do you mean, you get him? He's a confused mortal; he doesn't know what he is feeling."

"What, do you think he just thinks Hoseok and I are boyfriends? Of course not, Jess—I told him all about mates," I told her.

"What—he knows about mates?" Jessica asked, wide-eyed.

"Yep. He's even flipped through the Guide. I'm pretty sure he's interested in all this mating stuff, you know? I guess that's why he thinks he understands what you're going through."

"Ugh," she said, throwing herself on her bed. "It doesn't make me feel better! I am still a bitch, I even belittled him on this issue—"

"Stop saying that," I groaned. "You're not a bitch."

"I am."

"You're not!" I shot at her in a humorous tone.

"Jimin, I'm not joking!" I laughed.

"Okay, okay. Nothing's actually wrong. At least I have a friend who can now relate to my mating issues. Namjoon's so into you, Jess. He's hung up on you since, I don't know, freshmen year?" "Ugh, I've been thinking about that. I don't think he'll feel the same way later. I know you know better." She let out sighs when I reached out and hugged her.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is what he thinks of you now," I murmured in her ears as she held me tight.

"I've always thought it was all fun business, you know?" she replied. "All of this hey-I-found-my-mate thing, it's harder when it hits you. I never thought it would be my turn now."

"We always think we're still too young. While finding a mate is all just kind of fucking random," I said. It was good to hear her laugh, even if it was only a little chuckle.

"I didn't even bother to find out if it was hard for you when your time came," she cried. "I'm such a bitch."

"There you go again. Stop saying that. Sure, it was hard for me, but now as I'm looking at you, I think we're not that different."

She pulled away and forced a smile. "I wish you told me more about it as a warning about what I was going to face. I wasn't prepared at all when I found out, Jimin."

I snorted. "Jess, Namjoon might be weird, but he's just a guy, too. Go out on a date with him, get to know him—there's nothing to be prepared about."

"I wish I had said something similar to you when you found out about Hoseok," she replied with sarcasm.

"Hoseok is different, Jess," I responded. "He's the future Alpha and triple times Combat victor."

"Speaking of the Combat, I'm sorry for what happened," she said. "I don't know what's wrong with Yoongi. He's been fishy lately."

It turned out differently in my head, already knowing Yoongi's issues with Hoseok. My mate didn't want to be with him and he decided to take him down in rage. Maybe it sounded crazy, but it seemed like he would rather see Hoseok with no one at all than to face the facts that Hoseok was going to be with his mate. Jessica turned side to side, looking doubtful about something.

"Are you okay now?" I asked.

"There's something I want to tell you," she whispered, wiping her tears away. "I suspect something during the Combat. It was Yoongi."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I think someone helped him. I think . . . Kim Taehyung, I think he helped Yoongi win against Hoseok."

I almost protested, but I recalled when I was sitting helplessly on my seat. We had been waiting for Hoseok to shift as a sign that he had surrendered, but nothing had happened. Then I noticed the half- wizard half-vampire taking his wand out. Something had happened—something I couldn't decipher, but then Hoseok was back in his human form again.

"That . . . that can't be true."

"It's possible," Jessica told me. "That morning, Yoongi wasn't around because he went to the Tent with Taehyung. I asked some people and they spotted that vampire around for a while. You see, the fight was weird. He was as still as stone and then he threw Hoseok like he was marshmallow. It's ridiculous!"

Kim Taehyung knew he was powerful enough, so if he wanted to kill Hoseok it would've happened. Tremor crawled into me like poison. If Yoongi wanted Hoseok, he could've just asked Taehyung to charm him so he would forget me and go straight to him— No.

Mate bond couldn't be broken—it was still impossible even after years and years of attempts.

"Well," I finally spoke, "if Yoongi used Taehyung, he should've won, right? But he didn't."

F I F T E EN

JIMIN's POV

"Jimin, are you okay?" Dad's voice snapped me back to reality.

Mom was mixing her muffin batter, Dad was cutting tomatoes and I was sitting at the kitchen table holding an unfinished sandwich. His cutting slowed down as he looked at me. "What are you thinking about?" "

Nothing."

I wish I can tell you, Dad.

I caught Hoseok kissing someone else. I found out about Namjoon being Jessica's mate. I think Kim Taehyung is trying to kill my mate. Kim Taehyung.

So much had happened to me in one day. I knew I couldn't tell Dad about my suspicion of Taehyung and Yoongi, because I had no proof. I don't think he would have believed me. Heck, I didn't know if I would believe it had I not seen it with my own eyes. But what if Taehyung really did try to kill Hoseok? What if one day he would swing out his wand and Hoseok would puke out his lungs and heart and die?

Kim Taehyung was infamous for his parentage; half-wizard and half-vampire. The two had never coincided until Taehyung came into the world. Taehyung's wizardry abilities and vampirism made him lethal. His abilities put him above other immortals. Even a strong werewolf would find it difficult when faced with such an adversary. It would be especially daunting considering it had been decades since any immortal had been faced with a real war. The possibility of Taehyung launching an attack on us reminded me of the significance of the full moon hunting and the Combat as our shape-shifting rituals—we needed to remember that it was important to preserve our strength, that there was a potential for danger despite the time or place.

We tended to be desensitized to the jeopardy that our ancestors faced; these days not all werewolf kids knew that werewolves were extremely vulnerable to silver metals.

"Jimin?" Dad said, his voice was pressed this time.

"Sorry. What?" I said. "Oh, I'm alright. I'm just—I'm just—" "Is there anything I can do for you? Is it mate issues again?" he asked.

I chuckled and found myself flustering. Things were awkward between my father and me since I found my mate. He had been trying his best to help me in solving my issues, though—he thought I refused to be with Hoseok because he was a guy. "No," I replied, "it's not about Hoseok."

"How is he now?" he asked.

"He's great, Dad." I looked down, feeling myself flush.

"Well, you look . . . unsettled," my father said. "You should spend more time with him."

I chuckled. "Why? What makes you say that?"

"Well, when your mother and I found each other, we went on dates. It was beautiful, wasn't it, sweetheart?"

"Yeah . . ." Mom responded lazily, continuing on her mixing bowl.

"Well, trust me, it'll make you feel better," my father told me.

I pushed the last bits of a sandwich into my mouth. "You know what, Dad? That's a great idea. I'm going to go find him now."

"That's my boy."

Hoseok was nowhere in sight when I returned from Jessica's place. I wasn't sure I was up to facing him at the moment. I needed space without him crowding me. The thought of Yoongi being Hoseok's ex-boyfriend still had me in shock.

Dad smiled, and for a second I could feel the weigh in my chest loosen up. He really wanted me to be happy and I couldn't have been more thankful to have a father like him.

I got up from my chair and leaned over to kiss his cheek. He patted my head. "Just need to remind you," Dad said. "There's stamina practice today."

"Oh." I said, calculating the moon cycle in my head. "I almost forgot."

"Yes," Dad replied. "The full moon's tomorrow night. Make sure you play hard. Get yourself strong for tomorrow night—I don't want anything bad to happen to you again."

Stamina practice was a communal physical activity Yong Bae made compulsory before we started hunting during full moon. We would be divided into groups and start a physical activity, like a game or group workout.

"Your dad's right," my mother interrupted. "I don't want you to black out again."

"Okay, Mom."

During the last practice our pack had, I had snuck out of Hoseok's clique and watched my parents in their volleyball game. It had been fun until I fainted during the hunt. My dad had to carry me home and put me to bed. The full moon hunting was one of the most important traditions for shape-shifters because it helped shifters to retain the knowledge of how to hunt for food in the wild. Even though it was easier to just go to the grocery store, the hunting reminded shifters of how our ancestors survived in the wild decades ago. Werewolves were the strongest when the moon was full, so the hunt also aided in strengthening our human body since the two were interconnected. "Bye," I said to my parents as I left the house.

My thoughts were still wandering as I roamed around the neighborhood streets. I didn't know where I was heading to.

Wait. Where am I going? The Alpha's house loomed in front of me.

I wished I could turn my heels around, but Yong Bae had already seen me, and it would be rude if I did so.

"Jimin." I couldn't hide the fact that it was very uncomfortable to be around Yong Bae after everything that happened between Hoseok and me. He had forced me to come out from hiding in public, as well as interrogated me about my mating; it wasn't easy to push the awkwardness away. Guilt crept up inside of me as I thought of disliking him—he had been a good leader to me and the pack.

"Yeah?" I said, slowing down to a stop.

"Come here and help me out," he said as he threw planks of woods into a small fire. The flame burst up and enlarged, dispersing orange sparks into the air. Yong Bae was crouching down by the fire, throwing the planks into the fire and watched as the flames destroyed the wood. When he stared right at me, I knew I had no choice but to do as he said. "Bring those to me," he asked, pointing to some wooden planks to his left.

Lifting up a plank, I saw that they were completely splintered. The wood snapped in two in my hands and fell out of my grip. Yong Bae picked up the fallen pieces and tossed them in the fire.

"Termites," he muttered. "It's my office table. Pests ruined it."

I crouched down beside him. "You should get a new one."

"Yeah," he said, his eyes stayed still on the fire.

"My wife is getting me a new one."

I inhaled and smelled a hot fruity scent. It was pretty similar to the scent of my mother's blueberry muffins. What the hell? I breathed in again; sensing a new fragrance. The fire started to give off smoke that smelled like roasted chicken. My tummy growled.

"The fire . . . it smells weird. It can't be—"

"I think you can guess who helped me start it," Yong Bae interrupted me. There was only one person who could do this, a person who turned ugly insects into butterflies or reshape glass after deconstructing it.

"Seungri," I chuckled.

"Yep," Yong Bae said. "He's walking around the pack with Junmyeon's future stepson. They stopped by to say hi and Seungri saw me taking out these broken planks. So, he decided to lend a hand and cast one of his spells."

I laughed—out of all things that he could've possibly done, Seungri had chosen to cast a weird fire. "Baekhyun's here?" I asked.

"Yes," Yong Bae replied. "I invited him and his mother to the full moon hunt tomorrow night. They were solitaries for a while now—I guess it's time for them to learn new things about being in a pack. For starters, it's the practice." I nodded, staring blankly into the burning flames—the smoke was giving off a scent of roses now. It was relieving to know that Baekhyun was making progress in getting to know the pack. I liked the idea of Baekhyun hanging out with Seungri, because Jessica's cousin had always been out and proud with his sexuality maybe he could inspire Baekhyun.

I knew, deep in the pit of my heart, that boys like Baekhyun and me always wished to have Seungri's confidence. I wanted that fearlessness that he had to love anyone freely despite their gender expression or preferences. I guess if I wasn't Hoseok's mate, my perspective would be tinged with bias and discrimination. Being mated to a guy broadened my frame of mind and changed the way I perceived things.

For a moment, I felt very grateful.

"Jimin," Yong Bae cleared off his throat. "Can I talk to you about something?"

I gulped—get ready, Jimin. "Yeah . . . sure."

"Listen," he said as he turned to me. His eyes wandered, taking a deep breath as if he was searching for the right words to start with. He looked at me, and then at the ground, sighing. Finally he spoke. "You and the rest of the kids in this pack are my children. It is my duty to take care each and every one of you." Yong Bae turned from the fire to me, and I noticed his expression changing. His eyes were suddenly solemn. My stomach clenched with uneasiness. "I really love you and I don't want you to get hurt," he said. "Even if you have grown up, I'm sure my concern towards you and the others will remain. I care about you just like my own son."

I gulped, trying to decipher what Yong Bae was trying to say. "What are you trying to tell me, Yong Bae?"

"It's you and Hoseok," he finally said it. "I might be too harsh towards you. But—I was just—I was just scared and worried." I started to feel guilt creeping inside of my chest, and I shouldn't be guilty. "I was worried for Hoseok," he told me. "And you. I've never witnessed any mate bond as strong as you have with Hoseok. I was terrified, Jimin—"

"I get it," I interrupted, trying to stay calm. "It was my fault, Yong Bae. I understand."

"I know how you felt, and I didn't think I had the control to be considerate and empathetic during the day I interrogated you. I . . . I had even threatened you. And I'm truly sorry." He reached out and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I scooted closer to him. We needed a little personal space between us to open up to each other now. Honesty would make things better between us.

"Hoseok told me everything, you know?" Yong Bae whispered, his tone of voice changing, sounding lighter this time.

"He told you what?" I couldn't help laughing. I could never imagine Hoseok opening up to the Alpha and hurting his own ego.

"Everything," he said. "How he teased you and jeered at you when you were younger. I thought he deserved all the things that he'd been through, but . . ." Yong Bae's breathing got heavier. I tensed up and Yong Bae flinched at my discomfort. "From what I observed, when you wanted Hoseok to hurt, he would hurt so badly, you know?" Yong Bae continued. "The mate bond you share with Hoseok is so strong, Jimin." Yong Bae went silent again. I stared into the fire, my heart kept on speeding up. I felt Yong Bae turning to me when he spoke out of the blue. "Hoseok needs you, Jimin. Stay with him, no matter what happens."

I wasn't sure why Yong Bae was saying all of this to me, but I knew he was keeping something from me. Panic was starting to rise in me, my heart accelerated. "Yong Bae, what's wrong?" I asked. He breathed in and looked right at me. "Hoseok told me that he had always sensed something in you that made him want your attention. Everything made sense to him the day you walked up to him and confessed to us that you were his mate. He thought the mate bond was the reason why he acted that way towards you—it was so strong it confused him." Yong Bae took a deep breath before speaking again. "I know this might sound ridiculous, but it's possible too. He has always wanted you, Jimin." I didn't see the point in Yong Bae's words—his explanation didn't assuage the anxiety I felt. I was curious about the truth, but I guess I was afraid to find out too. "He's just confused . . ." Yong Bae added. "Everything made sense to him when the mate bond developed between the two of you."

I knew Hoseok had never been an asshole to any other kid like he used to be to me. He was a loving brother to Jun Hong; he never harassed the freshmen kids like some jocks would do. As far as I knew, Hoseok was completely against chauvinism. But I would be the one he had wanted to see crying or begging or react something . . . anything to him. Whatever Yong Bae was telling me now started to make sense. Hoseok wanted my attention and he'd been confused as to why he wanted it. Whatever he had felt resulted to his actions toward me, a habit that came out of confusion and curiosity.

"It's okay," I told Yong Bae. "We're fine now."

"Maybe I was just too paranoid but . . . I was just afraid the two of you would end up like . . . end up like my predecessor." My eyes widened to Yong Bae's response.

"What do you mean? What happened to Seunghyun?" Yong Bae's expression changed again.

This time, it was his eyes that opened wide. "You don't know?"

"What's up, Alpha?" I flinched as I heard the voice behind me.

Standing behind us, was Hoseok. We stood up; Yong Bae hesitantly rubbed off his pants and looked around, avoiding eye contact with Hoseok.

"Hey, I found you," Hoseok murmured as he leaned closer to me. "I was trying to find you at your house. Then I smelled roasted beef so I came here and thought you were having barbecue with Yong Bae."

"Ah, that was Seungri's doing," Yong Bae said. "He casted a fire spell."

"Wow, okay," Hoseok said. "Seems like you two were having a great time."

Hoseok turned to Yong Bae.

"Everyone's waiting for you at the park. If you don't mind, I'm taking my mate away now." Yong Bae laughed and I elbowed Hoseok on his waist.

"Of course," Yong Bae said. "Let's start the practice now. I'm going to wake Jungkook up. That friend of yours will sleep like the dead if no one throw him out of bed." Yong Bae shot a look at me. He smiled as he turned on his heels entered his house.

Hoseok waved at him; the happy look on his face signaling to me that he hadn't overheard Yong Bae and me. "Let's go," Hoseok murmured, pulling me to his side. We walked by the streets, holding hands, swinging them rhythmically in the air. Awkward silence hung between us.

"Hello," I started. He turned to me, throwing me a look.

"Is that the best you can do?" he grunted. "What?"

"Just a greeting? C'mon, Jimin. I'm your boyfriend. Treat me like your boyfriend," he groaned.

"How am I supposed to know? I never had any boyfriend before—maybe you should teach me how to be a good boyfriend."

"I won't teach you that," he said, sliding his arm around me as we were shoulder to shoulder. "I will teach you how to be my permanent lover. How about that?"

"That would be awesome," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Then I can write a guide book about it and sell it to the girls."

He chuckled into my ears. "Step One. Be Jung Hoseok's mate."

"Wow, the first step's easy enough."

"Step Two," he went on and ignored me, "Be a grunting, clumsy crybaby . . . like this kid named Park Jimin." He laughed and I took the chance to stomp on his foot.

"Ow!" he yowled. "That's it—you're the only one who can fill out the requirements. That's you grunting right there."

"Shut up," I grunted. Then he came to an abrupt stop to pull me to his chest.

"Step Three: Be Park Jimin who will never go easy on Jung Hoseok. Voila, those are the three easy steps to being Jung Hoseok's permanent boyfriend."

"Was I that hard on you?" I murmured in his chest.

"Everything was worth it. You were worth it and it just made me want you more for it every day," he said.

"Step Four," I added. "Be patient enough to put up with Jung Hoseok's clichéd pick-up lines." He laughed, and again his smile made my world spin. Hoseok took my hand and we went running into the woods. We roamed deeper into the wooded area, laughing as we moved.

Hoseok skidded to a stop and pinned me against one of the trees near us. Hoseok pushed his body against mine, pressing me with his weight against the tree trunk. His hands reached out to cup my face before he leaned in and pressed his lips over mine. I felt like I was losing control over my body. I kissed him back, wanting to show him it wasn't enough. Suddenly I was literally out of breath. Hoseok's warm breath met my neck. He kissed it and I shivered. That's when he teased the soft spot with his teeth. "Jimin," he whispered.

I turned and pushed Hoseok on to the bark, my lips squeezing the soft skin on his neck, devouring like I'd always wanted to. His hand found mine and I felt him trembling in my grip. "Jimin," he said, sweat dripping down his temples.

"Whoa," I said, watching as he pulled away. "What, is this a sign of surrender or something?"

His heavy breathing answered me.

I laughed. "Oh, you're weakening, aren't you?" I kissed the top of his nose. "Where's your cockiness, Hoseok? Don't have the balls to go this far?" Hoseok laughed in disbelief. I searched for one of his hand and found it clammy. I pressed my hand to his chest and felt his heart beat faster underneath my fingertips. Knowing I had the ability to drive Jung Hoseok this crazy was magical. "Wow, where's this out-of-the-blue confidence come from?" Hoseok asked.

"Who cares?" I said, putting my lips back on his once again, giving his lower lip a gentle bite. "You're trembling out of fear. It seems like I can beat the shit out of this triple-time Combat victor, with him shaking and all." Whoa, you crossed the line, Jimin.

Hoseok baffled so loud, his body shaking under my hands. Even though he was my mate, he was still Jung Hoseok, and nobody dared giving him such challenges. "Ooh, Jimin," he murmured, his voice sounded devilish, "we may not have the Combat, but we do have the practice for the full moon hunting."

I gulped to the spoken words—I kept on forgetting that the boys would play the game again on every stamina practice. I hated the game so much I would rather do anything else, like watching the grown- ups did their practice, than join them. He pinned me back against the broad bark, leaning in to touch his forehead to mine. A naughty grin spread across his face, and a mix of terror and excitement bloomed inside of me.

"I'll get a round for the two of us in the game," he threatened. "You better try and tremble me once again if that can trip me down, or—"

"Or what?"

"Or you have to do everything I want," he whispered in my ear. "Huh, what do you say? Got balls for that?"

"Everything you want, huh?" I shot back. "What's so bad about that? I am not afraid of you."

He baffled again. Maybe Hoseok didn't expect these things would come from me. "I have many options, kid."

"Really?" I asked. "Like what?"

"Yes," he said. "Anything . . ." he slid his hand under my T-shirt, "your emotions . . . or your virginity . . ."

"You won't get that far," I said, reassuring him just as much I was convincing myself. "It's not that hard to take down a boy who shivers at my touch."

Hoseok let out a guffaw. I watched as he sped off into the woods, running through a shortcut to the park. I could still hear him laughing in the forest. My mate loved being dared to do something—I could see him excited with adrenaline, feeling an intense eagerness to prove that he could win over the challenges he was facing. He adored games and strategies and that was a part of his nature that I was ready to accept. He'd lived his life surrounded with games for a long time that he had even seen our relationship as one. I didn't really mind, though.

I knew I would be pushed over to the ground and fail the challenge when the practice came, but I dared Hoseok anyway, because it made him happy. After all the stuff that happened, I knew I had the right to give him a hard time. But giving someone hardship for the sake of vengeance would not mend the wound in my heart, instead it would only leave me more pain and rage.

I also had the choice to make him feel better, to rid of the guilt that had bloomed in his eyes a few moments ago when he shed tears in front of me. So I chose his happiness. Because his bliss was mine, and I knew it right when all his pasts with Yoongi wavered off his face, replaced by smiles that I wanted to see and laughter that I wanted to hear forever.

* * * *

"Before we start, I want to welcome our newcomers, Seohyun and Baekhyun, to their first stamina practice," announced the Alpha. The crowd applauded, some of the boys behind me cheered and hollered, pointing to Baekhyun. Baekhyun grunted by my side, refusing to acknowledge the attention he received. Some of the boys slapped his back and he stumbled forward and almost fell; I took his hand before he could kiss the ground.

"Have you eaten?" I asked, and Baekhyun knew I was being sarcastic. "It looks like I can rip you in two." I laughed, and he ignored me.

"When will we start this thing?"

"Soon," I answered.

Yong Bae proceeded on with his speech, giving us warning and concerns to the younger ones, reminding us again to follow the rules. "We want the full package of fun for tomorrow night," Yong Bae said, followed by the roar and shouts from the guys behind me. "Things will be smooth if all of us participate in the practice. Do not skip and wander around—get physical." Yong Bae shot me a look on purpose. I looked at my shoes, pretending I didn't notice. "Without further ado, I commence the practice now."

"C'mon, brothers!" Hoseok shouted at us, hopping on the ground with excitement before he led our clique to the usual practice site. Chanyeol, Jun Hong and my brother escorted Hoseok—well, he's still the Alpha of this ridiculous group, isn't he?

"Where are we heading to?" Baekhyun asked, running up beside me.

"Somewhere up on the hill," I replied. "Don't worry, Baek. This is nothing—well, this thing is shitty—I tried to skip it during the last practice—but you have to be physical to hunt tomorrow."

He didn't respond, only glancing up again and again from his shoes to the boys in front of us. Baekhyun sighed, and I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and pulled him to me, our pace slowed down to a stop.

"Are you alright?"

"I—don't know," he said. "It's just . . . my mother's wedding is three weeks from now. I have to get used to living here."

"Living in a pack is fun. You can count on me."

"I know." Baekhyun's voice started to waver off, almost inaudible. "It's just . . . there's the stepbrother . . ." He didn't speak, and that's when he urged us to move again.

"What? What's wrong with Chanyeol?" I pressed on. He looked down at his shoes. I felt him tensed up when I let go of him and tried to match my pace with his.

"How is the game played?" he asked, obviously switching the subject. I sighed. "Well, it's like the Combat wrestling, only less violent. If you want to win, just protect yourself from falling to the ground. It only involves attacking the opponent and defending yourself. If you win, you will have to choose another opponent and try to bring him down."

"What if you lose?"

"Well, the boys will make you . . . do things," I said, gulping to the thought of what I had dealt with Hoseok. "Depends on what the winner wants. They will make you do stupid things, but you can refuse by trying to bring him down again."

We were finally on top of the hill. The place for the game was a clearing in the middle of the forest. There was a circular cemented platform in the middle—none of us knew where it came from until now. Hoseok, Chanyeol and Seokjin hyung started to enter the circle, and the rest of us followed. Two people ran out of the trees, panting hard as they walked into the circle.

"May I join?" Seungri asked, a big smile spread out across his face.

"Sure, but no wands allowed," Hoseok said.

Seungri sighed. "No wands, no fun."

I laughed and looked at Jessica. She stood beside Seungri but her eyes seemed apprehensive as she gazed around the surrounding.

"Want to join us, Jess?" Hoseok asked.

"Um, no, it's fine," Jessica said. "I just . . . um, want to run around the hills."

"Oh, c'mon, Jess," I pled her. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes didn't meet mine again. She looked over to my back like there was someone behind me. I turned and spotted no one.

"Maybe next time," she said. "Catch up with you guys later!"

Then she set off running down the hill and disappeared into the meadow.

"It's good to be normal wolves again," Seungri said in a cheerful tone, but no one responded back.

Everyone dreams of being a wizard like you, Seungri, why can't you see that?

We emptied the center of the circle, standing on the circumference. I noticed Baekhyun exchanging glances with Chanyeol. Then I caught Hoseok looking at me, a little grin on his face.

I winked at him, pouting my lips and blowing him a kiss. "Who's going to start?" Jungkook asked, eager to watch the game begin.

"Me," Junhong said. "You," he pointed to my brother.

Seokjin hyung and Junhong walked to the center of the circle. Junhong was calm, looking all poker- faced. Counting seconds in my head, I almost screamed in shock when Junhong jumped forward and put Seokjin hyung in a headlock. Seokjin hyung dodged the attack, stabilizing himself, controlling his feet and punched Hoseok's little brother in his face. Junhong blocked and attempted to trip Seokjin with his foot. Seokjin hyung was using his arms a lot, jerking and tugging Junghong's body to avoid falling himself. Both of them had great defense strategies, but Junhong didn't seem smart enough when he had his back turned to Seokjin hyung. Seizing this golden opportunity, Sehyung okjin pressed his knee on Junhong's back and pushed him to the ground. Junhong's face found the wet grass, and I heard him let out a groan. Now he had to turn over and avoid lying on his back to beat Seokjin out of this round.

"Shit," Junhong swore into the mud, but the weight of Seokjin's knee pushed him down. Slowly, Seokjin crouched down and grabbed Junhong's shoulder, lifting him and turned him. As he pushed him to the ground, the round ended. Junhong lost. "Dammit," Junhong grunted, walking toward me as he rubbed the mud stains off his face.

"Now where's my future brother in law?" Seokjin hyung said, staring right at Hoseok.

The boys let out an energized laughter. What the fuck are you thinking, I thought. You won't beat Hoseok's ass. I knew Seokjin hyung was good at this, but he wasn't good enough to beat Hoseok— nobody was good enough to pin Hoseok to the ground.

"Oh, my brother and his stupidity again," I whispered to Baekhyun.

"Good luck with the triple-time Combat victor." Baekhyun sniggered. "If that's the case, then Hoseok will never get chosen in any round."

"Yep, it had been like that," I responded. "During the previous practice, no one chose him so he had to plead them to do so." I turned my attention back to the round.

Hoseok was laughing as he approached the center of the circle. My brother grinned, trying to put up a confident façade. Not for long, I thought again.

"Wise choice, brother-in-law," Hoseok said. "What makes you think you can do this?"

"Your boyfriend and your brother are going to kick each other's asses," Baekhyun interrupted. "How cute."

I turned to look at him. "Shut up."

"Beating you won't be so bad," Seokjin hyung said to Hoseok. "You couldn't even beat Yoongi's ass."

Ooh. We were all muttering our astonishment to Seokjin's confidence. My brother didn't even see that he was putting his foot in his mouth. The best part of the day was coming. Hoseok jumped forward, eagerness filled his eyes as he attacked my brother. But Seokjin didn't fall—he was a hundred percent focused on retaining his guard.

He lowered his knee to avoid tripping and tried to slide out of Hoseok's hold. Still, Hoseok, who'd won the Combat thrice in a row, was quick, so he didn't need to exert much force or inflict pain on his opponent. I remembered how he attacked me in the woods when I discovered he was my mate; he was definitely lethal.

Seokjin hyung panted as he tried to push Hoseok away, trying to draw distance between their chests. In the blink of an eye, Hoseok's arm wrapped around Seokjin's waist and pushed him to the ground. Seokjin's back was set neatly on the grass. Hoseok remained on his feet, and I knew that look of satisfaction that he had.

"Damn it," my brother grumbled. We laughed but applauded him anyway for being so brave of trying to beat Hoseok's ass down.

"Now . . . my baby."

"Ooh," the boys muttered in amazement. Aside from the shiver running down my spine and the rising excitement, I was suddenly furious that Seokjin chose Hoseok as his opponent in the first place. He could've stalled this round, but instead he accelerated it. The chance of me winning against Hoseok was obviously thin, but it wouldn't hurt to try. I could make him lose—Hoseok would be childishly careless. He would underestimate me in this round, and maybe I could do a simple trick to defeat him.

I hesitated, but Baekhyun pushed me from the back. "Good luck," he said, shooting me a sarcastic smirk.

When I was at the center, in front of my mate, everything settled in—why are you so stupid, Jimin? Why did you accept this fucking deal? Don't you know he's still going to win, no matter what?

"Whoa, this is fun," Hoseok said. I ignored him, trying to find the right angle to start attack. I could try to push him down fast.

I attempted, but Hoseok was so cautious, his back crouched low, his arms opened like he wanted to pick up a toddler have it burrow into his shoulder. I breathed in and jumped forward.

Holy fuck.

I regretted it when he caught me in his arms so fleetingly. His arms were tight around my waist. I tried to force my feet to remain on the ground while trying to ignore the laughter from the boys behind us. I flustered—please, not here, not in front of them, I thought, when I could feel Hoseok's breath on my neck, and it was getting closer.

This was a trick, I knew he was about to kiss me.

I wouldn't let him do that. First of all, I needed to breathe. Next, I needed to figure out a way on how to let myself out of his arms.

"You know what?" he whispered, his mouth was so close to my ear that I thought he was going to bite me. "You have to be careful, because I'll strip you down slowly—" His hand reached down my sweatpants, and yanked it down, gently, for distraction.

I felt as Hoseok's grip loosened and I turned around, but not long before he captured me again from behind. That was the exact moment where I knew everything was over.

I yelled as I tried to push him off backwards, but the opposite happened. He pulled himself away and pushed my chest with his deliberate strength, sending me flying to my back. My back lay flatly on the grass with Hoseok on top of me. The boys around me screamed and laughed.

But the laughter was cut off with a shrilling, high-pitch scream that came from inside the woods.

It sounded like Jessica.

S I X T E E N

WARNING!! This chapter contains smexy scene so I rated this chapter M. I didn't rate this WHOLE story M bcs there are only a little smexy scene in this story.

Jimin's POV

No one moved. We waited for the scream to end, but it got louder as we lingered in the practice circle. Hoseok remained on top of me, his eyes went towards the forest.

"NO-" the cry went on, and there was no doubt that it was Jessica.

"It's Jessica," I said.

Everyone broke into a sprint, speeding into the forest. An ache started in my head and my heart was racing.

Jessica was hurt. Suddenly, I was imagining her bruising, blood covering all of her face. I shut my thoughts off, trying to convince myself that Jessica was strong enough to protect herself. Maybe it's not her. Maybe it's someone else. Baekhyun's energy surprised me when he started on a sprint. He had his pace matched with Hoseok, and I tried to keep up.

The boys in front of me formed a line and disappeared into the trees. I couldn't see where they were, but I did hear them screaming.

"Wait!" I shouted, walking into the trees, following the sounds of their footsteps and heavy breathing. I tried to speed up, forcing myself to breathe evenly. I dodged big trunks of trees and realized we were already deep in the meadow.

Jessica is okay. She's going to be all right.

I gasped when my foot stepped on empty air and I felt myself falling.

I yelled as I realized I had run off a cliff. Below me was a river stream. I would either drown in deep water or fall excruciatingly to the ground, a few feet across the stream.

Hands gripped my body. Hoseok had caught me in his arms. I was confused as he set me down into the stream.

The stream came up to my ankles.

I breathed a sigh of relief, almost laughing at the thought of sinking in deep water. Hoseok, however, threw me a stern look which had me pushing back a smile.

"Come on," Hoseok said, pulling my hand in his.

We scampered fast and I didn't know where we were going. The thought of Jessica covered in blood overpowered my mind again and I tried to calm down. The screaming had stopped, giving us no guide for which direction to go in. Hoseok kept my hands locked in his, refusing to let me go. "They're already ahead," he said breathlessly.

"Sorry," I told him.

We ran faster, and the sight of the boys came into view in a circle on top of a hill. Hoseok pulled my hand as I climbed up, and if I had been calmer I would've insist he let me go. I was too breathless to speak.

Sobbing caught my attention.

Jessica was leaning against Baekhyun's chest, his hand wrapped around her shoulders. I approached them but stopped when I noticed a dead body on the ground, smeared with bright red blood.

Namjoon.

"NO!" I yelled, the shock was so intense in my chest. "What the hell happened? Why is he—"

I darted toward Namjoon when Hoseok held my hand, stopping my movement. My mortal friend was lying on the ground, his T-shirt crumpled, and blood stains covered most of his face. His mouth was slightly ajar, and his eyes rolled upward.

This can't be true.

"Is he—" I tried to ask.

"Dead," Junhong said, his voice trembled. "I . . . I felt his pulse."

The world spun around me. I would've fallen but Hoseok held my back. I didn't want to believe what I saw. Namjoon had no reason to be here. "Somebody go get Yong Bae," Hoseok shouted. "Now!"

Sun Woo and Seokjin started on a run, taking off their clothes and jumped to shift to their wolf form so it would be easier to track the way out of the woods. I released myself from Hoseok's grip, walking toward Namjoonslowly.

He couldn't be dead. He couldn't die.

He's not an immortal like you, Jimin, I thought to myself. Mortals die. You shouldn't have brought him here.

"Jimin. . . wait."

I turned around and saw Seungri proceeding towards me, a wand in his hand. He approached Namjoon and crouched by his body, frowning. I backed away, slowly, to give Seungri more space. Hope was rising in my chest—maybe Seungri could do something, maybe he knew how to resurrect Namjoon if he really had died.

"Something isn't right . . ." Seungri muttered as he caressed Namjoon's hand. "His skin, it's not . . ."

Nausea rose in my throat to the sight of blood, and a ringing started in my ear. I touched my temples to massage them—I would black out in no time, and someone would have to carry me home again just like the last practice a few months ago.

"Everybody please stand back," Seungri shouted, swinging his wand in the air. I stepped back, and so did the others. Jessica was still sobbing in Baekhyun's T-shirt. He could only rub her back, tears starting to flood his eyelids. Not the best start for a former solitude to adapt himself in werewolf's life.

Flaming sparks shot out of the wand. A blue blaze started catching on Namjoon's foot, spreading across his legs and continued to move throughout his entire body. The colored blaze increased in size, burning the body on the ground. There was no heat pouring off in the air even though the fire was burning strongly.

The fire started to shrink before it disappeared with the wind. I stared at the ground, my eyes widening again. Namjoon was no longer there, in his place laid the corpse of a bloody dead deer.

"What's going on in here?" the Alpha's voice echoed in the eerie woods. Seokjin hyung appeared by Yong Bae's side. Behind him were a few men, including my father who approached me as soon as he noticed me. Anxiety grew in his eyes as he scuttled toward me, grabbing my hand hard. I gave him a reassuring look to convince him that I was okay, and he kissed my forehead.I leaned into him as he stayed by my side, not wanting to let go of my hand. Hoseok was explaining to the Alpha what was going on, starting from how we heard Jessica screaming to how we came to find Namjoon dead on the ground.

"It's not Namjoon," Seungri joined in the conversation. "It's the spelled corpse of a dead animal."

Everyone exhaled in relief. Dad hugged me and I felt as joy bubble up in my chest. Namjoon was out there, breathing and walking and living his mortal life in safety.

Yong Bae, however, was engulfed in raw shock and wrath—I noticed as his face redden, and his hand closed to a fist.

"Who would do this?" he asked Seungri, his voice rising in anger.

"A powerful wizard," Seungri replied. "If I'm not mistaken, this is a dark warning. Most of us see Namjoon's figure as the corpse because he's the closest mortal acquaintance we know. An immortal won't be dead like this, we all know that. When I first spotted the body, I saw someone else—I didn't see Namjoon."

"A dark warning," Yong Bae muttered. "Who wants to warn us?"

Nobody answered. My mind was filled with theories and speculations and I started to get dizzy again. The image of Namjoon's dead body flashed in my mind again and all I wanted was to go home.

I wanted to call Namjoon. I wanted to be sure that he was safe.

"Boys, all of you can leave now. Bring Jessica with you. Gentlemen, stay with me," Yong Bae commanded.

I didn't move until Hoseok jiggled my body and brought me to his side.

* * * *

The practice didn't last long. Word had spread across the pack fast. My mother had heard the news and stayed home with Haeun and Yong Bae's wife. They spent their time discussing their speculations and theories about the spelled corpse they had heard about. I sped up to my bedroom and reached for my phone, dialing Namjoon's number, sitting agitatedly on the corner of my bed. I told Hoseok that he could go home, but he refused. We were now in my bedroom, Hoseok could only watch as I panicked when my attempt to call Namjoon failed. I tried dialing his number again, with Hoseok stroking my head, playing with my hair again.

I shot him a funny glare. "You can't stop yourself, can you?" He shrugged. "Your hair's cute."

For once, I could chuckle, even though Namjoon still had not picked up his phone. He kissed my forehead, instantly helping to calm me down. I couldn't reach Namjoon again. I breathed in and leaned into Hoseok.

He pulled us both down to lie on the bed and allowed me to nestle my head on his chest. Hoseok continued playing with my hair. I ignored him and tried dialing Namjoon again.

After a few series of ringing beeps, I heard his voice.

"Hello?"

"Fuck, Namjoon," I shot up and Hoseok flinched from my sudden movement. I couldn't help screaming at the phone. "Why didn't you pick up?"

"Geez, Jimin, calm down!" he said. "I was on the line with Jess! What happened to you guys?"

"God, I'm so worried about you—"

"Jimin, I heard about it," he said. "I was at home all day, okay?"

"God . . . oh God," I panted, holding my chest. "Sorry, man. Seriously, I freaked out. I thought you were dead."

Namjoon chuckled as a response.

"Dude, this isn't funny," I said.

"I know, I know," he said. "It's okay—I heard worse than this, Jimin. Jessica, man, she just couldn't take it."

"She's worried about you," I told him.

"Yeah . . . of course."

Of course.

There was uncertainty in Namjoon's voice. Maybe he wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Being mated to someone was an intense experience. Namjoon was just a mortal so it was probably harder for him to accept.

"Well, it's good to hear you're okay," I said. "I'll call you back. Bye."

I hung up the phone when Hoseok reached to take my hand. He pulled the cell phone out of my hand and placed in on the bedside table. His fingers caressed my chest, as if he was searching for my heartbeat. I looked into his eyes, smiling as the ache in my chest started to lessen.

"You're such a great friend," he murmured. "How worried you are."

"Of course," I said. "He's a mortal, Hoseok." "I know. He's fine, okay?"

"Okay."

Hoseok smiled. His gaze had a power to pull me towards him, and then I kissed him so hard. I squeezed my lips on his and my hands found his face. I caressed the parts of him that I could reach and felt him shivering. Although I didn't smell good from sweating, I still pressed my body to his and placed my lips on his skin. Hoseok dragged me on to him, pressing my body over his like a blanket. My headache started to subside. It felt like nothing had ever been wrong.

I wanted to touch him more, but I didn't think I was brave enough to do so. What if this wasn't the right way to make my first move?

Well, fuck it.

I kissed him again before I pushed him onto the bed and wrapped my arms around him. Panting, I laid my head on his chest.

"We . . . we don't smell that good."

Just after I admitted that, we both broke out in laughter.

"I guess we should clean up," Hoseok said.

"I'll go first," I said eagerly, pulling myself in a sitting position.

"Yep, you should," he replied. "You smell bad."

"Oh, yeah?" I said. Then I pushed him onto the mattress again, climbing on top of him. I buried his face in my sweaty T-shirt, drowning him in my sweaty stench. He shouted, his voice muffled through the fabric. I laughed when he pushed me over and started to tickle me.

I cackled, and I hoped no one heard me. I tried to push Hoseok off but he was so strong. His fingers tickled my chest, sliding under my clothes to find my bare skin. I attempted to take his hand off my body but Hoseok was faster to lock my arms to his sides.

"Stop . . . stop it—"

He did. Then I fell onto the bed again, breathing hard, staring into my mate's brown eyes.

Hoseok held my face, and his lips were so close to mine that I could feel his warm breath poured onto my face.

"Do you know how much I'm in love with you?"

"I wish," I responded.

"I've always wanted you, Jimin," he murmured close to my ears. "I wanted you even before I knew it. That's probably why I messed around with you before."

Yong Bae's words flashed in my head. Hoseok was telling me what he had told Yong Bae now; he was trying to explain the confusion he had felt that led him to act the way he did to me in the past.

"You don't believe it, do you?" he asked.

"I do," I told him. "It's possible." His hand lingered on my lips, touching every part of me that he could reach. Still, it wasn't enough. Maybe the time had come. I wanted him all over me—I couldn't lie about that.

Some dominant part of me wanted to go to the next level. This desire was inevitable for mates, and according to Yong Bae, our mate bond was strong, so I was pretty sure the time had come.

I wanted every part of him. I was ready.

"Convince me, Jimin," Hoseok whispered more. "Why do you find it's possible? Prove it to me that you truly believed what I said."

"Of course, dumbass," I said. "We're together . . . inside and out."

I lifted up his clothes and placed my hand underneath it, the desire to touch him burned in me.

"Even though we didn't know how we were meant for each other before," I murmured in his ears, "we were still together on the inside. I possess half of your soul, and you, mine."

I pushed him over so I was all over him again. My torso met his as I ducked down and pecked his nose.

"Now that I have fallen in love with you," I mumbled, "we're together as a whole—inside and out."

"We're together inside out," Hoseok replied. "I like that."

I was starting to get so hard it throbbed inside my pants. But we only remained there, staring at each other. Hoseok looked into my eyes and I looked into his. His smile pinned me to the bed. I didn't know how to make the first move.

But I wanted to.

"Go on and take a shower," Hoseok finally broke the silence. "You still smell."

I chuckled and got up off of him. He threw me a flirtatious grin and I gave him a wink before I slipped into the bathroom and shut the door.

I undressed and threw my clothes into the laundry basket. It was noon but the air was cold enough to sting my skin. The ache in my hardness became a distraction. Maybe I should jerk off, but I knew I didn't want to do it by myself.

I sighed, looking at the closed bathroom door, images of Hoseok flashing in my mind. Maybe I should just throw myself at him, I thought to myself. If I don't act, we won't be going any further.

I walked into the shower and turned it on, closing my eyes as water poured over me, washing the commotions and the restlessness from the woods off my skin. Everything was alright, Namjoon was safe, and there was nothing left for me to worry about. Just hearing his voice after I had seen his false dead body was enough.

Behind me, the shower door slid open.

I didn't move. One hand touched my back.

"Jimin," he breathed into my left ear. My erection started up again when the warmth of Hoseok's whole torso covering my back. He slid his arms around my body; his hands rubbing my chest, two fingers finding my nipple. I squirmed, closed my eyes and stood still.

"Hoseok. . .," I breathed out his name heavily.

That's when it started. Suddenly I was extremely self-conscious. I was naked with my mate. The thought sent fear to creeping up my chest. I didn't know being this intimate would terrify me.

Water rained down on Hoseok, soaking him wet. I breathed in and turned around, watching as he took off his wet clothes and threw it aside. He pulled down his wet pants, tossing all his clothes away until he had nothing but his beautiful skin glistening under the dim light.

His hand ran down my body, feeling my skin, wrapping around my hardness with his pressed against my tummy. I was already throbbing in his hand when he decided to let me go.

He slammed me up against the wall and advanced forward to kiss me.

His face covered mine, his lips hungry for my lips. Water dribbled down on him, soaking him wet, sending shivers to all my body parts and all I wanted to do was to lunge at him.

He pulled away from my lips and said, "A deal is a deal, remember?"

"Oh, so this is what you want," I responded, trying to calm my breathing.

Suddenly Hoseok's lips ran down all over my body. He started on my lips and continued down to my neck. His teeth teased the sensitive spot there and making me shiver. He proceeded to my chest, his lips closing over one of my nipples.

I trembled.

His mouth didn't stop. I couldn't open my eyes. I could only feel as his lips continued downward.

"Hoseok." I let out a moan. He didn't respond.

I looked down when I felt Hoseok's mouth was on the tip of my erection. I gasped when warmth closed over my hardness. Hoseok sealed his lips tight over me aggressively, going up and down from base to tip. He didn't go slow, and suddenly inhaling air was hard for me.

But it wasn't enough, it would never be enough of him for me. I wanted more.

"Hoseok. . . I . . . I . . . I think I'm coming . . ."

And I did.

* * * *

"Actually, what happened in the shower . . . it wasn't really what I wanted. Err, you know, as the deal," Hoseok muttered.

We had cleaned ourselves up in the shower with very little words exchanged between us. Hoseok had apologized to me, trying to excuse himself for unintentional approach he had to me while I cleaned up. I put on a dark green Tshirt with a pair of sweatpants. Hoseok borrowed a plain tank top and a pair of khaki pants that seemed to fit him comfortably. Smiling, I approached him, reaching out to touch his face. "It's okay."

"I never thought our first time would be under a running shower. You deserve better," he murmured.

I wrapped both of my arms around his neck, my mouth closing in on his.

"To be honest, that was pretty hot," I whispered, emphasizing every word. He grinned and let out a chuckle. I guess both of us were still stunned by what happened. It seemed as if I was still naked and Hoseok's hand was still on my body.

I pushed the thoughts away—we couldn't do it twice in a day, could we? (a/n: You're can always do that for how many times you want, sweetie xD)

"But still, there's the deal we made," he said.

"Hey, I thought it's over!"

"No. Like I said, what happened in the shower, I didn't expect it to happen so—"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, okay, you didn't expect it so it doesn't count. What do you want?"

He chuckled. "I'm wondering if . . . I can take you out. Like for our first date together?"

"Do you know how to date a sixteen-year old guy?" I murmured.

"I guess I can try," he said.

"Well," I responded, "if you want a date, ask me properly. Is this how you did it with the hot chicks from school?"

"I wasn't the one who asked them out, they asked me," he said.

"Yeah, right," I scoffed.

Hoseok laughed again, and his smile could melt me into a puddle. "Okay. Jimin, are you free now?"

"Hmm, maybe?" I said.

He gave me a gentle smack on the head and groaned. "Stop fucking around. Let's go."

* * * *

Jessica let us borrow her van for our first date. Hoseok was a good driver—he knew what roads to choose to avoid traffic. He had been driving unlicensed since he was thirteen and up until a few months ago. Hoseok had been brainy enough not to get caught by the cops..

"Um . . ." Hoseok murmured alone as we stopped at a red light in the town, "where should we go?"

I laughed. "Nice one."

"Well, it's awkward," he told me. "You're a guy." "Glad you noticed," I said. "I saw this coming a long time ago."

"Wow, this is quite tough," Hoseok admitted. I couldn't help laughing to how awkward the situation got.

"What did you do with your former girlfriends?" I asked. "Or . . . your ex-boyfriend?"

"Shut up, he wasn't even my boyfriend," Hoseok groaned. "Well, I used to drink a lot back when I dated people, so we got drunk and . . . you don't want to know."

"Wow, you must like me so much to change up your routine."

"Of course," Hoseok replied. "I want to be one hundred percent conscious whenever I'm with you."

"Oh, there he goes again," I muttered. "C'mon, let's eat first."

We bought McDonalds at the drive-through, and Hoseok pulled over to the side of the road to fill our hungry tummies. We ate in the car, watching as people walk in the park in front of us—we were so hungry we didn't talk at all while eating; only exchanging smiles with each other. I glanced at him once in a while, chewing my double cheeseburgers and sipping my Coke.

"This is going to be a horrible first date," I finally spoke.

"Yep," he agreed. "It already is."

Pushing two fries into my mouth, I muttered, "But I like it. Keep it this way."

I didn't have a picture of a perfect date with Hoseok, because his company already made everything perfect. We could do anything other than this; clean the front yard of our houses, run inside the woods, or just cuddle against each other on a couch watching TV and it would still be ideal for me.

Hoseok smiled, advancing forward to kiss me on the cheek. He left something sticky on my skin and I wiped it off.

"Ew, there's ketchup on my cheek," I said.

Hoseok ignored me. "I lof wuu, bwufwiend," he said, his words muffled by the burger and fries in his mouth.

I swallowed the last piece of fries down my throat. "I love you too, boyfriend."

Well, the date didn't turn out so disastrously. After the meal, we walked hand in hand through the park. Being the only gay couple there, it didn't turn out as peculiar as I thought it would be. But I wasn't feeling any discomfort—it felt natural to be by my mate's side. It was strange how our intimacy wasn't a part of the awkwardness in the relationship while other things were.

We drove south to the cinema and Hoseok booked two movie tickets that didn't air for another hour. It was a Japanese horror movie.

"Really?" I asked, holding a bag of popcorns in my hand. "A horror movie?"

"What? Are you scared, Jimin? Are you going to cry and beg for me to hold you?"

I scoffed. "So is this a challenge?"

"Brave enough to take it?" "Whatever," I said. "It's just a movie."

Already half an hour into the movie, and Hoseok went all silent beside me. A loud sound boomed out from the theatre speakers. A figure of a pale baby ghost popped up out of the blue, occupying the gigantic screen. I flinched, but most of the audience around me let out gasps and little shrieks.

My boyfriend was not excluded.

The next time he yelled, I couldn't hold in my laughter anymore. (a/n: indeed, our J-Hope xD)

"Shut up," he groaned.

"What?" I threw him a look, although I wasn't sure if he could see me in the dark.

"How are you not scared? This shit is fucking scary I almost peed in my pants."

I let out a chuckle, imitating his low-pitched jeers and said, "Now what, Jung? Are you scared? Where are your damn balls, Jung? Want to go watch rom-coms instead?"

He punched my lap and I suppressed a cry so I didn't shout in the theatre.

* * * *

We started to go home when the sun was about to set. I fell asleep in the van; it took about an hour to drive from the city to the neighborhood.

But when I woke up, we weren't in the neighborhood. Hoseok stopped by winding road, the road in between hills that led up to Gyerim.

He opened the passenger door, holding out his hand.

"Come on," he said. "I don't want to miss the sunset."

I pulled myself up from the drowsiness I felt and followed him out of the van. He folded the sleeve of his pants up, starting on a jog into the trees.

"Are you shifting?" I asked, following him as he climbed up the hill.

"No. I want to show you something. We have to climb high up there."

I almost let out a sigh. I was still too sleepy from the nap I had in the van and now I had to get physical. I knew Hoseok could see the exhausted look in my eyes.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"Kind of, but it's fine—"

Then his arms slipped around my body and cradled me close to his chest. The sudden movement was so shocking I almost laughed. Hoseok sprinted forward, climbing higher and higher at maximum speed. I could see the splashes of pink and orange in the sky. Memories flashed through my head—running in the forest the day I had to confess I was Hoseok's mate, and him carrying me out of the woods.

I couldn't see where Hoseok was heading to because he was so fast. I could only feel the chilly air blow at my face. I screamed out of joy, enjoying the jet speed of Hoseok's feet and the feel of his chest in my face. It was heaven on earth, to be quite honest.

Finally he skidded to a stop and set me down on clear grassy ground. We were in a clearing surrounded by thick trees, situated on top of a hill near Gyerim. Looking ahead of me all that was visible to the eye was an expansion of hills and mountains climbing toward the horizon. As I breathed out of satisfaction, my mate panted out of fatigue.

"Wow," I said, "you're fast."

"I shifted last night with Seokjin. I found this place, so I thought to bring you here."

I turned around and almost collapsed from seeing the view in front of me.

I was standing a few feet away from the edge of a cliff. I felt like I was floating in the sky. The sun was setting casting the sky in such beautiful colors—dark blue, orange, yellow with a little tint of pink. It was like seeing a painting in a museum come to life.

The sun was setting faraway in the horizon. I took a deep breath and sat on the ground.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hoseok asked, crouching down to sit beside me. I watched as city lights started to appear against the shades of the darkening day, illuminating the approaching night.

From here, Gyerim was brightly lit in orange-colored street lamps to the left. The neighborhood looked so tiny, built on a body of an uneven mountain; I could see the wavy pattern of the whole housing area. Suddenly it struck me how big Gyerim was, and it made me feel grateful. I was lucky to live in such harmonious pack, safe from tragic war and battles, my family and friends united and tied by a sturdy pack bond with each other.

"There's my house," I said to Hoseok, pointing out to the center of the neighborhood. Jessica's place was a few houses away from mine—Chanyeol and Hoseok lived in the street near to the Main House. The neighborhood park shone in the dimness, and for a moment I felt like I was about to cry.

"Wow," I said, "this is amazing. I can't believe we live here."

"Me too," Hoseok responded. "I love it here. If possible, I want to live here forever . . . with you."

The phrase "if possible" only made me gulp. I couldn't picture us as two separate pieces—in my mind Hoseok and I were one, and it felt impossible for us to be apart. Just having the thought in my mind made me want to shut it out immediately, let alone facing it in reality.

"We were only an uncivilized pack once," Hoseok continued. "Our pack used to seek shelter on a temporary reservation land. Because of Seunghyun, we are all here today."

Hearing Seunghyun's name brought me back to the conversation I had with Yong Bae. Maybe I was just too paranoid but . . . I didn't, and I still don't want any of you to end up like . . . our former Alpha. The words lingered around in my mind, forcing myself to demand answers. I knew so little about Choi Seunghyun, and I knew something had happened to him, something that I didn't know yet, as if everyone was hiding it from me.

"Hoseok, can I ask you something?" He turned to me, and I noticed his expression changing. He wasn't smiling anymore, his eyes displayed fear and worry and other unexplainable things that tied my stomach in knots.

"What exactly happened to Seunghyun?" I finally asked.

Hoseok tensed up, signaling discomfort to me.

"What do you know, Jimin?"

"Well, he died of some . . . sickness," I told him. "No one wanted to discuss it with me back then."

Hoseok scoffed. "And do you believe it?"

I didn't answer. I looked straight into Hoseok's eyes, and a sense of certainty clicked right in my chest.

"It's not true," I said, the words trembled in my throat.

Hoseok turned away from me, looking into the horizon again.

"We are immortals, Jimin," he said. "It's not likely for mortal diseases to kill us. Human diseases don't affect us like silvers."

Suddenly I felt so stupid: of course! Werewolves weren't at risk for developing diseases. How can I be so stupid to not realize that?

I breathed in and expecting the worst.

"Maybe it wasn't something you should hear," Hoseok said. "Your mom knew you only hoped for happy endings in mating tales, so what happened to Seunghyun wasn't the best story to tell you."

"Wait . . . mating tales? What do you mean?"

Hoseok turned to look at me again, his eyes were stern.

"Listen, Jimin," he said as he gripped my wrist. "I don't think you want to hear this, but I know you should."

My heart started to race. I could feel the fear coming back again, the same kind of anxiety I had when Hoseok bled and bruised after the Combat. Suddenly my lungs needed more air, and I trembled in Hoseok's grip.

"What happen . . ." I started, ". . .to Seunghyun?"

Hoseok turned to look at me. "Something you probably wouldn't have expected."

"Why? Why are you saying that?"

"Because all of us only knew Seunghyun as the strongest, wisest, and kindest leader that ever existed when he was alive." Hoseok looked away again. "Mate bonds . . . they can make us so weak, so fragile—"

I couldn't keep it in anymore. Hoseok's tears caught the dim light from the setting sun, and I shivered.

"Hoseok," I said. "What happened to Seunghyun?" He looked at me, and his tears almost fell off his eyes.

"He killed himself, Jimin."

The world around me was crumbling.

"What?"

I thought I was screaming, but the word only came out as a dying whisper. Hoseok's eyes were intense as he stared right into me.

"Yes, Jimin," Hoseok said. "He took a gun and shot himself in the head. And you know why? Because he had a male mate who refused to be with him."

There was no air in my chest. I couldn't breathe.

The ground crumbled under me. The world spun around in circles, shapes jumbled up in my head, my consciousness was threatened.

No. That can't be true.

"No—no—it can't be—"

Hoseok released my hand and looked away.

"Seunghyun lied to all of us," he said. "He didn't want us to question why he had to leave. He built Gyerim before he decided to say goodbye. His close friends, like our dads, had known better. Not everyone was caught up by the fake will he wrote. But it's better that way, don't you think? Everyone was happy—we're all happy now."

It's not possible.

Hoseok pulled me closer to him, our shoulders touching.

"When you hid from me," Hoseok said furiously, "there were visions in my hallucinations, Jimin. It came into my nightmares every single night. Seunghyun killed himself and the gun lay sprawled on my feet, inviting me to do the same. When I discovered you, suddenly everything makes sense."

Plight and sorrow collided and formed a poison, a poison that filled the hollow spaces in my chest.

"I refused to believe what I saw," he continued. "I convinced myself that you wanted me, and you would never leave me, so I tried to make you like me. But there's this moment where we kept pulling away from each other, Jimin. When you were not by my side, I had nightmares—Seunghyun invited me to come with him."

Tears flooded in my eyelids and I let it fell.

"Hoseok. . . stop," I pleaded.

"His mate went for another girl, Jimin," Hoseok said. "But Seunghyun was all strong and shit, and he couldn't even try to stay alive. Without a mate, we're just an incomplete component, Jimin. Seunghyun rather be dead because someone who was supposed to complete him refused to be with him. He chose to die."

No. My head screamed. I didn't want to hear it anymore. I wanted him to stop. Stop everything, stop all the words from coming out of his mouth.

"I thought I was going to trail Seunghyun when I thought I couldn't have you anymore," Hoseok said. "I was so afraid, so scared that you were really gone. I thought you didn't want me so maybe ending my life was the best way—"

"Hoseok, please, stop!" I shouted.

I grabbed his face with both of my hands, finding my thumbs wiping the tears on his cheeks. I couldn't translate my thoughts to words, because there was too much guilt inside of me. Finally, I started to understand, knowing why it had been so hard for him to bear it alone.

I grew up listening to beautiful tales of two incomplete souls becoming one. Yet, I kept on forgetting that they were real, that mate bond did exist outside of my fictional universe. I had been used to think that these stories would always be beautiful, that two souls meant for one another couldn't be more perfect and every one of them would end on a happy note. I should have kept in mind that not all mates have fairy tale endings. Mating could be tragic and could happen to anyone in the world, leaving the mates no choice but to accept their fate. Once you were tied to someone, you would be tied to them forever.

I hadn't realized the perilous consequences in that. I was old enough to realize that, but I hadn't.

The mate bond had killed our former Alpha. I would never let it do the same to my mate.

"Jimin," Hoseok said, "I . . . I am still seeing it."

"No!" I screamed, pulling him closer to me. "You . . . you won't be seeing it again. I am not going anywhere. Trust me."

Hoseok struggled to fight his tears and smiled, because maybe he knew I reacted well to his smiles, because when he did the aches inside of my chest started to loosen up.

"I know it's not your fault," he said. "I know I can't compare our case to Seunghyun's, because you've always been a good person, but I haven't."

Please, I thought to myself. I don't want to hear it. Please.

"But . . . I can't change the past, Jimin. I did many things to you, things that I had never realized had such big impact in your life. I didn't know that I hurt you so bad, because . . ."

"Hey, it's okay," I said, putting my finger on his lips. "It's okay."

"Whenever I remember hurting you, the visions will come, and it scares me." His tears didn't stop falling, and I kept wiping them away. "I'm scared, Jimin."

"Listen," I said, the word came out with an intense urge. "Things changed now. Back then, I didn't have you. I wasn't complete; man . . . I didn't have you to complete me. Now I have you and you are all I need."

Hoseok smiled, still struggling to fight his tears.

"I love you," I said. "There will be no other you for me in my life. It's just you and you alone. I'm so fucking in love with you that all our bad past doesn't even matter anymore."

He let out a chuckle, and I smiled. "Really?" "Well, the memories are still there, but they can do nothing more than making me laugh, you know?"

Hoseok's face was still strong in my grip, and I dried the remaining of his tears away.

"Are you sure, Jimin? Because if I am in your shoes, I don't think I can forget the pasts."

"Because you are not me, Jung," I told him, laughing. "I'm different."

"What if I list all the bad things now? What if I remind you of each of them, would you change your mind, Jimin?"

I breathed in and shook my head. "Try me."

"Okay, what about that one time I called you names? I embarrassed you in front of everyone? I took off your towel in P.E. and you cried and locked yourself up in your bedroom the whole day?"

I let out a chuckle and looked away. I was ten years old, and Hoseok was twelve. After that happened, I had personally declared Hoseok my eternal nemesis. I leaned forward and gave Hoseok a gentle kiss. He flinched.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"It's a kiss of forgiveness. You'll get one if I forgive you for wronging me."

A Cheshire cat grin spread across Hoseok's face, revealing his set of perfect white teeth. "Oookay, what about that one time I threw one of your Harry Potter books out the window?"

I pressed my lips on his, pressing a little bit harder. He smiled.

"I hated you for it, but it was just a paperback anyway," I said. "The next day my dad bought me a whole new hardcover box set."

Hoseok let out a loud huff. "You are insane."

"C'mon," I said. "Let's get this over with."

Hoseok shifted, easing himself into a more comfortable sitting position. He looked at me, and his smile faded slowly.

"What about that one time I embarrassed you in front of the whole pack, forcing you to come to me? What about that one time I broke your heart because I made you think that I slept with Tiffany? What about, just recently, I broke your heart because I didn't tell you the truth about Yoongi, because I was such a coward? What about all of that, Jimin?"

I blinked and a tear slipped down my face, and I wanted it to be the last. I didn't want to cry anymore. I was tired of being a crybaby.

So I pushed Hseok down. He laid on his back and I climbed on top of his torso. My hand lingered around his head, stroking his soft hair. His brown eyes were still wet with tears, and I slowly leaned down until there was no distance between our faces.

I kissed him, and I wasn't gentle this time. I pressed my lips to his hard. Letting him know that I was forgiving him for all his wrongdoings he committed towards me in the past; hoping this would appease his nightmares. Even with my eyes closed, I knew the sun had set completely, but we didn't stop. I crumpled the fabric of Hoseok's Tshirt in my hands, refused to take my lips off him.

He struggled for air, and I proceeded to his neck. Then I stopped, and looked straight into his eyes.

"It's all done," I told him. "Trust me, Hoseok. It's all over."

S E V E N T E E N

Jimin's POV

{Dreamland}

It started when I heard rustling of dry leaves underneath my feet. As I moved, I could hear twigs snapping close by. The touch of rough tree bark against my skin was the next sensation I became aware of. I opened my eyes to be met with complete darkness. Unable to see or hear much I wasn't sure where I was or how I had gotten here.

I struggled to move, but my legs felt numb. Then I noticed a flicker of light, and the next minute the blue sky was above me again. I was laying on a bed of grass, surrounded by massive bushes. I breathed out and squinted, trying to figure out what was going on. Still, I couldn't recall anything. My vision was blurry, and there were too many thoughts in my head I started to feel dizzy.

I stood up, my knees trembling. There were two figures standing about ten feet from me. Standing apart from each other, one was leaning against a tree, watching the other one.

One of them looked familiar. It took time for me to figure out who he was.

Of course, I thought.

Hoseok.

But something wasn't right. Before I attempted to make a move, I strained to see what he was doing, then my sight sharpened and I couldn't breathe.

He was holding a gun, putting the barrel to his own head. Suddenly the other guy moved away from the tree to approach Hoseok. Instinct was telling me to keep watching, although I wanted to make a move now. My heart raced, because this time I could see clearly that Hoseok's finger was on the trigger. He just needed to pull it and my life would be over—I would be dead.

The other guy caught my attention again. One of his hands moved from his back to his side, and I noticed a similar gun to what Hoseok was holding. He took a step closer to Hoseok until there was no distance between them. Their foreheads touched.

"Together," I heard him say, even though they were far enough from where I was. "Let's do this together." Hoseok didn't respond, and that's when everything clicked in my head.

I tried to move, but stopped when I heard my mate's voice. "I ... I don't know, Seunghyun," he said. What are you doing? I thought to myself. Move! I took another step forward, and I tried to be fast but the ground was so muddy and sticky I had to struggle for every one of my steps.

I looked at the ground, pulling my left foot hard off the damp soil. It would take forever to walk in this situation.

"How about we do it for each other?" Seunghyun said.

I looked up at them, their own guns pointed at each other, only this time the barrels pointed at their chests.

No, I wanted to scream. Please don't do that, Hoseok. Please.

"I don't think we should do this," Hoseok said. A sense of panic disrupted me from breathing evenly.

I tried to run faster and the mud swallowed my feet more, pulling me deeper into the ground. But I didn't stop. I needed Hoseok to be free, and I wanted to scream at Seunghyun for inviting him to follow in his footsteps, because I wasn't the same as his mate. Then Seunghyun reached to touch Hoseok's arm and his other hand took the gun out of Hoseok's hand. Seunghyun leaned away from Hoseok, holding the two guns together, their barrels pointed to the ground. He looked up towards my mate, and I noticed a smile when he threw the guns away.

I gasped.

"No," Seunghyun said. "You don't need to do this."

Hoseok smiled. "No?"

"No, because he's here for you, and he's here to kill me."

I pulled my foot hard from the mud and suddenly the ground was dry and solid. I sprinted so fast that Hoseok gasped as he noticed me running towards him. I opened my arms and he pulled me in for an embrace. I felt like crying.

"Oh my God," I whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, it's okay," he replied. "This isn't real, okay? It's just a dream."

"How do you know? Maybe it's mine," I said, pulling away from his arms. "Or is it yours?"

"I don't know, Jimin. I guess we'll find out once we wake up." I stayed near Hoseok's side and remained calm as I faced Seunghyun.

He still had a smile over his face, and now he was looking right into me. "Your mate is wrong about you," he said. "You have always loved him."

The relief in my chest was blissful, although now I knew that this was just an illusion. I looked up to Hoseok.

"I do," I said. "I've always loved him."

Seunghyun stepped forward, and I couldn't believe I was meeting him, even though there might be a chance that this wasn't how he looked like in reality. "It's just that you were just trying to break free from the feelings," Seunghyun spoke. "At least they were there—the feelings." I watched as Seunghyun stepped away while I tried to figure out the meaning behind his words. His voice held so much sadness that I felt the sorrow around my skin while I should be happy that my mate was safe. But, of course, I did know what he meant by the feelings.

So I started shouting when he walked away. "Of course he has the same feelings too!" I screamed. "We all do—it's impossible that your mate doesn't feel anything for you."

Seunghyun stopped his tracks and turned around. The smile he had on his face was no longer there.

I continued, "He might be struggling away from the feelings too, just like I did. But my mate didn't decide to end it all there. He worked hard to make sure the feelings I have for him stay. He didn't choose to give up. Don't you think that's what you should've done if you wanted him?"

"Jimin," I heard Hoseok gasp beside me.

I looked up at him and gave him a smile. The intensity in Seunghyun's face started to loosen up. When he grinned, I felt a rush of relief flooding back into me. He looked so handsome under the light, and that's when I felt the pain to realize that this was the great man that had owned Yong Bae's position before—this man standing was the one who had united our pack. It was painful to realize that he was gone, only existing in the form of an illusion.

Seunghyun smirked. "Well, yeah, whatever. Maybe you're right."

What the hell?

"I guess I won't visit your boyfriend now; I'm sure he's all good. It's obvious you don't need the gun, Hoseok—live your eternal life with this kid, you won't regret it. Now please excuse me." Seunghyun ran into the trees and jumped, changing to his wolf form.

Hoseok pulled me closer to his body and I felt so happy, so contented that I might've refused to wake up from this dream. Hoseok's grip around me loosened, and I heard his voice trembling. "What are you doing here?"

I turned around. Yoongi and Kim Taehyung stood next to each other.

"Maybe you're not going to do it yourself, Hoseok, but I will help you make your work easier," Yoongi said. Taehyung held out his wand, shooting dark flames that flew straight into Hoseok's heart.

I leaped and screamed. "NO!"

The terror in my chest drove me to lunge at Yoongi but it was all too late. I screamed when I noticed Hoseok's body had been burnt to ashes. I felt Yoongi holding me and I attempted to punch him, but that's when everything felt heavy, like the world was falling on top of me.

{End Of Dreamland}

"No!" I screamed, but stopped as I blinked my eyes open.

Hoseok was holding me. We were no longer in the hills; we were on my bed, the place I had been occupying since we went out a few hours ago.

Relax, I told myself. Breathe. You fell asleep after making out with him.

"Hey, it's alright," Hoseok said. "It's over. It's not real. Shh ... it's not real." I let out a heavy breath in his chest. "God, I'm scared."

"It's over," Hoseok murmured into my ears. "I won't be having the dreams anymore."

I pulled away from him and tried to force a smile. "Dude, how come we were there in the same dream? I mean, it was the same dream, wasn't it? You saw me, didn't you?"

"Yes," Hoseok told me. "I know ... it's so strange. I know right when I saw you in the dream, actually."

I let out a chuckle, still panting. "How?"

"Well ... I remember falling asleep with you."

We laughed and Hoseok massaged my back, trying to put me at comfort.

"That's it," Hoseok said. "I won't be having the dreams anymore—I'm sure of it."

I stared out the window and noticed the sky was already dark. The faded figure of the moon shining full behind the clouds reminded me that we had to go out hunting soon.

"Were the dreams always looked like that?" I asked.

"Yes," Hoseok replied. "Same place, same story. Only I've never seen Yoongi before ... and Taehyung, too. I'm sure that vision didn't come from my head."

Hearing Taehyung's name triggered fear inside of me again, and suddenly I remembered all my suspicions about him once Jessica had told me that he might be working with Yoongi to kill Hoseok.

Hoseok was right; Taehyung came in the dream because my anxiety made the vision up. Honestly, I didn't want to tell Hoseok about this. I didn't want to let him know that I thought the most powerful wizard in the world was trying to cause him harm.

But that's when he asked, "But why were we seeing Taehyung? Were you thinking about him too much?"

* * * *

The full moon was high in the dark sky, and I started to feel so exhausted out of the blue. It was normal for a werewolf's human shape to weaken when the moon was full, all of our strength diverted to our wolf form. Hunger also tended to kick in. Suddenly I had a yearning for meat and the thought of the full moon barbecue made my stomach gurgle more.

Werewolves could stay in their human shapes during this period of time, but risked experiencing dizziness, headache or even fever. I guess full moon had a power of itself in maximizing a werewolf's strength—our sight would sharpen at night, we could hear from a radius of a hundred miles away and our smelling ability would heighten when we shifted.

Getting half-naked was my least favorite part of hunting. That's probably the main reason I didn't like to shift forms after all. It would be easier to shift with less fabric.

Oh, especially now I have to deal with Hoseok's sexiness and risk giving everyone a free show of my boner. So not cool. Hoseok went home about half an hour ago to get ready, plus Yong Bae had called him to say something about Namjoon's false dead body.

I was about to undress when someone knocked on my bedroom door.

"Come in," I said. Seokjin hyung walked into the room, a weird smile plastered on his face, his expression was fishy. What the hell?

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"What? Do I look like I'm not okay?" he said.

"Yes, you look weird." I yanked my T-shirt off my body and reached for the dresser to find some briefs to put on.

I flinched when Seokjin hyung touch me, his hand closing around my bicep. He pulled me to sit on the corner of the bed before joining me. The odd look on his face remained.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked, studying his facial expression, trying to figure out why his face lost color.

"I told you I'm fine . . ." he said, rubbing his temples and looked away from me. I was pretty sure Seokjin hyung had good control over his body—I've rarely seen him having troubles shifting during the previous full moon hunts.

"Are you okay?" I asked, rubbing his back. "Do I need to—"

"No," he took my hand, gripping my wrist. "I'm fine. It's just my body—full moon—well, I'm here because I want to give you this." I watched as his hand reach for something inside his pocket, pulling out a boxer-brief. "Wear this," he said.

"What the fuck?" I said, shocked. "You're here to give me underwear?"

"Just . . . put them on," Seokjin hyung said. He stood up and proceeded to the door. "It suits you well. Okay?"

I couldn't respond as he exited and left. Maybe this was a stupid prank, but from the look on Seokjin's face, it didn't seem like he was trying to pull some kind of practical joke—he really looked ill.

I unfolded the boxer brief and examined it—it was just red plain cotton underwear, and it felt good in my hands. I stretched it out, checking for any holes—maybe my dick would pop out all of a sudden when I put it on.

The dizziness came rushing back again. I didn't linger and put the boxer brief on. The evening air was icy-cold. I rubbed my shoulders, gripping and stroking them for some heat—suddenly I wished we could shift faster so it didn't have to be so cold. I ran downstairs and found no one in the house. It was already pitch black outside. I went to the kitchen and saw my mother in her casual attire.

My mother and Haeun decided to stay in for this hunting.

"I'm going," I told her by the kitchen doorway.

"Alright," she said, holding up a magazine. "Be careful." I left the house and put a pair of yoga sandals on before proceeding to the park. I started to feel nauseous when I noticed the full moon brightly lit above my head. After shifting, I would feel better and this giddiness would start to subside.

Half-naked boys were roaming around the street, gathering and whooping out in excitement. I bet the girls loved going out for a hunt so much because it was their golden opportunity to gawk at the boys' bodies.

Well, maybe except for Jessica. And, of course, Seungri and Baekhyun would pretty much enjoy this as much as the girls, too.

I spotted Seokjin hyung, Jungkook, Baekhyun and Jessica at the far end side of the park. I approached them, still hugging myself to wrap my skin from the cold. I shivered both to the coldness and to this lycanthropic strength building inside of me. I hoped I could put up with this sick feeling—I didn't want to black out again.

"Hey," I greeted Baekhyun. For a solitude, his muscles weren't that bad, in fact his muscles seemed better than mine. His abs contracted as he exhaled. He seemed indifferent to the cold weather, though—I guess Gyeonggido was hot enough for him and he liked the shift of weather here.

"I feel stupid," he whispered to me. "We're naked."

"Not really," I said. "You have to get used to it. You're a werewolf—anyway, what did you do during full moon?"

"My mother taught me how to control my wolf shape," he answered. "Now I'm okay with it. I didn't really shift that much back home."

"You're lucky," I told him. "I'm having a hard time shifting—full moon's not my favorite time."

We waited for the Alpha's announcement before we could disperse out in small crowds and shift in the woods. I still couldn't spot Yong Bae among the grown-ups. "So have you moved in with Junmyeon?" I asked Baekhyun.

"I thought I'd told you," he said. "I won't be staying here until the wedding."

"Why not?" I asked. "We can like . . . hangout or something."

"Yeah . . . I'm not that comfortable . . . living with, you know, those people in the house, Jimin."

Oh, Chanyeol.

"Is your stepbrother being a dick to you or something?" I asked.

"Well . . . what do you think?"

"I don't know, Chanyeol's a great guy. He's not much of a trouble, as far as I know—unlike Hoseok."

"Well, since we're like...gay allies now," Baekhyun responded, his voice turned into whispers, "you have to understand that gay guys have crushes on straight guys like . . . always."

I chuckled at Baekhyun's response. "So you think Chanyeol's cute?"

"He is undeniably attractive, Jimin, and living with someone you're attracted to, in the same house, as stepbrothers? That's fucking awkward."I noticed Baekhyun fidgeting, like he was uncomfortable with something. "Plus I don't think he's gay friendly, you know?" I wasn't sure if I could agree, because Chanyeol didn't even care although he clearly knew Hoseok and I were together. If he had trouble with that, he would show signs of withdrawing from us, but he was just the same Chanyeol, unpredictable, glowing and weird. But I hadn't really talked to Chanyeol in quite a while now. He was more silent than usual, especially since I had been mated to Hoseok. We did exchange greets and smiles once in a while, but that was all.

Maybe he was busy, or maybe he was dating someone. Well, I'm not telling Baekhyun the latter, it will disappoint him.

"Not gay friendly?" I said. "Is that possible? He's all good knowing about Hoseok and me."

"I don't know. He's . . . irritating, and I shouldn't like him, Jimin, because he's supposed to be my brother."

I smirked, lifting up my eyebrows. Baekhyun flustered and I let out a chuckle.

"Jimin, he's not my type at all, trust me," he said, pressing on the words to reassure me. "I'm serious."

I laughed, thinking of the strangeness of two stepbrothers falling in love with each other. Actually, it wasn't that strange, though, only a little bit surprising. Love likes to do plot twists in our lives.

I did realize Chanyeol had a girlfriend back when I was a freshman. They were together for quite some time until Chanyeol found out that she had slept around with multiple guys.

"Hey," someone reached out to touch my naked shoulder. I turned around and realized it was Seokjin hyung. I frowned, looking at how different he was now than a few minutes ago. Seokjin was so energized, hopping up and down in place, eager to start the hunt.

"You're Seohyun's son, aren't you?" Seokjin hyung asked Baekhyun. "What's your name again?"

"Baekhyun?"

"Are you feeling better now?" I asked my brother. "What happened to you, anyway?"

"A little dizzy, I guess," he told me.

"Now, why did you tell me to put on this red boxer brief? It looks stupid," I said, trying to inject some humor.

I was glad to see Seokjin hyung acting like himself again—it freaked me out seeing the ill look on his face before.

"What—boxer brief?" he asked. When he stared down at the boxer I wore, he baffled. "It does look stupid, and why would I tell you what underwear you should put on?"

"Hyung, stop bullshitting—" I said, and a rumble of footsteps cut off my words.

Hoseok and Seungri led Yong Bae to the center of the park. The crowd moved to give space for the Alpha.

I could sense my body weakening; my limbs felt slightly numb, my eyes were drooping in drowsiness. It's time to howl, I thought.

"Okay," Yong Bae shouted as the crowd circled around him. "I want to say only a short reminder here. From the information I have, a powerful wizard has been lingering around the territory. This guy may not be nice, so I need all of you to be extra careful. You can only attack in self-defense—if you find yourself in harm's way, howl three times before doing anything and I will reach you as fast as I can. Got it?"

We nodded, waiting for our Alpha to give the green light. Yong Bae looked up to the moon. There was an uneasy look in his eyes when he stared at us again.

"All of you may start the hunt now."

Eruption of noises exploded around me. The boys cheered in uproar of excitement, sprinting into the woods in separate directions. I tried to find Baekhyun again and saw him running into the woods with Seokjin hyung. A few boys jumped into the air and in the blink of an eye they were already in their wolf forms. It was not easy for me to shift if I didn't have the trigger of energy inside of me.

Some wolves like me could shapeshift if we were driven by some emotional pull, whether it was anger or excitement or extreme fear. But now, I was empty and confused—thoughts were still running in my mind and I found it hard to shut them off. The heartbreak that I had when Hoseok ignored me a few weeks ago made it easy for me to shift in the woods, and that's when Namjoon saw my wolf exterior for the very first time.

I thought of Namjoon, and a sense of relief rushed through me—he's safe, he's at home. He's okay. The adults lingered around the park, letting the younger ones entered the forest first. I saw Jessica walking around with Jiyeon at the far end of the park, going into a different entrance to the forest.

I moved, choosing the biggest opening into the trees where most of the kids went to. Maybe I would just tend around to the nearest parts of the forest and kill whatever I could find—rabbits, maybe? Raw animal meat could strengthen a wolf, and I was pretty sure I needed that now. The grown-ups were chattering around me, taking slow steps into the dark forest.

"I heard there's a herd of deer in the southern mountains!" I heard one say.

"I don't think I'm able to go that far tonight," another one responded.

"I can smell the meat already now, let me tell you—"

"Jimin?" I jumped in shock and turned around to see Jungkook stalling behind me.

Behind him, Seungri was whistling some random tune, enjoying himself.

"Hey, Kook," I greeted.

"I thought I was the last person here," he said. "C'mon, let's go."

Seungri, Jungkook and I proceeded into the dark night together. The other two beside me seemed unenthusiastic about the hunt as well. Seungri yawned, continued singing gibberish words, his voice shutting off the noise of the chirping crickets in the night. I started on a jog and climbed up a little hill with Seungri and Jungkook behind me.

It was soundly here—everyone had spread out everywhere inside this humongous forest—I could hear the echoes of their little animal noises. Maybe they found their big mountains already.

"Well, why aren't we shifting?" I asked.

I didn't know why I hadn't shifted yet—I felt wobblier and certain I was starting to black out. Seungri ignored me and Jungkook stopped to stare at something to his right, his brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Go on with Seungri," he said, moving to our left. "I'll be back."

Jungkook ran, his silhouette slowly missing in the darkness. I walked with Seungri who continued whistling in the dark silence. "Why don't you shift?" I asked Seungri, shielding my body from the coldness as the wind blew.

"You go on first," he told me. "After you."

I closed my eyes and tried to find the trigger for me to shift, anticipating the speed of my heartbeat and the rise of my body heat. I clenched my fist, trying hard to figure out which part of my body was going to shift shape first. My chest felt heavy, sweats ran down my temple...

Nothing happened.

I didn't expect it to be so difficult this time. Usually I would have felt my heart hammering inside my chest by now, and I would start to feel the stinging hotness of transforming into a wolf. I opened my eyes, and I was still cold. Seungri was still whistling beside me. I shut my eyes off again, attempting another try.

"I don't feel good . . ." I heard Seungri muttered as I focused on the shifting energy.

His words disrupted my attempt. "Why? What's wrong?"

Seungri didn't respond. Under the dim moonlight, I could see Seungri shivering and frowning, like he was sensing something awry. My guts churned.

"Seungri," I called him again.

"What's wrong?" He turned to look at me, and his eyes went up and down by body. "Oh, wait, no, JIMIN!"

I flinched and jumped out of shock. What the hell is wrong with you, Seungri? "What the—"

"That thing on you ... the ... the boxer brief, get it off now!" he screamed at me. Panic came flooding into my chest.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's—it has been spelled—it repels your wolf energy to work—" That's when I heard a hard thump in the dark.

I turned to look at Seungri when he let out a scream. He collapsed, his body falling to the ground. I couldn't take another breath.

A silhouette of a guy, stood in front of me, emerging from the darkness. Before I could process anything, he lunged toward me with full speed. His hand squeezed around my neck, blocking air from entering my lungs. His fingers had a strong grip on me, strangling me so hard that I couldn't yell or speak. I could only feel as he pushed me hard and my head hit a rough surface.

Think, I said to myself. Don't panic and think.

I shove up my left knee and hoped it hit his crotch. I wasn't sure if I really got his balls, but my knee hit somewhere that pained him. He screeched loudly and released me. I attempted a punch to his head—bull's eye! He didn't budge as I pushed and kicked him. I watched as he lay sprawled on the earth. One of his hands caught my foot and pulled me hard, causing me to trip and fall to the ground. The impact on my back when I hit the damp soil was painful, and I screamed. The attacker kicked my waist. He grumbled and groaned and I was already blacking out as he continued to enjoy himself hitting every part of me—his foot kicking my head, my face, and my chest.

He really hated me.

He groaned more, and I couldn't be surer of who was hurting me, because I had heard it on the phone before, calling out to me with pure hatred.

That voice, calling me a faggot.

"You fucker—" I groaned, turning toward him, remembering how he had kissed my mate before.

No.

I started to crawl.

When Yoongi reached out for me again, I tackled his body and pushed him to the nearest tree. I attacked his throat first before proceeding to his stomach.

Then he dug his claw into my naked skin. I yelled. Yoongi had both of my hands locked in his. He yanked one of them away backwards, sending lancing pain through my arms as he attempted to sprain it. I couldn't move, tears stinging in my eyelids.

"You're dead," he groaned.

His fist landed a punch somewhere in my skull and the world blackened.

E I G H T E E N

Jimin’s POV

There was someone standing in the horizon. I tried to see who it was, but I was blinded by the brightness of this empty space. Thick cool mist chilled my skin, and it smelled like antiseptic here. I couldn't move my limbs no matter how much I struggled. I was bounded by pain and terror.

I had died.

This was the afterlife, an atmosphere of blankness, and whiteness.

"Shh ... it's okay." I sensed a movement, and then I found myself lying on Hoseok‟s shoulder.

I knew it was him by his grassy and woody scent. We were lying on empty ground, my head between his shoulder blades, our heartbeats synchronized. He was here with me, and nothing could be wrong.

"Where are we?" I whispered.

"It's fine," he whispered at me. "Trust me."

I struggled to sit up and looked at him. "Am I dreaming?"

"Not exactly," he replied. "We're connecting, Jimin." "Huh?"

"It's our mate bond ... it's so strong, so intense, Jimin. Don't fade away from me—stay where you are, or else I won't be able to find you." He smiled, but I didn't smile back because I was confused.

"What are you talking about?"

He took my face in his hands, grinning again. "Do you feel me touching you?"

"Of course," I groaned.

"Some mates can connect like this, Jimin," Hoseok said. "I'll tell you more when you wake up. Now, stay put, and I'll find you. Okay?"

I wanted to pull his hand when he stood. When I reached out to touch him again, he dissipated into the air as dusts, leaving me only his farewell smile. "Wait!"

I advanced forward, and I felt myself soaring on empty air. But it wasn't long enough when the world blackened again. There was no noise but the sound of water dripping.

Suddenly, I became aware of my body, starting to feel blood flowing in my stiff limbs again. Searing pain shot through my entire body. Every bone in my system felt like they had broken; the pain was so intense that tears started to flood in my eyes. I let out a moan.

Calm down, Jimin. Breathe.

When I opened my eyes, I saw boulders surrounding me, they were so abundant that I couldn't make out the space I was in. Firelight from the burning wood ten feet away from me illuminated the grotto- like room. Droplets of clear liquid flowed down my temple to my naked chest. The rivulets continued streaming from above my head.

I realized the drops came from the cavern wall around me. I struggled to move my limbs when I realized it had been tied behind whatever I was sitting on.

I was in my human body. Naked.

Then a cheerful whistle caught my attention. At the far end of the cave was a silhouette of a guy. He was approaching me, his footsteps echoing around me. I didn't know where I was, but I wasn't afraid anymore. I believed in whatever Hoseok said, even though it may have been just a dream. I will be okay.

I took a deep breath. The guy walked with slow steps toward me, and the firelight shone on his face.

Yoongi.

"Hello, Jimin." If there was no repulsive hatred in me for him, I was pretty sure he wouldn't have looked like a bad guy.

His small eyes were captivating enough that you couldn't help but to stare into them. His smooth baby cheeks and bright pink lips had even made him look more ... naive. The thought of throwing someone that seemed so innocent into the fire made me feel bad.

Yoongi paced around me and I didn't say a word. I flinched when he went behind the rock I was seated on and wrapped his arms around my body. His hands roamed over my chest and up to squeeze my shoulder. I rolled my eyes, "A massage is really what I need now, thanks."

He chuckled at my words, and strangely enough, I sensed a tiny bit of frustration in his voice. He must've been so pissed off at me to bring me to an isolated cave during the full moon.

"What do you want, Yoongi?" I asked.

He sniggered—his mouth was so near to my face I could smell his warm breath. "Do you really what to know what I want, Jimin?" He walked in front of me, crouched down and stared into my eyes.

He pouted his lips, mimicking an expression that made me want to shoot myself in the head. What a pathetic psychopath.

"You're sick," I said to him.

"Yeah," he told me. "I am so sick of you, Jimin."

Calm down. Breathe in.

"I'm so fucking sick of you, and I want to see you die."

"Fuck. Off."

The words seemed to catch Yoongi off guard, because I noticed rage filling his face. I wasn't surprised when he shrieked out of the blue, his voice booming out in this empty cave.

"I am so sick of you! You and your fucking little tricks! You don't deserve to be with Hoseok!" He locked his hand around my throat, squeezing hard.

I couldn't breathe.

"I don't know how you did it," he hissed. "I have no fucking clue how you fooled him into believing all of this mate bullshit."

There were so many words stuck in my throat, and most of them consist of cusses and swears but I couldn't voice them—I couldn't even breathe.

"Everything's fine when you were not in the picture," Yoongi said. "He genuinely loved me as much as I did love him, and you messed things up."

The sight of his eyes bulging made my guts churn. Choking me was pointless since immortals couldn't die from suffocation—he should've just shot me in the head or something. But he hadn't—there was no gun or silver lying about. This was not the end of his plan; that he must have something else in store for me.

Yoongi released me from his grip and I struggled for air. He paced around in rage. I flinched when he turned to me abruptly, advancing forward.

His lips locked on mine. He stopped abruptly, pulling away before breaking out in laughter.

Oh God.

"Oh, look at you—you are a gem," he whispered, running his hand all over my naked body down to my crotch. "Before I finish you off, maybe I should ... enjoy you first?" I closed my eyes and pretended I didn't feel anything, even when his hand touched my balls. He proceeded to fasten his lips to mine; kissing me everywhere he could reach.

I struggled in place, yelling. Yoongi pulled away, his hand touching my cheeks. "No wonder Hoseok is all over you," he said under his breaths. "Look at these eyes ... oh no, look at these fucking eyesmiles you got—you're a pretty little bitch. You're having a good time whoring for him, aren't you?"

I screamed, shaking myself in my place even though it wasn't working to loosen me from my binding. Whatever I was sitting on didn't even budge, and suddenly I regretted not hurting Yoongi when I had the chance—killing and ripping him apart would be the best life experience I had in being an immortal.

I hated that his lips had touched mine because Hoseok was the only one I wanted to touch me, not some psycho like this guy standing before me. I felt filthy, as if his mouth had left a permanent stain on me and Hoseok would notice.

"Min," a voice echoed at the far end of the cave. "Where are you?" I looked over Yoongi‟s shoulder, and another silhouette stood in the way.

Yoongi sighed.

He stood up and walked away from me, and I felt a sense of relief when his hands left my body. I jerked about again and realized I was tied around a stony surface. I tugged, trying to get my hands free. Whatever Yoongi had tied me with dug into my skin. I screeched.

Yoongi had approached the silhouette standing in the dark, and they were having a conversation with each other. I couldn't get out of here now, I knew that.

Eavesdropping on them was the only option left.

"Did you get the boy?" the man said, his voice was deep and heavily accented.

"He's here now," Yoongi responded.

"Good job, Yoongi.—you make a good apprentice for me. By the way, about Wanjae ... I'm working on a spell to diminish your name in the recruitment list, but I have to trespass their system."

"I give this boy to you. You have to keep your promise," Yoongi said. "I want to see him dead first, and then you have to get me out from going to that faggoty school."

I was pretty sure Yoongi was referring to the Institute in Wanjae, since it was rumored that many recruited male werewolves found mates there in the all-boys school. Then I remembered someone telling me that Yoongi was recruited.

The man started to walk out of the shadows. He was about to end my life. "Let me see the boy first," he said.

I tried to remain still when I saw sparks flying in the air to the fire ahead of me. The flame exploded and I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the cave was brightly lit with white light, and I didn't know where it came from. The brightness was intense and blinding and it took time for my eyes to adjust to my surrounding. In the blur, I realized how enormous this cave was.

Two figures stood in front of me with their arms crossed over their chests. When the man who had been in the dark revealed himself, I gasped. He stood tall in his button-down gray robe that covered his body from neck to feet. Beneath the robes, I could see the outline of bulging muscles. His skin glowed like his body was filled with light instead of blood.

Kim Taehyung, the infamous half-wizard half-vampire, was standing right in front of me, and I had been warned that his beauty could control minds.

Now I knew why.

I watched as Taehyung stared at me in confusion. His eyebrows furrowed as he studied me carefully. Doubts filled his expression, and for a short second I wished I could read his mind.

"Well," Yoongi interrupted from behind, "what are you waiting for?"

My heart raced as Taehyung stared at me. It was hard to deny that he was extremely pretty it scared me to death. His face was both ghastly and angelic at the same time, and that wasn't even possible.

Taehyung flushed, and I noticed him trembling, the wand in his grip shook. Wrath was taking over him. He busted out in a loud and angry roar. His shriek was so loud it set my ears ringing. He paced away from me back towards Yoongi, the glow in his face had been replaced by redness. "This is not who I'm looking for!" Taehyung screamed.

Taehyung pushed Yoongi and he fell to the ground. Yoongi scooted backwards, his butt sliding on the ground as he shook and shivered with fear. Taehyung‟s fury was a pouring heat that was so hot it could burn these cavern walls…

"I—this—this is the boy that you showed me—" Yoongi stuttered, sliding away farther and farther from the vampire.

"No!" Taehyung screamed. "You're fucking useless!" Taehyung swung his wand and a spark shot out, hitting Yoongi in the chest.

He flew into the air and crashed into the nearest wall, his scream echoed in the cave. Taehyung approached him and pulled him by the collar of his shirt, forcing him to stand.

"I told you I don't want any mistakes!" Taehyung screamed at Yoongi. "I need to kill the boy who's been invading my mind! This is not him!"

"But—but—" Yoongi shivered. "I've done everything you want!"

Taehyung cut him off. "I helped you beat that Jung boy in the game! Who the fuck do you think I am, huh?"

"P—please—T—Taehyung, listen—"

"Shut up!" Taehyung‟s wand released more sparks.

The boulders in my surrounding exploded everywhere. A storm of wind started in the room, and I heard more sound of explosion when Taehyung‟s sparks sent me flying into the air before crashing into the ground.

I was free.

I silently thanked Taehyung‟s wrath because it had set me free.

"Forget about staying here, you fucker," I heard Taehyung hissed at Yoongi. "I'll send you straight to Wanjae myself." From the crack of my eyelids, I noticed Yoongi retaliating, even though he was obviously terrified, and nothing could stop Taehyung from doing what he wanted.

"Don't you dare!" Yoongi screamed.

I started to move. Quick. They wouldn't notice me with them quarrelling between themselves. I needed to figure a way out.

Whoever Taehyung wanted, it wasn't me, and I was safe for now.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Before I knew it, I was being pulled by an invisible force, sending my back to crash into the hard stone wall. I screamed.

Yoongi‟s body slumped to the ground. When Taehyung caught my eye, my heart started to race. He started to move, and suddenly he appeared before me, his hand choking my neck.

I shivered when I found those strange, pretty eyes staring at me again. My limbs felt numb.

"The boy must be one of you," he hissed. "Where is he?"

"I—I don't know what you are talking about," I told him.

He took out his wand and put the pointed end on my lips. "Tell me and no one dies tonight."

"I'm serious, Taehyung!" I screamed at him. "No one here wants to mess with you! We don't even know you! You're—"

He gripped my neck harder. "Stop trying to fool me around! I saw that little punk in my visions. I'm not stupid—I know half-dogs like you have some abilities of telepathy! That's why I saw that little bitch in my mind, invading my thoughts, trying to find trouble—" My head throbbed with pain again.

I closed my eyes, wishing Taehyung would just kill me and this game would be over.

"Let go of him now."

I opened my eyes to the voice. At the end of the room, Hoseok, Seungri and Baekhyun stood, panting and breathing hardly. Seungri had a wand in his hand, although I wasn't really sure if he was going to use it. The color in his face had faded, and I could see the hesitation he had in his eyes.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't someone I know . . ." Taehyung chuckled.

He turned around and I sucked air into my lungs as soon as he let go of me. I was too confused I wasn't sure if I should move or if I should stay. At least seeing my friends here relieved me. I wasn't alone now.

"Nobody wants to get hurt, Mr. Kim," Seungri spoke. "Nobody knows what you want."

"Oh, how foolish of me to forget that you're one of them, too!" Taehyung replied. "I'm surprised— you've sided with them."

"He's not siding with anybody," Hoseok growled. "Give him to us."

"Wow, you must be the Jung boy. I really thought you died the day you fought with this useless punk," Taehyung said, kicking Yoongi‟s waist. "I don't know what he did to pay you, but I just want you to get my people out of this dirty nest of yours," Hoseok hissed at him, moving closer to the vampire wizard.

I gulped because I didn't want Taehyung to hurt my mate. Taehyung started to take his wand out again. He moved his hand in the air as he chanted some spell and electric sparks flew towards me. I screamed when another shot of agony spread out into my system. It seemed like Taehyung was setting my internal organs on fire.

I trembled and writhed on the ground, struggling in the stinging agony. I couldn't breathe, and the world in front of me was moving in shades of gray.

Help.

There was an explosion, and suddenly the stinging torture left my body. I fell to the ground, my lungs begging for air.

In front of me, Hoseok was in his wolf form. He was on top of Taehyung, pinning him on the ground. I watched as Seungri got up from the ground and moved toward the vampire wizard, attempting in vain to defeat him. Seungri was aiming for the wand.

"Go, Seungri!" I screamed at him.

Hoseok was struggling to keep his weight locked on Taehyung‟s torso, forcing the vampire wizard to remain still where he was. Seungri approached the wand and touched it with his hand. That's when he screeched out in pain.

"No, I can't!" he said. "The wand's bounded to him."

My head spun again, but I forced myself to stand up. We had to be prepared for the worst because Taehyung was a powerful man, and I was pretty sure he could kill us all. I approached Baekhyun who remained still where he was, unsure what to do. In a blink of an eye, Hoseok‟s flew high up in the air and crashed to the ground.

There were blood in his fur, and fire started to catch in my head.

Kim Taehyung, the known powerful immortal, was the reason my mate struggled in pain in the Combat. He wasn't different from Yoongi, a psychopath and a maniac.

The hate poured into me, energizing me with wrath so strong that I didn't even think before I went on the attack and jumped Taehyung from behind. Taehyung stumbled to the ground, and I kicked everywhere I could.

It wasn't long before he started up a chant, and another sense of pain started in my chest again. I screamed and fell to the ground. I shivered, hissing and screeching and tears were falling out of my eyes. Taehyung had used something dark against me, and I could feel the slow trickle of death approaching.

From the corner of my eyes I could see Baekhyun attempting a fight with Taehyung. I focused on it to forget the pain, but it wasn't easy. Baekhyun dodged the sparks flying out of Taehyung‟s wand, his foot attacking the vampire.

In my blur vision, I saw Baekhyun punching Taehyung in his stomach, hard. His moves were quick and neat, one of his foot flew and crashed into Taehyung‟s jaw, catching the wizard off guard.

The vampire wizard stumbled to the ground, but it wasn't long before he back up on his feet. No matter what happened, the wand remained in his grip. I couldn't move because of the immense pain electrifying my system, eating me and killing me slowly. I closed my eyes and searched for the last of the lycanthropic energy I had left in my body, considering the moon was still full and my energy should be maximized by now. I searched for it deeper in my mind, and the pain slowly diminished.

I lay on my back and my head hurt. The world around me was spinning again. When I regained focus, Baekhyun and Seungri were screaming three feet away from me. Hoseok was still sprawled on the ground unconscious.

We were going to die.

I tried to move; I wanted to get up. I crawled on the floor to Hoseok because I needed to be by his side. Tears streamed down my eyes as I saw the blood smeared on his smooth fur. I remembered the moments I had with him last night and the thought of it only hurt me more. I kept on crawling forward, sliding my body on the ground.

Another voice boomed out in the cave.

"No!"

In my fading vision, I saw Jungkook running toward Taehyung who was standing among our bodies on the cavern floor.

The vampire wizard didn't budge, and I continued staring as Jungkook clenched his fist and threw a punch over Taehyung‟s nose. The vampire wizard was stunned.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I heard Jungkook screaming, his voice was dreamy inside my ears.

Jungkook shook the vampire wizard's body, kicking him and screaming at him.

The world started to fade around me, and I let everything go. That's probably the last thing I could see before everything went black all over again

* * * *

I was not a huge fan of sleeping, being the light sleeper that I am. I loved being able to be alert to my surroundings, seeing the blue sky and breathing the air while I was aware of doing so.

Everything was different now, because if I woke up, I might have to relive some nightmares. I started to regain consciousness and panicked. I didn't know what I would see once I open my eyes. I didn't know who survived, and who didn't.

I didn't know if I would see Hoseok safe and sound by my side again. The first thing I heard was a series of beeping sound.

Slowly, I started to feel my muscles throbbing with slight pain. Still, I refused to open my eyes although I knew I could.

The memories from yesterday started to come back —Taehyung. Yoongi. The attack. Hoseok blacking out. My friends who had put their life on the line. I couldn't bear this alone. I was terrified. When I heard footsteps, I started to calm down. There was a sound of a pen scribbling on a hard surface. I took a deep breath and tried to pretend I was sleeping.

"Is he awake?" said a familiar voice. Yong Bae.

"I'm sure he's better now," a female voice said. "His heartbeat, blood pressure ... everything seems fine."

"Thank you, Eunji," Yong Bae responded. "Everyone else has woken up. Jimin‟s mate keeps on asking for him, wanting to see him. They were quite inseparable, so—"

A sense of shock hit me as I hear Hoseok‟s name. He was looking for me. I tried to move my limbs but found them numb.

I opened my eyes, but I was too blinded with the brightness of the room. I could only make out Yong Bae‟s figure, and the nurse I believed to be Eunji beside him.

"Daehyun‟s son?" Eunji chuckled to Yong Bae. "I heard about it from my son. You see, his best friend is now dating the most popular boy in school. Shortly after I could guess why."

"Your son knows about us now. Do you know?" Yong Bae asked.

"I do. I've always known he would, though—Jimin and Namjoon are too close." Hearing Eunji‟s words, something clicked in my mind. Namjoon‟s mother ... nurse ... Maehwa Hospital.

"Miss Kim?" I called out.

"Hello, Jimin." She smiled and turned to me, still holding a pen and a writing board clip. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." I still couldn't believe she was talking casually to Yong Bae. "Yong Bae, Eunji—you two know each other?"

They exchanged smiles.

"I've assisted Dr. Min for ten years now, Jimin," she told me. "There are many immortal doctors in this hospital, so don't be too surprised if some of the human nurses here have found out."

"Does Namjoon know about you?" I asked.

"He doesn't have any clue, Jimin, but his father and I don't really mind if he does." The sight of Namjoon‟s mother talking to the Alpha of our pack was too peculiar.

My head started to throb. "Thank God all of you are immortals," Eunji muttered. "Your wounds closed up so quickly. You only have healing scars now. If the humans can heal like this, my work will be lot easier. After I get someone to sign some papers, we can discharge you."

"Thanks again, Eunji," Yong Bae said.

Eunji left. Yong Bae approached me, holding my hand as I reached out to him.

"Is Hoseok okay?" I asked.

"He's always going to be fine, Jimin," Yong Bae said. "Trust me."

"What about the others?" Yong Bae sighed. "You, Hoseok, Yoongi, Seungri and Baekhyun are recovering now." Yong Bae squeezed his hair and let out a big sigh, his face was all red.

"What's wrong, Yong Bae?"

"Jungkook," he said. "He's missing ... Taehyung took him away."

"What?" I gasped. "Why would he do that? Why would he take Jungkook?"

It didn't make sense to me, but then I remembered Jungkook struggling hard against Taehyung during the attack yesterday.

Oh God.

Yong Bae shrugged in frustration. "I'm afraid I can't answer that question. What's important now to me is Taehyung‟s whereabouts. I've contacted The Kims and they told me they will meet me soon."

I knew I had the answers.

"Yong Bae, Yoongi knows what happened," I spoke. "He ... he caught me during the hunt when I lost my ability to shift. I blacked out and then I found myself in a cavern."

"It's not really a cavern," Yong Bae told me. "There's a charm—a glamour—that has been put up somewhere in the mountains. You can only break through the glamour if there's a presence of a wizard—I guess that's why Hoseok and Baekhyun could break in with Seungri. When I searched for you, I found something that looked like a small spear attached to a bark, and it turned out to be an amulet. The amulet causes lycanthropic energy to weaken, so that's why most of you were defeated by Taehyung. When I pulled it off the bark, all of you reappeared."

I continued to speak. "Whatever it is, Yoongi was working with Taehyung to beat Hoseok in the Combat. As a deal, Yoongi had to give up one of us to Taehyung, and I don't know why—" I ran out of breath because I spoke too fast.

I didn't want anything to happen to Jungkook. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to flesh out what I remembered.

"Go on, Jimin," Yong Bae said, being all ears to me.

"Taehyung thinks one of us is a threat to him," I said. "I'm not really sure about that, but Yoongi ended up capturing me. Taehyung had gone crazy because I wasn't the one that he wanted."

Yong Bae‟s eyes widened, and I could see fear creeping up in his face. "He wanted Jungkook," Yong Bae said, agreeing to my thoughts.

"Jungkook ... he was there," I said. "I heard him fighting with Taehyung . . . oh God, where's he . . ."

Tears came flowing down my cheeks. Yong Bae reached out to me and wiped my tears away.

No, he's alive. He's okay.

This is nothing, just like how Namjoon‟s death was nothing but a hoax. I did not believe myself this time. Shedding tears would never make Jungkook return. Whatever it was, Taehyung needed to die, even if it was impossible.

"Shhh, it's okay, Jimin," Yong Bae whispered at my ear. "He's going to be okay." "Yoongi knows more," I said, urging Yong Bae to listen to my words. "You have to listen to me."

"I will, Jimin, I will. Once we're home, we're going ask him for the truth."

N I N E T E E N

Jimin’s POV

Yong Bae made sure I had full rest once I got out of the hospital. My bedroom and I shared a very special relationship now.

Hoseok didn't want to be away from me; we'd stayed together last night at my place, him insisting to be by my side as soon as we'd been discharged from the hospital. His parents had been tending around in the hall, conversing with my parents.

Being with my mate was never a bad thing. My mother had helped a lot; she'd made breakfast and brought it to my room and put necessary ointments on the wounds from being hurt yesterday. I wished there was a medication or remedy to relieve the pain in my mind; thinking about what happened the day before was way more painful than these physical injuries.

I had to force myself to sleep to shut my mind from thinking. Then I noticed the blue sky outside my window, and the urge to go outside came storming in me. I pulled myself up and winced to the aches in my body.

Hoseok went out to see the Alpha again—I was kind of curious about what they were talking about. Suddenly, I refused to be excluded; I wanted to know what Hoseok knew.

Speaking of the devil, he popped up at the door, walking into the room with a big smile on his face. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," I replied.

When he noticed I was trying to stand up, he walked over to me and reached out to take my hand, helping me up on my feet. "Where are you going, Jimin?"

"To the bathroom," I said. "I want to take a shower."

He gave me a dirty wink, and I rolled my eyes. "A private shower," I admitted.

He grinned and put his warm hands on my cheek. "Of course."

I chuckled. "What's up with you today? You seem so glowing."

"I'm so happy because my one true love is here in front of me."

"Stop it now," I grunted before letting out a chuckle. "Seriously."

Hoseok squeezed my cheeks in both of his hands. "If you feel better, you can come with me to see Yong Bae. He wants to talk to us." "Yoongi?" I said, my voice cracked in my throat.

"Hmm, not really. Yoongi has to wait," Hoseok said. "He'll be interrogated later in the day. But Yong Bae wants to talk about us first."

"What?"

Hoseok pushed me gently into the bathroom and gave me a smile as he shut the door off. I took a quick shower and saw a pair of pants and a T-shirt being laid out on my bed. Hoseok was rearranging some books and magazines in the far corner of my bedroom and put it neatly on my study table.

"Hey, you're done," he said as he approached me, the smile remained on his face.

Hearing his voice sent a sense of euphoria inside of my body. Hoseok placed his hand on my chest. He stared into me with his brown eyes, draining blood from my brain away and I felt like fainting again.

He bent lower and put his lips on mine. I trembled and afraid if I might fall so I took hold of his biceps to steady myself. I closed my eyes and moved my hands to grab Hoseok‟s face, urging him to kiss me harder even if it might suffocate me by doing so. I wanted him more, and that's when the guilt squalled in my chest. I pulled away and panted hard, refusing to make eye contact with my mate.

A memory sparked some pain and guilt in my heart. Tears stung my eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

How could Hoseok notice whenever there was something wrong with me? The harder I tried to suppress the guilt, the more apparent it became to his eyes. The memory of yesterday threatened me, and Hoseok leaning in closer to me made things worse.

I couldn't do it—I couldn't tell him. But I knew I had to.

"Hoseok, I . . ." I said. "Yoongi. He . . . he kissed me."

Hoseok‟s grip around my shoulder loosened, and I started to panic. "What?"

"No," I looked up to him. "He—he tied me up and . . . and he touched me. I just hate it, Hoseok. I don't want anyone to touch me but you. I don't want to betray you—"

"Then why are you so afraid? You didn't even enjoy him touching you, right?"

"I didn't," I said, "but would you believe me if I said so?"

"I know you won't lie to me, Jimin." Hearing Hoseok said that had relieved me in some ways, and suddenly I realized Yoongi kissing me shouldn't be such a big deal. It was meaningless—but I just felt like the more I tried to hide it, the more I felt like it was a secret while it wasn't, and I didn't want to keep secrets from Hoseok anymore.

"Sorry," I said. "I just . . . I don't like it. I don't know why, but it bothers me so much. I'm sorry."

Hoseok pulled me, placing my face on his chest with tenderness. "Well, it doesn't bother me as much—in fact, I kind of like it to know that he had kissed you."

I pulled away and shot him a look. "What did you say?" "Well," he responded, chuckling, "he had kissed me, too—and I hate remembering it. Now we both share a common experience, so we're completely equal."

I laughed and took his face to feel his lips on mine again. Then I kissed his nose, his neck and down to his chest. My body felt hot and the urge for him to touch me poured in me once again, and I was going to explode.

Hoseok shivered again, and I could feel his body tensed up.

"Sorry," I said. "This is too fast, isn't it?"

"No," he groaned. "It's okay—we have plenty of time for that, Jimin. Now, let's go and see the Alpha."

* * * *

"I don't know how to start on this." Yong Bae‟s brows furrowed, and suddenly I wanted to reach out and hug him. He had been shouldering a lot of burden, and our pack had never been so messed up like it was now.

No one knew what the wizard vampire wanted with Jungkook yet. One of the clan members of the Kims agreed to discuss about Taehyung‟s actions with Yong Bae—at least there was progress.

But now Yong Bae didn't want to talk about that now. "Do I need to explain it to him first, Yong Bae?" Hoseok started.

He was sitting beside me, facing Yong Bae‟s desk in his office.

"Sure," Yong Bae said.

Hoseok turned to me. "During the hunt, I was talking to Yong Bae about Namjoon‟s fake dead body when I felt . . . something. It's like a strange, intense sensation in my chest, before I went into seeing visions and hallucinations." I was surprised to only hear this from Hoseok now, wondering why he wouldn't tell me about this earlier.

He continued. "Then I saw you, as a form of a strange vision—you were falling out, and I . . . I had this weird feeling, but I was pretty certain that something had happened to you."

Something from memory flashed past my head: I remembered blacking out, and Hoseok was there, telling me to hold on. That was before I woke up in the charmed cavern with Yoongi.

"Then I ran into the forest to find you. It was like a sensor signalling me your whereabouts, you know? I could feel you getting nearer and farther from me. Then I found Seungri collapsed on the ground and he told me everything. Baekhyun came by and joined us. I kept on searching for you, and suddenly the pain inside my head got more intense. Then I realized the pain wasn't mine, Jimin—it was yours."

"Wait," I said, trying to understand Hoseok‟s words. "What are you trying to say, Hoseok?"

He sighed. "There's this energy connecting me to you. I could feel your thoughts and I could speak to you through them. I guess that's why you saw me when you blacked out, didn't you? Just like we had when we dreamed the same dream together."

"It's the mate bond, Jimin," Yong Bae added. "Yeah. Our mate bond's strong, Jimin—in fact it's getting stronger each day. Your feelings and situations become a series of sensations in my head." I still didn't see the point of this conversation. I rubbed my temples.

"It's okay, Jimin," Hoseok said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "There's time for me to explain it to you."

"I'm just . . . what's the big deal?" I said. "Does that mean you can read my mind?"

"Minds are one's private space, Jimin," Yong Bae responded. "Hoseok can't really access what exactly is playing in your mind, but something happened to him when you were in danger. He will sense shock so intense that it pains him. This is a result of an extremely strong mate bond, and it rarely happens."

"So . . . it's not a bad thing, isn't it?" I asked.

"It's not exactly a bad thing, but there are a few . . . threats to this." I couldn't think of any bad outcomes of sharing a strong mate bond with Hoseok. What Yong Bae was saying scared me, and I didn't think I was ready to hear it.

But I asked him, anyway. "What is one of them?"

"One of the most obvious one is . . . well . . . you two cannot live without each other. Literally."

I rubbed my forehead and started to feel uncomfortable to this discussion. I felt as Hoseok‟s hand touched my back, and I started to calm down.

I spoke, "So that means, if one of us dies, then—"

"There's no such thing as 'one of us' in your case now, Jimin," Yong Bae said. "The two of you shared one life, and both of you will lose it at the same time if death is threatening any of you."

"It means I can't live without you, and you can't live without me. Your death will become an instant killer to me, Jimin," Hoseok said to me, his expression blank.

"A strong mate bond serves purposes," Yong Bae started to speak. "In the days of our ancestors, it enables mates to protect each other in war. That's why if one of you is in danger, the other one can feel it, so the one who senses the danger has to protect his other mate. Not everyone has such connections now."

"How do you know?" Thinking of death now wasn't a good idea, but I couldn't help it. Hoseok and I were literally a soul separated in two bodies, and our immortality depended on each other.

That was crazy.

"Well, I can't feel such connections to my wife," Yong Bae answered.

I sighed and leaned my back on my seat. I didn't like the discomfort I felt at the bottom of my stomach, and I just wished I could breathe it out so it would be gone.

"Just look at the bright side, Jimin," Hoseok whispered, leaning closer to me. "We can heal each other by just be by each other's side, we will know it if we miss or want each other—" Hoseok was wrong.

"No, Hoseok, it's not we," I groaned. "It's just you."

Hoseok shot me a look. I didn't like to burst out like this. "I don't feel it when you're in pain," I said. "I—I didn't. I just saw you sprawling on the ground when Taehyung came and . . . and I don't even get to feel what you're thinking now. Why does it have to be you to get hurt when I am in a trouble?"

"It's not like that, Jimin," Yong Bae interrupted. "The bond is developing and you will probably feel it too later. It's just . . . the mate bond develops faster in Hoseok first."

"Okay, fine, so why does the mate bond develop faster in him, and not me?" I asked.

Nobody answered. I looked at both the Alpha and my mate, anticipating their answers.

"Because he is . . . too in love with you, Jimin," Yong Bae said.

What the fuck?

"Yong Bae—" Hoseok groaned, but I got on with my response.

"So you're saying that I don't love Hoseok as much as he loves me? How do you know that, Yong Bae? I mean—Hoseok, I don't believe it."

Memories and thoughts collided in my mind. I did love my mate, but how big was my love to compare to the one he had for me? Why did I love him, was it because he was just so ridiculously sexy? Was my love for him was about his physicality? But I did feel pain when he got beaten out in the Combat, or how badly he was injured yesterday.

But you hate him before, Jimin—think about that.

Something weighed in my chest again, and this time, I hoped I would collapse or black out or faint because all I wanted was a sleep to shut my mind off the world again.

"It's relevant for the bond to develop slower in you, Jimin," Yong Bae spoke. "Hoseok gave your childhood a hard time, and feelings are fragile, Jimin. That doesn't mean you won't feel passionate loving your mate— it just takes more time for you."

"I believe you do love me, Jimin—it's not that different. And I don't mind, I swear, Jimin—" Hoseok whispered to me.

"I don't want to talk about this. I'm sorry," I said.

The room went silent, and the office door behind us burst open. Junhong, Chanyeol, Seungri and Sunwoo stood around a boy who ruined the hunt for me last night, forcing him to go into the room.

Chanyeol closed the door, and I stood up, giving Yoongi my seat. No matter what, Yoongi knew a truth that was way more important than anything else now.

* * * *

More people came storming into the room, including Jessica, Baekhyun, Hoseok‟s parents, and my parents. I was surprised that many wanted to know why Yoongi was so messed up. I was pretty sure Yong Bae could take the truth out of him easily no matter how hard the guy tried to find ways on how to deny it—honestly I didn't really think that Yoongi was really a smart person. "Sit down," Yong Bae said to Yoongi, trying to put on a calm expression. Yoongi was blank; he kept staring at anywhere but our eyes. Slowly, he pulled the chair out and sat down. I took a few steps away from him—I kind of liked the fact that he was having a hard time. I should not feel any guilt toward him because he had pretty much wrecked my life in many ways now.

"I want to talk to you alone," Yoongi said to Yong Bae.

"According to what you've done," Yong Bae answered, "you don't have the right to ask how I'm going to deal with you. You should be grateful I don't take this case outside so the whole pack can have a good show today."

I heard gasps around me. The room suddenly felt too eerie.

"I only want to do you a favor, Alpha," Yoongi said as he sneered. "Some privacy may help me telling you the truth easier. But the choice is in your hands."

I scoffed to his cockiness. Suddenly there was urge to kill him again.

"You should be grateful, Yoongi. Right now, I'm certain I'm being . . . too soft over you. I have not reported anything to the Custody yet, because I thought dealing you on my own first was the best. Some Alphas would just throw kids like you to the ones with higher power, not bothering to deal with such misbehaviors, or shall I say . . . crimes. And, of course, in rare cases, they would just exile kids like you out of the pack."

I flinched to the words Yong Bae said. Yong Bae had never exiled anyone out ever since he led the pack. The thought of it was peculiar and impossible.

"You didn't seem like an uncontrollable, problematic boy to me," Yong Bae continued. "The person I believe you worked with wasn't a bad person, either." Yong Bae leaned back on his seat and stretched out. "You need to clarify the truth, Yoongi."

He didn't look at Yong Bae. I waited for the silence to end, repressing my anger down to my stomach.

"How did you meet Taehyung?" Yong Bae asked.

"I want all of these people behind me to leave first," Yoongi said.

Yong Bae ignored him and stomped his fist on the table, hard. "How did you meet Taehyung, Yoongi?"

Everyone gasped in shock behind me. Yong Bae‟s face was red, covered in sweat, and he started to look like a monster. My heart raced.

"I met him randomly," Yoongi started to speak, his voice croaking. "He was searching for someone. He said the boy he was seeking was threatening to him."

"Did he tell you who exactly the boy he meant?" Yong Bae asked, sounding calmer.

"No, he wasn't sure himself," Yoongi answered, his voice shook. "He pointed him out one day—I thought he meant Jimin, but—but—"

"It turns out that he wanted to take my son," Yong Bae completed Yoongi‟s unfinished sentence. "Why did you agree to work with him while you didn't know what threat he meant by wanting my son? Or did you?" "No—I—I didn't know what he meant about the threat." The light made the pool of tears in his eyes sparkled. "I didn't care. I wanted him to do something in return."

This was it: the part that I had been waiting for, the reason for all the things Yoongi had done.

"Tell me about the deals you made with him," Yong Bae commanded.

"I wanted him to make me win in the Combat against Hoseok," he told us.

"Why did you want to win against Hoseok in the Combat, Yoongi?"

He did not answer; instead, he looked out into the window behind Yong Bae. Although I had an idea why he wanted to beat Hoseok in the Combat, I was still eager to hear the truth from Yoongi‟s mouth.

"I . . . I was mad. We—we were arguing about something," Yoongi said. My guts shook when the tears rolled down Yoongi‟s eyes. I hated pitying him like this, no matter how much I tried to push it away.

"What was the argument about?" Yong Bae asked.

"It's . . . I . . . I didn't want him to be with Jimin."

More gasps came from behind me. I started to feel uncomfortable—this would lead to one of Yoongi‟s deepest secrets.

"Jimin is Hoseok‟s mate, Yoongi . . . why were you against that?" Yong Bae asked.

"Hoseok was supposed to be mine!" Yoongi screamed.

I closed my eyes as if by doing that I could eradicate the discomfort I felt.

"He's . . . he's mine."

"Enough," Yong Bae retorted.

Yoongi sobbed; I could see his shoulder shook from where I stood. I bit my lip and felt as tears pooled behind my eyelids. Maybe Yoongi really deserved Hoseok better—

"I heard from a believable source that you also demanded Taehyung to help you in excluding you from the recruitment of the Institute," Yong Bae continued. "This is dangerous, Yoongi—if the Institute knew about this plan of yours beforehand, you would be arrested and things might get worse. Why exactly you refuse to go to the Institute so much? Do you find it extremely hard for you to leave your family behind?"

There was a silence, and Yoongi shot his words out in a speed of light. "Do you think I'm going to give up and let Jimin have what's supposed to be mine just like that? Huh? I won't! I'm not going to make it just easy for someone who does not deserve the one I deserve—"

"You tried to kill me," Hoseok interrupted. "Don't use me as an excuse for this!"

"Yes, I tried to kill you, Hoseok!" Yoongi said, booming out with a scary laughter. "Because if I can't have you, nobody can."

My head went all hot and I lost control of my movement and I walked forward with my clenched fist and I wanted to crack Yoongi‟s skull so badly— "Hey, Jimin, don't," Hoseok put his hand over my chest, pushing me backwards.

"Get away, Hoseok," I groaned.

"Don't be stupid because of this guy," Hoseok hissed at me.

"Enough!" Yong Bae screamed, returning all the senses to my brain again. "Yoongi," Yong Bae proceeded, "I've sent a letter to the Institute regarding this, but it won't harm you with your psychiatrist's letter your father recently gave to me. From my experience, there is a recovery class for kids like you there—"

"I'm not crazy!" Yoongi boomed out, slamming his fists on the wooden desk. "What my father has been doing with the man is total bullshit—"

"The Institute responded quickly by a phone call this morning. They expected you to be in Wanjae by next weekend —" Yong Bae interrupted Yoongi.

"You don't know how hard it is to be a faggot!" Yoongi screamed. He was now on his feet, leaning closer toward Yong Bae like he wanted to attack the Alpha. "Hoseok turned me into a fag and decided to leave me—"

Chanyeol and Sunwoo took hold of Yoongi. The hatred I had for him disappeared, replaced by an immediate guilt.

I had never thought of Yoongi dealing with internal struggles of coming terms to accept who he really was. He was always the wrong person in my head, the one who deserved to be blame on. But now, I realized all we needed was to provide him some help.

"Yes, you are not crazy, Yoongi," Yong Bae said as Yoongi struggled to release himself from Chanyeol and Sunwoo. "You're just having a hard time accepting who you really are. In fact, you blame someone else irrelevantly for it. The Institute has just the right place for you."

Yoongi‟s shoulder slumped down as he continued sobbing. I couldn't stomach this sight any longer.

"All of you can leave now," Yong Bae announced.

T W E N T Y

Jimin’s POV

"They're not sending Yoongi to a madman place in Wanjae, are they?"

Three days had passed, and we didn't hear anything about Jungkook yet. I had been wondering about Yoongi and the thought of him visiting the psychiatrist from the interrogation that didn't even give me any information about what Taehyung wanted with Jungkook.

I hated myself feeling guilty for Yoongi, but I couldn't help it. The visions of him losing control kept flashing in my mind, his nonsensical words echoing in my head. "Nah," Hoseok answered. "It's just a recovery unit of the school—it's open the whole year. You get to do therapy and treatment there—it's sort of a rehab for students. It's necessary for Yoongi, though— Yong Bae thinks it won't be safe for us if he still lingers around."

The day was very beautiful today, because the sun shined so bright from the mountains, the sky looking so blue above us. Hoseok and I wandered around the park, trying to regain some sense again.

"Don't you think Yoongi needs help?" I asked Hoseok.

He stopped moving and turned to me, his eyes held apprehensiveness and doubts. "I tried to help him, Jimin," Hoseok said. "He just couldn't get over the fact that he's gay. His father had even told me he'd attacked his psychiatrist once, you know?"

I wasn't surprised. "That's why I think he needs help."

"By the way, he was the one who demanded to have a psychiatrist," Hoseok said. "He thought psychiatrists cure homosexuality, you know? But at the same time, he wanted me."

"He's messed up, Hoseok," I said. "I should've known."

"Don't blame yourself, Jimin. I don't like it."

I didn't bother to respond to Hoseok when I saw a group of people in black cloaks walking in the neighborhood street, approaching the Main House.

A weird shiver ran down my body to the sight of them, and I noticed as Hoseok tensed up beside me, too. Our kind was made to feel discomfort when nearing them but their presence built up anticipation inside of me. They were heading toward Yong Bae‟s house, and adrenaline flowed inside me out of the blue.

"The Kims," I said. "Let's see what they think of Taehyung—"

"Easy there, kid," Hoseok pulled me close to him. "Dasom wants a private word with Yong Bae, or else she won't cooperate."

"I know," I said as I started to run toward Yong Bae‟s house.

By the time I made it there, the vampires were gathering in front of the front lawn, expecting Yong Bae‟s presence. I didn't bother to make eye contact with any of them, but I did notice their pale looks under their large black hoods. Goose bumps rose on my skin, and I knew they weren't exactly fond of being surrounded with werewolves, too.

Yong Bae walked out of his house and I approached him first.

"Yong Bae, I had left something in your office the other day," I lied. "Can I get it now?"

"Sure, but be quick," he told me. "I'm going to have a quick word with Kim Dasom there."

"All right, just five minutes."

I sprinted past Yong Bae and went inside his house, advancing right into his office. The office was now a messy place—papers and documents were all over the desk right in the center of the room. There were tall bookshelves and computer tables to the far left side of the room. I moved to the bookshelves and searched for any small corner to hide, and found two joined tables that formed a small space to sit under. Now I understood why Yong Bae burned some of his furniture; this part of the room felt like an abandoned carpentry site.

I waited, my heart beating fast in my chest. I tried not to be paranoid—it's always best to be prepared for the worst, but if I were to get caught, I would be screwed. I pressed myself deeper in the corner and breathe—I was pretty sure I could hear the conversation from here.

Someone walked in and I heard murmurs.

Relax, I told myself.

I was hoping Yong Bae wouldn't try to make sure I had walked out of the room or Dasom didn't have some sort of ability to sense me.

"Sorry for the mess . . ." I heard Yong Bae say. "Please, Miss Kim, have a seat."

"Dasom, please," the vampire clan representative replied.

I heard sounds of papers scattering before Yong Bae started speaking again. "I don't know how to explain how grateful I am to your presence, Dasom," Yong Bae said. "I am worried of my son, who was captured by Taehyung a couple of nights ago."

"It's fine, Yong Bae," Dasom responded, her voice deep and husky. "This is mutual—I help you with what I know, and you'll help me in return."

"Please, Dasom," Yong Bae said in a pleading tone, "what is it that you want in return? I will do anything to make sure my son return to me safely."

"My only power here is information, Yong Bae," Dasom replied, and I didn't like the threatening tone in her voice. "I have clues about Taehyung‟s whereabouts because his quest going to America is acknowledged by the whole clan. You have to promise something in return."

"What is it? Tell me," Yong Bae said eagerly.

"Taehyung is part of the clan's power, and we don't want to have any troubles with the Custody. As stated in the law, Taehyung shouldn't be doing whatever he's doing to your son because of your son's under-aged status. If the Custody is informed about this, the whole clan will have to face with Taehyung‟s own mess, and you know how rebellious the half wizard is. So I request you, Yong Bae, to keep whatever Taehyung‟s doing to yourself if you favor this information I have."

Silence.

"Will the information help me, Dasom?"

"I can't give you any assurances," Dasom responded. "But I'm going to be straightforward with this information: it's about Taehyung‟s hideout. Once the revelation has been made, you may go and take your son away and bring him home. Done."

"But what if my son has been . . . "

"Murdered, you mean?" Dasom laughed. "Kim Taehyung may be a young person, Yong Bae, but he's the wisest creature ever existed in the world. The whole clan believed and trusted all of his decisions, because they have always been the best solution to everything. He won't kill your son if he really is innocent."

My head went all hot, but I forced myself to be more patient. "What . . . what do you mean, Dasom?" Yong Bae asked anxiously. "He's only sixteen! He can't harm Kim Taehyung! Don't you think it's illogical—"

"It's been months, Yong Bae, since the recurring images of the boy had been flashing in his mind. Taehyung has so many enemies from across the continents, so he has the right to be vigilant for what is happening to him. According to Taehyung, your son has invaded his mind repeatedly, appearing and disappearing in the forms of nightmares and hallucinations. Taehyung has been searching for the suspect since last month, and if it is your son, then it is, Yong Bae. If it is a mistake, I'm sure Taehyung won't harm him."

Everything sounded so absurd to my ears. I was certain everything was a mistake and the Kims were just stupid to put a hundred percent faith on Taehyung, no matter how potent the man was.

From what I had witnessed from the day before, the half wizard didn't seem that smart, only reckless and hasty.

"Well, Mr. Dong Yong Bae," Dasom continued, "do you want to proceed with the deal or not?"

"I won't involve the Custody in this if my son returns safely to me," Yong Bae said.

"So if Taehyung found your son guilty and has executed him, will you report it to the Custody?"

Silence.

"Taehyung is the clan's power, Yong Bae," Dasom said, "and we treasure him. He's going to be old enough to take over the clan soon. Losing such a potential leader means bloodbath, and we won't be forgiving about it."

I took a deep breath and tried to put up with the churns in the pit of my stomach.

"As a part of the deal, I will tell you Taehyung‟s hideout and you are going to be independent with this source of information. Whatever comes next, you have dealt not to involve the Custody. Even if your son has been killed or tortured or ended up in a very bad shape, you've made a promise to my clan. If you break the promise and the Custody knows, Taehyung will be harmed, and my clan won't forgive you."

My whole body was sweating and I couldn't make myself to breathe properly now.

"I agree," I heard Yong Bae say after a moment of silence. "Please give me the information now."

"This couldn't be easier, Yong Bae," Dasom said, clearing her throat. "Taehyung and I had to communicate as The Head of our clan demand updates about his search for the suspect. The last time we contacted, he'd told me personally that he'd found an abandoned cottage deep in a heart of Gold Rise Forest. He used the place as a settlement, hiding it behind a glamour charm."

Gold Rise Forest, I echoed to myself. An abandoned settlement behind a glamour charm.

"Thank you, Dasom." Yong Bae sounded like he was going to sob. "I can't be more thankful—"

"Save it, Yong Bae," Dasom said. "You might regret thanking me later. Who knows, right?"

There was only one thing to do now.

* * * *

I got out of Yong Bae‟s office with no troubles.

Without stalling, I went out to find Hoseok and told him what happened. We agreed to search the hideout by ourselves. But there was the glamour, and I remembered Yong Bae telling me that the only way to get through it was to have a presence of another wizard being.

Unfortunately, Seungri wasn't fully recovered from the night. He was all pale and weak. Being a shape-shifter with a dominant wizard part, Seungri didn't really have the ability of speed-healing.

"Well, Yong Bae‟s right, but he said isn't exactly accurate," Seungri said as he coughed, lying on his bed. "But from what I know, Taehyung only uses the glamour only to hide the abandoned cottage, not to create that hidden space he created yesterday."

I closed my eyes and tried to understand the meaning of Seungri‟s explanation.

"Don't get confused," Seungri proceeded. "There are many glamour charms, Jimin. One of the most common uses of it is to make things invisible—you separate the desired sight from reality so only certain people can see through it. During the attack yesterday, Taehyung used a glamour that formed an illusionary space, like the cave yesterday. When Yong Bae threw off the amulet, the illusion vanished and he saw us sprawling on an empty forest ground."

"So now the cottage is only invisible?" Hoseok, who was sitting on the corner of the bed, asked.

"Yes," Seungri answered. "You have to find the amulet, take it off where it is and the cottage will be visible again without having to have another wizard with you."

After we had the information, Hoseok asked Jessica for her van and we started our journey. Mount Gold Rise was located about five miles away from the nearby public park. I didn't know much about the place other than it being a heavily forested area. I tried not to think about how to find him later when we got into the thick woods—I just needed to believe that we could.

It took about twenty minutes to get there from Gyerim. Hoseok parked somewhere at the public park and we walked a few miles up on a windy road that led us to a small passageway into the forest.

Hoseok and I climbed up a hill we found and we ascended to a higher ground. Up here, it was dimmer and quieter. A shiver ran down my spine when Hoseok pushed something into my palm. It was a torn piece of fabric.

"It's Taehyung‟s," he said to me. "I got it when we collided."

Hoseok started to take off his shirt and pants until he was in nothing but his underwear. He was going to shape-shift and track the scent from the fabric, hoping we could go somewhere with that.

Hoseok handed me his clothes and I took it. I watched as he closed his eyes, jumped in the air and transformed into a wolf. I had seen blood getting smeared all over Hoeok‟s bright brown fur before, and I hoped I wouldn't have to stomach such sight again.

Hoseok‟s wolf form was definitely gigantic, ten times bigger than my human form; his snout could touch my shoulder.

He gestured an expression, pointing down to my hand. I held my hand up and put the torn fabric on Hoseok‟s snout, giving him time to track the scent. He walked a few feet away from me before he decided which direction to choose. I trailed behind him as we walked in the middle of nowhere. We climbed uneven hills and crossed small streams of river when I started to feel claustrophobic being trapped here in the trees.

The forest here felt different than the one at home. I lost track of time, and I was sure it had been nearly half an hour since we walked. I was already panting and started to sweat. Hoseok remained steady in his wolf form, smelling the forest floor, finding the scent in the air.

"I wish our strong mate bond can give you some ability to transfer energy to me," I said.

I wondered what kind of response Hoseok would give if he was in human form. He might say things like "This is mate bond, not Bluetooth," or tried to tickle me or teased me more with his brilliant sarcasms.

I couldn't deny that I really missed his banters now. My sight blurred out and my head started to spin. I stopped moving and crouched low to the ground, waited for the throb in my head to go away.

When Hoseok noticed me, he lay down on the ground right beside me, his snout rested right on my shoulder. I gave it a pat, looked around and tried to focus on something.

An object glistened on a trunk of a tree.

I got up immediately and approached the tree. It was about ten feet away from me. The nearer I got to the tree, the clearer the sparkle became.

Then there it was; a sharp, pointy silver blade that stuck into the bark in an awkward position. It reflected the light oddly, and I was certain I was standing before the amulet Seungri had been referring to.

"Hoseok!" I called out. "There it is! That's the amulet!"

I didn't wait for Hoseok to come to me when I reached for the end of the blade and tried to pull it out. It was tightly implanted into the wooden bark. I pulled harder, using both of my hands now when a hand squeezed my shoulder and I squealed out in shock.

"Hoseok!" I groaned. "You fucking scared the hell out of me."

"What?" he tried to appear innocent. "Come . . . let me do it."

Hoseok gave the blade a few tugs before it came off the bark abruptly and he stumbled backwards. Right behind me, the sight of a huge rectangular building emerged out of the air, and I almost gasped to the immediate presence of it.

The building was grayish white—dark green moss covered some parts of the walls.

A sense of triumph exploded in my chest, making me want to jump.

"Come on," Hoseok said.

We approached a blue door about two feet away from us. When Hoseok pushed it open, I was glad that the door wasn't locked, but at the same time it was strange because things felt too easy now. There was a narrow walkway behind the front door. Hoseok turned left and I followed him.

It was too dark in here, but there was a trickle of white light on the far edge of the path. Hoseok and I walked farther, and I already sensed the weird discomfort I felt when I was near Dasom and the rest of the vampires just now. There was a shout from where we were approaching. I heard screaming and yelling, and one of the voices sounded familiar.

"Did you hear that?" Hoseok asked me.

I tried to ignore how scared I was and moved. As we got closer to the edge of the walkway, the argument became clearer.

"Which part of my words you don't fucking get—" a familiar voice said.

"Jungkook," I whispered to Hoseok. "It's Jungkook."

The quarrelling continued. "—you're being nonsensical!"

"What the fuck are you talking—"

"I refused to believe to the bullshit you are trying to tell me."

"Shut up!"

Hoseok moved faster to the room and I trailed him. I ignored my extreme heartbeat and breathed in. We stopped at a doorway, and someone crashed onto us and let out a short scream.

When I saw Jungkook, alive and healthy right in front of my eyes, a huge sense of relief came storming into me.

"Jungkook!" I reached forward and hugged him. "Dude, are you okay?" I pushed him off me, and Jungkook looked disoriented.

He was perfectly safe; he didn't look pale, sick or exhausted. My chest was filled with happiness and joy, but I started to get confused too.

"Jimin, Hoseok . . . what are you doing here?"

"How the hell did these dogs get into this building?" Behind Jungkook, Kim Taehyung growled.

He looked more casual now—he was in a pair of black pants and a Tshirt that closed perfectly around his muscular body. The different layers of colors in his irises were still the same, though.

Hoseok stood right behind me, paused and frozen.

"Oh, good," Jungkook started shouting. "Now that you two are here, you can try and help me explain to this whining bitch behind me about the bond you two shared for each other."

A whining bitch? What the hell, Jungkook?

"Listen, Taehyung," Jungkook shouted at the vampire, "the reason you've been seeing me in your head is because we're meant to be together. We're mates! Our mate bond connects us in some unfathomable ways! We're just like these two guys right here. We—are—meant—to—be—together!"

What the fuck?

"Wait a minute," Hoseok started to speak. "Kook, what are you saying—" "He's my mate, Hoseok," Jungkook approached Hoseok. "I knew it the moment I saw him. I—I felt it and it couldn't be wrong. And I don't know which part of his brain is fucked up, but he thinks I'm harming him because he's been seeing me in his head for the past few months! I explained him the mate bond and he refused to believe it."

"It's ridiculous," Taehyung responded. "There's no way for an immortal like me to be involved in things that you dogs —"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Hoseok said as he walked up and stood right in front of Taehyung.

Hoseok continued to argue with the vampire, and I silently pulled Jungkook closer to me.

"Are you sure he's your mate, dude?" I whispered in his ears.

Jungkook nodded.

"Have you kissed him?" I asked.

"No," Jungkook answered quietly, "I wish I could . . . I know, he's hot. Jimin . . . but there's no way— wait, why did you ask?"

"If you want to get out of here, go on and kiss him. It's the only trick. Trust me."

I could feel Jungkook tensed up beside me.

Then, I watched as he took a deep breath and walked in between Hoseok and the half wizard.

Good luck, I said in my head.

"Hey," Jungkook said to the vampire. Immediately, the argument between Taehyung and Hoseok stopped.

I reached for my mate and pulled him closer to me; Jungkook might need some space to do this.

Taehyung was about to say something when Jungkook threw his fist hardly on the vampire's face. I gasped and felt terror creeping up into me. Shortly, Jungkook pushed Taehyung aggressively, slamming the vampire's back on a wall.

Then he wrapped his hand around Taehyung‟s neck, sealing his lips with Taehyung‟s.

The half-wizard's shoulders hunched down, his body relaxed. I counted a few seconds before Taehyung pulled Jungkook aggressively to him again; returning the kiss fiercely like a there was a demon possessing his mind.

Beside me, Hoseok scoffed and chuckled.

E P I L O G U E

Jimin’s POV

I pulled the necktie until it touched the collar of my shirt and looked at the mirror as Jiyeon combed my hair backwards. The two of us standing in front of my reflection reminded me of the day when we celebrated Seohyun‟s presence to the pack a few months ago.

I thanked Jiyeon as she tried to hook my cuffs. She took a perfume from the bedside table and gave me a few sprays.

Was it really me in the reflection?—wasn't I just a boy with dark brown hair and black eyes with his shoulders slightly hunched?

I seemed different. Many things were different now. I had just experienced the weirdest summer in my life.

A few months ago, I was just a boy who lived his boring empty days, only living my life in the fictional stories about mates my mom told me. Now I had a story worth telling although it wasn't cotton candy the whole time.

"You're hot," Jiyeon said beside me. "Hoseok will pick you, no matter if you're his mate or not."

I laughed. "I like your dress and your hair too."

"Ooh, your inner gay is showing." She smiled and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

Jiyeon‟s jet black hair shone under the light, her wavy curls went down to her chest. She looked chic in this pearly orange dress. I didn't understand why she insisted on wearing stilettos although she was almost six feet tall.

"Now, who's actually the groom, you or Chanyeol‟s dad?"

Jessica and Namjoon appeared in the doorway of my bedroom, their arms hooked on together.

Namjoon had cut his hair short and neat—it made him look handsome than before. Jessica, who'd always refused to show appear feminine, ended up in a dark pink evening gown that fell down to her knees. She'd never showed up her skin before, but now she was brave enough for that. The sight of the good-looking boy beside her explained it.

"Well, you're the one to talk," I shot back at Namjoon. He was in a formal black suit, but his hair made him looked so different.

"Jessica helped me dress up," he said. That was surprising.

"Wow, nice dress, Jiyeon—" Jess walked into my bedroom and approached Jiyeon who was repositioning her earrings in front of the mirror.

Namjoon walked to me and patted me in the shoulder. "How are you?"

"I'm good, man," I told him. "How about you?" "Well, apart from my life turning upside down, I'm good."

I was pretty sure I knew what Namjoon meant by that. Jessica had informed me that Namjoon pretty much acknowledged the big challenges for a mortal to be mated to an immortal. A week ago, I did attempt an approach to talk about it to Namjoon, but things got awkward and I had seen how he tried not to speak about it.

"Um, Yong Bae‟s waiting at his house to take some photographs," Namjoon said.

* * * *

Apart from Namjoon‟s parents, Yongguk was another mortal I knew who had acknowledged the presence of immortals so spontaneously.

He was the wedding photographer, and Yong Bae insisted on his service to take some snapshots of us before we convoyed to Lavender Avenue, the venue where the wedding would take place.

"One . . . two . . . three . . ."

I was pressed in the crowd in between Hoseok and Baekhyun at the uppermost row. It had been a few takes, but it was a fun photography session. Hoseok showed his hidden enthusiasm in photography as he asked Yongguk about camera brands and stuffs.

My mate, apparently, was a man of a lot of interests.

"Okay . . ." Yongguk muttered, "one more shot . . . one . . . two—"

A weird kind of shiver went down my backbone and I felt everyone around me tensed up. I turned to look at the doorway and noticed as Kim Taehyung walked in, brandished handsomely in his formal attire.

His odd beauty once again stunned me. Shortly, I realized I wasn't alone—everyone was looking at the sight of the half-wizard half-vampire that caused chaos a few weeks ago.

"Hey, why's everyone looking away?" Yongguk groaned.

"What are you doing here?" I heard Jungkook said as he walked out of the crowd and advanced toward the vampire. "Who invited you? I don't think I did."

I'd almost forgotten the highs and lows of Jungkook‟s emotions since he met Taehyung. Jungkook had told me he'd been seeing visions of Taehyung too; he'd mentioned how tired he was to face with Taehyung‟s stubbornness on refusing to understand mate bonds.

The day when Hoseok and I visited Taehyung‟s hidden settlement in Gold Rise, Jungkook‟s first kiss with his true mate didn't really lead to a happy outcome. He'd run home crying, calling me to just say how Taehyung couldn't love him. The best advice I could give Jungkook was that discovering mates would never be simple or easy, because it wasn't for me.

The crowd broke apart. As Hoseok went to see the snapshots with Yongguk, I could only stand there and watched as Yong Bae approached his son and his son's mate.

"I did, Kook," Yong Bae said. "Why would you contact this jerk, Dad?" Jungkook shot at his father. "When did you—"

"We met in person, Jungkook," Yong Bae responded. "He apologized to me about what happened a few weeks ago."

"And why would you come? I thought you said you weren't a queer."

"Jungkook," Taehyung said uncomfortably, "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry."

Then they continued arguing. I followed Yong Bae as he started to leave his son, and hoped for the best between my good friend and his mate.

* * * *

The last time I'd been to a big werewolf wedding was during the time when I was four years old. I was so excited and confused as my mom explained to me that immortals' weddings were an important ceremony that united mates together for the rest of their life.

Now I was pretty sure Mom was just bullshitting me because she was just too busy to answer me as she cried with the rest of the women. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean it in a bad way, but a pair of mates was already united the moment they accepted each other, married or not. Spouses are given the option to divorce, but not mates.

But hell, I couldn't lie; I was so deeply moved that my eyes were teary when Seohyun walked down the aisle. When she stared into her mate's eyes, she was a young woman all over again. It was the same look that Mom had whenever she was with Dad. I guess I was grateful to have parents who were real mates, unlike Chanyeol.

Weddings between true mates were definitely uncomfortable for the spouses in the pack who weren't actually mates—most of them tried to act like this whole mate theory was just some sort of a myth.

But I'd just found out that their game of playing pretend was interrupted since the day they witnessed Hoseok‟s outbreak when he couldn't sense me a few months ago. The news of Taehyung‟s terrifying invasion to the pack by cooperating with Yoongi spread wildly throughout the whole pack, and it happened because of mate bond. With these things happened, their disbelief towards mates' existence shook. But at the same time, I understood their perspective: it wasn't easy to believe that we didn't really get to choose who we would be with for eternity until they experience it themselves.

The hall chosen for the wedding was perfect—crystal chandeliers furnished the humongous room, the air smelled fruity and flowery. The world around me was occupied with people in beautiful suits and dresses, dancing happily to love songs.

Jessica insisted on picking a table nearest to the buffet set so she could try all different sort of food there. I didn't blame her, the food was good. I smiled as I spotted Hoseok trying on Yongguk‟s camera and snapped photos of the gigantic angel ice sculpture in the middle of the room.

A few tables away from me, Chanyeol were reunited with his siblings, Hyoyeon and Yoona, who were both studying in college at New York. Although Junmyeon‟s separation with his ex-girlfriend had been difficult, the two seemed normal when his ex-girlfriend congratulated Junmyeon for the wedding.

On another table, there was Taehyung and Jungkook. They seemed like they were still arguing, but I had caught some laughs and smiles from the two of them. The music changed, and purple lights shone in a flowery pattern in the walls, bouncing on and off the surrounding as the room dimmed out.

"And now's for the lovers," the DJ announced. Namjoon held out his hand to Jessica as she tried to finish her food.

"C'mon," Namjoon said.

"What?" Jessica said

Namjoon rolled his eyes. "Let's dance."

"What—no, I can't dance—"

He pulled her up anyway, and I was left alone with Seungri at the table.

Jimin, may I ask you to dance with me?

I hesitated as I heard Hoseok‟s voice in my head. I was sure it wasn't imaginary; I didn't really know how to dance and not really in the mood for it.

Jimin, baby, turn around.

Hoseok stood behind me with a smile on his face. He held out his hand and I took it solemnly, wondering if it was me or he was really speaking to me.

* * * *

"This is awkward." I caught people staring as Hoseok and I moved to the beat of the love songs.

Again, with Jung Hoseok, I got to do something that I only seen in romantic flicks. It might be weird because we were the only two guys dancing there —for a second I wished Taehyung and Jungkook would join too.

At least the lights got dimmer and people wouldn't really see us.

"Can I ask you a question?" It was the first thing Hoseok heard from me since we started dancing—for the previous three minutes he'd been teaching me which part of his body I should hold on to as we danced.

I was horrible at dancing, but I didn't mind doing this; to get to stand so close to Hoseok while staring into his brown eyes was heavenly.

Hoseok stared at me, his hands holding my back. "Sure."

"Well, how did you do that?" I asked. "You spoke to me in my head."

He let out a small chuckle. "It's our mate bond. It's getting stronger."

"But why can't I do the same to you?" I asked. His smile faded.

Hoseok searched for my hand and laced his fingers through mine. "Yong Bae thinks it's probably some kind of ability, you know?" Hoseok told me. "Some immortals earn them when they're mated."

"Really?" I asked. "Or is it because of the bigger love you have for me in comparing to mine?"

"Jimin," Hoseok groaned, our movement slowed down now. "Okay, what if it's true? What if this telepathic connection I have for you develops in me first because I love you more?"

I couldn't answer. I remembered Yong Bae‟s words about how Hoseok‟s attitude towards me in the past could affect my feelings now, but I refused to believe it.

"What important is that you love me," Hoseok said. "It doesn't matter, okay? You do love me, do you?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm sorry, Hoseok."

"You don't need to be sorry, kid. I don't fucking care, alright? What's important now is you and me, and how bad I want to tear that suit off you and lick your body."

I laughed. "Are you sure? Do I need to have an inhaler soon?”

Hoseok foot slammed on mine and I suppressed a scream.

"Ow!"

"You deserve that, kid."

"I'm not a kid," I groaned.

Hoseok grabbed my body, pressing his chest on my face. "You're a kid, a crybaby and a groaner," Hoseok muttered.

"Shut up." Couldn't I come out with a better response?

"And you're also the boy with a mole on his dick." (a/n: Hoseok, can you not?? xD)

My cheeks burned on fire and I wanted to scream so loud until I rocketed up to the outer space.

"Hoseok!" I almost screamed.

"Last time I checked, the tiny spot was still there—oh, it'd even touched my tongue, under the showering water—"

"Fuck you," I groaned at his ears.

"I know you're eager for that. Soon, okay?" he replied.

A series of cusses lined up behind my mouth but I couldn't speak any of them out.

"I'm just kidding," Hoseok kissed me, sounded worried of my silence.

I was about to respond when I saw something weird about ten feet away from the dance floor. I lost my focus on the dance and observed through the dimness. In the dark, I spotted a man pinning Baekhyun to the wall. They looked like they were making out, and at first I wondered who Baekhyun might be kissing, because I could only see his back. But when the other guy pulled away and I could see him smiling.

I gasped.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

Two stepbrothers . . . kissing.

Hoseok noticed where I was looking at and turned around.

"What?" Hoseok asked. "I can do better than Chanyeol, you know?"

I laughed. "Oh God, he's making out with his stepbrother, Hoseok!"

Hoseok chuckled. "They're mates."

"What?"

"Yeah, I think we spread the male mates plague, Jimin," Hoseok said. "It's been a while. Chanyeol found out Baekhyun moved out here, and he kept on asking me what to do."

"Well, does Baekhyun know?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure he does now," Hoseok replied. "Just keep it low for now, Jimin—you're not supposed to know."

I smiled and leaned forward to put my lips on my mate's. I inhaled his scent and refused to let him go, holding him tight, letting the music guide the movement of our bodies.

Maybe you and I aren't that different from each other—it doesn't matter if you're a mortal or an immortal, there's someone out there for you, roaming around the streets somewhere in this world, carrying the other half of your soul.

But let me tell you one thing: it's never going to be an easy ride, and that's the best thing about it.