Actions

Work Header

the moon keeps calling out to me, but i only ever hear your name

Summary:

jimin's always been headstrong, so when his father tells the town council he's to be married off to a werewolf for the good of the town, it's only his sense of duty that leads him to the jeon pack.

Notes:

DO NOT REPOST OR TRANSLATE

 

big thank you to bri, jess, and noor for all their support ♡♡♡

Work Text:

Jimin’s fingernails dig into the flesh of his palms, jaw clenching.

 

His father’s voice has a finality to it that he knows will be pointless to argue against. He certainly doesn’t agree with the decision, far from it, but for now he bites his tongue, unwilling to cause a scene in front of the council.

 

“I will take the proposal to them myself,” Sungho says, addressing the council, his back turned to Jimin. They don’t seem too pleased with the decision either, but no one protests, perhaps thankful it was not their children that were being led to the wolves.

 

Jimin can feel the anger simmer under his skin, the cruelty of his father’s decision hitting him in the pit of his stomach. He feels the tremble run through him as his father continues.

 

“We have lost four men in the last three months,” Sungho reminds, as if anyone could have forgotten. “The town cannot keep suffering such losses.”

 

“What do they stand to gain from this...” Youngsik pauses, gaze falling on Jimin, “arrangement?”

 

“In a time like this, you are better off with allies, not enemies,” Sungho replies easily, hands coming to rest behind his back. “They may be wolves, but we’ve hurt their numbers over the years, too.”

 

“Sungho is right,” Kyunghee adds, her voice gravelly with age, eyes barely opening. “It is to our benefit to have them as allies.”

 

“We have nothing to offer them,” another elder pipes in, and Jimin fights the urge to snap at him, to demand why none of them had protested earlier then.

 

“Human or wolf, no one wants to lose members of their community. They gain nothing attacking us, and we are not as helpless as you make us seem.” Sungho directs the last comment right to the elder, who has nothing to say in response.

 

Jimin grits his teeth.

 

“He is your only son, Sungho,” Miyeon says quietly, her eyes sympathetic as they fall on Jimin.

 

“And I will lose him to death, or worse, if things remain as they are,” Sungho asserts, turning so that he has Jimin in his peripherals. “Marriage is a blessing.”

 

The room falls silent.

 

And Jimin knows in that moment that his future has been sealed.

 

 

 

 

“You can run away!” Taehyung insists, his hands gripping Jimin’s arm, a helplessness to him that Jimin feels frothing inside himself, too. He wants to cry, but hasn’t given into it, refusing.

 

Of course, Jimin’s first thought had been to run away himself, but he wouldn’t make it two miles out of town before he’d be ripped apart by some creature lurking in the woods. It hardly mattered how sharp a shooter he was or how well he wielded his sword in the face of the horrors that lurked around every corner.

 

Jimin understood his father’s logic, but to offer his hand to werewolves ?

 

The betrayal feels akin to a knife in the back.

 

His mother hadn’t helped, her eyes rimmed red when Jimin had returned home after barging out of their town hall, seething with fury. He’d tired himself out by spending nearly two hours at the mill, helping the workers to haul wheat for grinding, before returning home. She’d offered him nothing, crying instead, and Jimin had sent his father one final glare before disappearing into his room.

 

Perhaps if he had been a witch, if he could conceal himself somehow, he’d be able to make it to a bigger city, but Jimin had never stepped foot outside his small town. He had too much loyalty to his people and despite the bile that rose to his throat at the thought of being married off to some mutt, his sense of duty didn’t allow him to turn his back on his town.

 

“So that I can die in the woods?” Jimin asks, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.

 

“He can’t just marry you off!” Taehyung exclaims, rising to his feet. Jimin’s never seen him so riled up. “You’re not cattle to be traded for security.”

 

“I doubt they will want this arrangement,” Jimin says, focusing back on fixing the hole he’s formed in a pair of his pants. He refuses to ask his mother, doesn’t want to deal with her useless crying.

 

His father had set off that morning with five other men, protection charms carved into their skin. There was always the possibility that he would simply not return. While the Jeon pack lived with some kind of order, there were plenty of werewolf packs that roamed and attacked with abandon. The rules of war meant little to them.

 

Although, encroaching on the Jeon pack’s territory wouldn’t be a very wise decision either.

 

“And if they say yes?” Taehyung asks, eyes wet with tears.

 

“Then I will deal with it,” Jimin answers, feeling bad when Taehyung’s face falls. He’s being cold but he’s upset and there is very little Taehyung’s anger will solve. “What could werewolves gain from a marriage to a human?”

 

“I’ve heard...of other human towns doing the same,” Taehyung says quietly, dropping back down onto Jimin’s bed. “Witches refuse to deal with werewolves, but their magic is helpful to them, too.”

 

Jimin hums in acknowledgement, swallowing around the lump in his throat. He doesn’t feel hopeful, knows already what will be expected of him if he goes through with this. Jimin has heard the same stories as Taehyung.

 

Jimin understands, of course, that their town’s well-being lies in an end to their ongoing feud over land with the Jeon pack. If they want to expand outward or cut down more of the woods to make room for farming, they need the Jeon pack’s cooperation. In all respects, Jimin understands his father’s logic. If they have an alliance with a wolf pack, they can deal with other packs, too.

 

Still.

 

Sungho hadn’t even told Jimin about his plan until he’d called for a council meeting and declared that he would be offering Jimin’s hand in marriage to the Jeon Alpha’s children.

 

He grits his teeth, nearly tossing aside his pants.

 

“We could ask Ga-in if there’s ― ”

 

“What can she do?” Jimin sighs, eyes squeezing shut. His anger was clouding his ability to think about this rationally. Maybe he could strike a deal with the Jeon pack? “What could we even offer her for her to help us?”

 

“So you’re just going to give up?” Taehyung asks, a little incredulous as his voice wobbles.

 

Jimin doesn’t answer.

 

 

 

 

Sungho returns eight days later with a smile and a sense of accomplishment that cannot be mistaken for anything but success.

 

Any shred of hope Jimin had turns to ashes, and he finally cries.

 

 

 

 

The horse ride to the Jeon pack’s grounds take three days and three nights.

 

In little more than two weeks, Jimin’s entire life has changed. Where he’d grown up thinking he would follow in his father’s footsteps and take a position on the town’s council, perhaps even become mayor, he now finds himself as having little more value than livestock.

 

If the stories were true, he’d be bound to some wolf for the rest of his life. Leaving them would kill them and likely Jimin, too.

 

His gut churns, queasy and upset, and Jimin finds the woods particularly oppressive this far from home. Everything is tangled together, the thick foliage difficult to navigate through. Werewolves had no purpose for roads and as Jimin and the company his father had gathered weave through the trees, it was clear they had no real path.

 

Ga-in had given the town a guiding stone years ago, long before Jimin had even been born. It glowed silver in the presence of werewolves, growing stronger and stronger as they got closer to the Jeon pack’s grounds.

 

Jimin spends the journey daydreaming of running away, but he’d never outrun a wolf and the Jeon pack would drag him back to their own grounds or worse, kill him on the spot. His escape would mean nothing to them and running through their territory would translate only to trespassing. For a fleeting moment, Jimin thinks maybe death wouldn’t be so bad.

 

But there’s a reason he’s here. Despite his anger, Jimin can’t turn a blind eye to his town’s suffering. If a union between his town and the Jeon pack can result in something positive, then isn’t it his duty to go through with this?

 

He wonders if he’ll ever be allowed to see anyone back home again, if they’ll turn him into one of them. Jimin shudders at the thought of becoming a werewolf, goosebumps raising along his skin. 

 

“It’s this way,” someone calls from the front of their party, everyone steering a little more toward the right as they follow the voice. Jimin can see the glow of a bonfire in the distance, smoke disappearing into the night sky, the moon hanging, almost full, in the inky blackness. In a few days, she’ll be at full, and Jimin imagines his mating will coincide with that.

 

Jimin’s steed whines as they near, an eerie calm beginning to surround them. The distinct feeling of being watched crawls up Jimin’s back, his hand reaching out to steady his horse as she grows skittish. 

 

“We thought perhaps you’d gotten lost.” 

 

The voice comes out of nowhere, cutting through the deafening quiet that had enveloped them. A man steps out of the shadows, seemingly from thin air, as the darkness of the woods disappears with the lighting of a lantern. He looks to be about Sungho’s age, hair greying near the roots. It’s long, tied back to keep out of his handsome face. Jimin swallows, taking in the square shape of his jaw, a ruggedness to him brought on by age.

 

Jimin’s horse neighs, rearing her forelegs up as she startles. His own heartbeat jumps, beating rapidly in the presence of the man. More faces have appeared behind him, all carefully neutral but their eyes are sharp, calculating. One wrong move could mean disaster.

 

Jimin’s father dismounts from his horse, a smile on his features as he walks toward the man who’d spoken. “The journey is longer when there are more of us, I’m afraid.”

 

“Sungho,” the man greets, a smile gracing his face as he extends his arms outward. Jimin watches as his father hugs him, dread coiling in the pit of his belly. Was the friendliness just for show? How could his father get along so well with the leader of an enemy they’d been fighting off for years?

 

“Alpha Jaehyuk,” Sungho smiles, stepping back. He seems at ease, which only spikes Jimin’s anxiety, his suspicion. Had they already come to a truce?

 

The questions race through Jimin’s mind as he keeps his expression as bland as possible. Jimin has no intention of insulting his future...family.

 

“Everyone is here?” Jaehyuk asks, turning toward the rest of them. His eyes meet Jimin’s, glowing red for a split second. Jimin’s eyes widen, startled, and Jaehyuk smiles, something calculated and careful. 

 

Perhaps he can sense Jimin’s hostility. After all, they were werewolves. Couldn’t they smell the fear on humans?

 

“Yes,” Sungho answers, gaze settling on Jimin as well. Jimin takes it as a cue to dismount, brushing his jacket down. A nervous hand cards his hair back, out of his face, as he pats his horse to settle her before walking toward Sungho and Jaehyuk. “There are twenty of us. I hope that is amenable? We didn’t want to put too great a strain on the pack in accommodating us.”

 

“Not at all!” Jaehyuk assures easily, his gaze never leaving Jimin as he approaches.

 

A shiver runs up Jimin’s spine, the realization that he is much smaller than Jaehyuk dawning on him as he closes the gap. On his horse, he hadn’t realised the size of the man, but he’s easily more than a head taller than Jimin. He even surpasses Jimin’s father but the difference is less apparent. Jimin has his mother’s shorter stature, not his father’s.

 

“Ah, our guest of honour,” Jaehyuk greets, the men behind him shifting to stare openly at Jimin now, too.

 

It’s a little too much, to be under such intense scrutiny. Jimin finds himself straining to his full height, chin jutting out, refusing to be cowed. 

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alpha Jeon,” Jimin states, voice cutting through the quiet of the woods. He might have to look up to meet Jaehyuk’s eyes, but he maintains eye contact, features purposefully impassive.

 

Jaehyuk laughs, a loud bellow of delight. His eyes crinkle up and Jimin nearly lets his surprise slip onto his face. His hands curl into fists at his sides, finding the display to be purposefully humiliating.

 

“Your father didn’t lie,” Jaehyuk grins, seemingly pleased. “He’ll fit right in, Sungho.”

 

With that, he turns toward Jimin’s father, and motions toward the pack settlement. 

 

Jimin’s left baffled, unsure what to make of Jaehyuk’s behaviour. He can only assume that he’s made a good impression on the man from the way his disposition has relaxed. 

 

Everyone else, humans and werewolves alike, follow after Jaehyuk and Sungho, the glow of the bonfire growing brighter and brighter. Jimin guides his horse by her reins, keeping close to her as he occasionally lets his eyes drift to the werewolves. Most of them are a lot older than Jimin. He wonders if the wolf he’s been promised to is among them.

 

As they enter the settlement, Jimin can see the massive bonfire built in the center, bodies surrounding it as they eat and dance. It isn’t that different from town, log houses and cabins scattered around the settlement in a bit of disarray. He can make out the blacksmith’s smithy, and what appears to be a baker’s hut. A slew of new questions buzz around in his head, but Jimin doesn’t get wrapped up in them. He’s sure in due time, he’ll figure out how things work in the pack.

 

If he’s honest, he’d half expected them to be living out of tents; the pack had long since set up permanent residence here, however, so why wouldn’t they build permanent homes, too.

 

“Namjoon, Jeongguk,” Jaehyuk calls, halting as he turns to the group of werewolves that had accompanied him to greet them. Two werewolves step forward, one slightly taller than the other. They’re both well built, sturdy and honed from years spent hunting. 

 

“Yes father?” the taller one asks, blond hair swept back. He looks softer than his counterpart, whose sleeveless tunic reveals thick, corded muscle.

 

“Take our guests to their lodgings,” Jaehyuk instructs, sparing his son a glance. Perhaps they were both the alpha’s children? The other wolf had said nothing so far, but Jimin can see the resemblance between them in their prominent noses and strong jaws. “And then bring them over to the feast.”

 

“Feast?” Sungho questions, a brow arched at Jaehyuk.

 

Jaehyuk grins, clapping Sungho’s back. “With such a momentous occasion before us, I thought a feast was appropriate. Unfortunately, my pack grew impatient and started without you. I hope you do not take offence.”

 

“None taken,” Sungho brushes off, allowing Jaehyuk to steer him toward the bonfire. “We’re honoured by your hospitality.” 

 

The rest of the werewolves follow after them while Jimin and his party turn toward Namjoon and Jeongguk. Jimin isn’t sure who is who, but he awaits their instructions, can sense the apprehension from his townfolk.

 

“It’s right this way,” the taller one says, voice gentle. Jimin finds it a little surprising but nods, following after him.

 

“Is there anywhere we can leave the horses?” Jimin asks, a little uneasy. He can’t say he feels entirely comfortable in the current environment. “I imagine you don’t have a stable.”

 

“Jeongguk has made a clearing for them. Your father had advised you’d be riding in on them,” the taller one ― Namjoon, Jimin concludes ― answers. Jimin nods, gaze flickering over to Jeongguk. He hasn’t said a word, dark eyes finding Jimin’s.

 

Something cold shudders through Jimin, his grip on his horse’s reins tightening. It feels like he can’t breathe, nearly stumbling over his own two feet. Jeongguk looks away first, unaffected, but the intensity of his gaze simmers in the pit of Jimin’s belly, terrifying.

 

They come to the clearing before Jimin realises, careful to avoid looking at either werewolf, and focusing instead on his surroundings. He feels unsettled, almost wishes he could just stay here and not go to this feast. As they all tie their horses to pegs hammered into the ground, Jimin wonders where they will be staying.

 

His father had advised them they didn’t need to bring their tents, that it would be disrespectful to the pack. Jimin wonders when his father had become so close to the pack, how long he had been trying to create this alliance. It makes him angry, a sizzling sort of ache sitting in his chest as he thinks of his own father trying to give him away to their enemy.

 

“Jeongguk,” Namjoon says, grabbing the quieter wolf’s attention. They whisper together and Jimin does his best to discreetly watch them. Jeongguk seems to listen obediently to Namjoon, respectful of whatever instruction he is being given.

 

Jimin smooths a hand over his horse’s mane, petting her as she remains standing, still skittish. He wishes he could calm her down, but Jimin doesn’t exactly feel any better.

 

“If everyone is ready, I will show you where you will be residing before taking you to the feast,” Namjoon says, voice loud as it rings over their party. The group of them glance around at each other, grabbing their packs from their horses as they head toward Namjoon.

 

Jimin finds himself at the back of the crowd, ready to follow after everyone when Jeongguk steps up to him, expression less severe. He looks almost polite.

 

“I’m to take you to see the Head Omega,” Jeongguk tells him. It doesn’t sound like Jimin has any say in the matter so he nods, a little stiff.

 

Namjoon’s taken everyone else in a different direction, closer to the feast but still near the outskirts of the pack’s little village.

 

Jeongguk, however, begins walking further into the pack’s grounds, Jimin keeping up with his long, purposeful strides. He’s broad shouldered, the sleeveless shirt he wears tucked into a pair of loose linen pants. Jimin can see the sharp cut of his shoulder blades through the shirt, his waist slim despite the thickness of his thighs. 

 

His hair’s longer than how any human would wear it, falling around his ears and framing his face. Still, it’s too short to tie up unlike Jaehyuk’s. Jimin can’t seem to get the intensity of his gaze out of his mind, his eyes otherwise soft and doe-like.

 

By all accounts he’s attractive, if quiet and a little broody. The more he thinks about it, however, the less he can see a resemblance between Jeongguk and Namjoon. Perhaps only Namjoon is Jaehyuk’s son, but Jeongguk bears a greater resemblance to Jaehyuk than Namjoon.

 

Jeongguk weaves him through the pack’s cabins, Jimin attempting his best to memorise his surroundings. He doesn’t feel like he can let his guard slip, a dull ache settling in his shoulders as they finally come to a stop in front of a rather large log cabin. An old lady stands in the front porch, her hair as white as snow, hands settled on top of her cane.

 

“You made it,” she smiles, nodding at Jeongguk, who gives her an even warmer smile in return as he heads up the few steps to the cabin. Jimin watches as he rests his forehead against the old lady’s, a strange show of affection. He’s never seen anything like it.

 

“Go enjoy the feast,” she says, patting Jeongguk’s cheek. As he turns back around, his expression turns impassive once more, and Jimin imagines he is just as wary of a human wandering around amongst his pack as Jimin is of the werewolf pack itself.

 

“Hoseok!” the old lady calls as Jeongguk sets off past Jimin. He smells like fire, smoke and ash.

 

Jimin doesn’t look after him, sucking in a deep breath before he takes a step up to the cabin.

 

“Come along child,” she smiles at him, kinder than anyone has been with Jimin since coming to the werewolf village.

 

Whoever she’d called has finally made it the front door, a shock of red hair greeting Jimin as Hoseok helps the old lady inside. Jimin follows after them, forces himself to not fist his hands together as his heart fills with trepidation.

 

The log cabin extends far back, two large fireplaces burning at opposite ends. There are fur pelts lying on top of several large beds with a large communal area in the middle of the cabin. Kids’ toys and books lie on the floor where a large fur rug sits.

 

Jeongguk had referred to the old lady as the Head Omega, whatever that is. Jimin has never heard of an omega before, knowing only of the pack alpha.

 

Hoseok has guided her to a rocking chair sat right by a fireplace, the logs crackling in the heart of the hearth. She is slow in her old age and Jimin wonders how old she truly is. Werewolves live much longer than humans. 

 

As she takes her seat, her chair creaking back, Hoseok goes to stand behind her, his gaze fixed on Jimin. Hoseok is young, looks like he could be Jimin’s age; his expression is carefully polite, the shape of his mouth reminding Jimin of a heart. He walks in a little closer, stopping at the edge of the fur pelt that’s been spread before the fireplace. It’s big enough for a few people to sleep on, looks soft to the touch.

 

Jimin is still wearing his boots.

 

“Sit, please,” she instructs motioning to the space in front of her. Jimin’s not sure he wants to but he is compelled to nonetheless. He slips his boots off first, leaving them to sit along the edge of the furs as he goes to sink down to his knees in front of the woman, legs tucked under him.

 

Hoseok remains standing until the old lady makes an annoyed sound, tugging on his arm. He moves to sit next to Jimin, careful to leave space between them.

 

“How was your journey?” she asks, assessing Jimin.

 

Jimin swallows, throat tight. “It was okay. Thank you for asking ma’am.”

 

She laughs, eyes disappearing as they crinkle up in her mirth. Jimin fights back his agitation, wondering why it was that everyone seemed to laugh in reaction to him.

 

“Oh my, please, call me Minsook. I have never been called ‘ma’am,’” she says, and despite Jimin’s annoyance, he finds that she is still kind. She doesn’t give off the dangerous edge he’d read from both Jaehyuk and Jeongguk. “You humans are a little strange.”

 

I could think the same of you , Jimin wants to say, but he remains quiet, careful. Perhaps it’s foolish for him to treat everyone like an enemy, but Jimin can’t afford to let his guard down. Who knows what will become of him once his father and the townsfolk leave him here.

 

“Your apprehension is not misplaced,” she adds quietly, leaning forward in her chair. Hoseok makes to move, rising in his seated position, but she waves him off. Instead, she extends a hand, carefully reaching out for Jimin’s cheek, and cradles it, her touch warm and then gone. His heartbeat soars, palms sweaty. “But you have little to fear in my presence. Rather, it is my heart that aches for you.”

 

Jimin’s brows furrow just the slightest but he keeps quiet, unsure how to respond.

 

“It is a difficult decision to leave everything you have ever known behind.”

 

“Thank you,” Jimin says, mouth dry. He can’t say he enjoys her pity.

 

“As Head Omega it is my duty to aid you in finding your place amongst us and to help you through the days to come. Hoseok,” she nods in his direction, “is my grandson. He will help you, too. Perhaps more than I. Until your mating occurs, you are to stay here, with us in the communal omega cabin.”

 

“What...what is an omega?” Jimin asks, his curiosity getting better than him.

 

Minsook smiles. “Hoseok will explain the pack’s dynamics to you, fret not. Go and enjoy the feast for now, meet everyone. You are our guest of honour, after all.”

 

Jimin nods, eyeing Hoseok as he stands. He touches foreheads with Minsook the same way Jeongguk had and extends a hand to Jimin to help him rise. To Jimin’s surprise, he takes it.

 

“I extend the Jeon pack’s warmest regards to you, Jimin,” Minsook says, looking up at him. “We are grateful to you.”

 

Jimin finds he can’t form any words, conflicted by his circumstances. He nods again, hand slipping out of Hoseok’s. Minsook doesn’t seem upset by his silence, offering him another smile before her gaze drifts to the fireplace.

 

“We better get going or there’s going to be nothing left to eat!” Hoseok says, nudging Jimin by the shoulder. The familiarity of the action throws Jimin off but he follows after Hoseok, who flashes Minsook a big grin from the door. “See you later grandma!”

 

“Take care of our guest,” Minsook replies, “and have fun.”

 

Jimin slips his boots back on and walks out of the cabin after Hoseok, allowing him to guide them to the bonfire.

 

 

 

 

The feast goes about as well as Jimin could have imagined. The humans sit mostly huddled together away from the werewolves, a few wolves braving human company out of curiosity. They ask numerous questions, animated and eager to acquire more knowledge.

 

Jimin himself sits next to Hoseok, a rather large tree stump serving as a sort of makeshift table for them. He keeps an eye on his father, seated next to Jaehyuk as they speak amicably while doing his best to keep up with Hoseok. He has an energy and friendliness that reminds Jimin of Taehyung, appetite disappearing as he sits with the knowledge that he will never see him again.

 

“Do humans not eat much?” Hoseok asks, looking down at Jimin’s hardly touched plate.

 

“I’m not very hungry,” Jimin mutters, finds it difficult to just make peace with his future. He’d come across werewolves before. Not from the Jeon pack, likely rogues as they’d been quite feral, violent and unpredictable as they’d attacked the town. Jimin had killed one, sword spearing the creature right through the head as it’d almost ripped his throat out. He still had scars along his torso from where it had managed to claw through his clothes and flesh.

 

These werewolves, they’re too human for Jimin’s liking. He can’t reconcile their hospitality with the monsters that had attacked their village and taken the lives of two of their villagers. One had been a child.

 

It makes him uncomfortable, uneasy.

 

He glances back to his father and finds him laughing, carefree. Jimin imagines he’s quite proud of himself, of the legacy he is about to set.

 

“You’re not happy about the mating are you?” Hoseok asks, chin perched on the palm of his hand, the same arm propped up on the tree stump.

 

Jimin’s silence is answer enough.

 

“Then why agree?”

 

Jimin glances up at Hoseok, lips pursing. “I don’t have to like it to agree.”

 

“Alpha Jaehyuk’s children weren’t too happy either,” Hoseok says, watching Jimin carefully. “The pack has lost wolves to humans, too.”

 

“There’s blood on both sides,” Jimin grits out, doing his best to keep his composure. Part of him wants to run back to his steed and just ride out. If he died, he died.

 

“Certainly,” Hoseok agrees, leaning in a little. “If you come into this union with an open-mind, you will withstand it a lot better. Although, I don’t think your anger is misplaced. Everyone wishes to mate or marry for love.”

 

Jimin had never thought about marriage, had no interest in one day having his own family. The world was too cruel a place to imagine bringing new life into it. And even if Jimin had entertained such a notion, he’d never been interested in women. The first time he’d sucked a cock, he’d been fifteen and in the back of the schoolhouse, two of the older boys taking turns on his mouth.

 

“I only want the safety of my townsfolk.” 

 

“That’s very noble of you,” Hoseok smiles, and Jimin wishes he could detect a hint of condescension but he doesn’t. Hoseok exudes the same warmth as his grandmother and Jimin can’t begrudge him that.

 

He hasn’t quite figured out why he had to meet Minsook but if she was Head Omega, her position in the pack must be of great importance. He stares at Jaehyuk, concluding that in the hierarchy she must still be less than pack alpha but important enough that he had to have her blessing, perhaps.

 

Jimin clears his throat, swallowing as he rubs his hands against the fabric of his riding pants. Now is as good a time as any to learn more. “The Alpha’s children, which one am I…”

 

The question trails, Jimin unsure if he really wanted to know. Still, it would be nice to put a face to his future mate.

 

“Well, Alpha Jaehyuk has three children of his own blood and flesh,” Hoseok starts, head craning over to a different corner of the bonfire, “and eight more he calls his own. A few of them are his sister’s and others are orphans.”

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

Jimin’s followed Hoseok’s line of vision, face flushing when he spots a few werewolves copulating right in the open, uncaring of who could see them. Jimin thinks he can see Jeongguk amongst them, his cock buried in the ass of the person he has in his lap as they bounce over it. Jeongguk’s gaze meets Jimin’s and his eyes widen, heat rising to his cheeks.

 

He’d heard that werewolves had no human tendencies of shame, but to see it with his own eyes is very jarring. Jimin looks away immediately, heart hammering in his chest, finds Hoseok’s brows furrowed as he looks at him.

 

“Your father did not tell you that any of the Alpha’s children can lay claim on you?”

 

“What?”

 

“The moon above, they’ve really told you nothing!” Hoseok scowls, shifting so that he’s seated closer to Jimin and not across from him. The sudden closeness nearly makes Jimin jump, images of what he’d just seen flashing before his eyes.

 

“The pack alpha, he has eleven children. Any of them can claim you in the run. Although, it likely will not be Namjoon or any of the omegas.” Hoseok says this all conspiratorially, pointing a little too obviously at a silver haired man sitting under a tree a little ways off. Namjoon is seated next to him along with three others.

 

“That’s Min Yoongi. Namjoon’s smitten with him. His wolf won’t recognize anyone else as his mate at this point, I don’t think, even if Yoongi is no omega.”

 

“What do you mean any of them can ‘claim’ me?” Jimin asks, a panicked edge creeping into his voice. All Jimin had to work with were the rumours he heard. Nothing he knew about werewolves was absolute besides his knowledge on how to kill one. “What’s a run?”

 

“Werewolves mate for life, which I’ll assume you were aware of,” Hoseok explains, and Jimin was aware of that little tidbit, “and the way we go about that is through the summer solstice run. Everyone who wants to be claimed agrees to go on the run and if someone in the pack is interested in you, they’ll participate in the run to make their claim. It’s tradition, mimics the nature of wolves going hunting but in this case the prey is their mate.”

 

Hoseok holds a hand out when Jimin opens his mouth to ask more questions, quietly assuring him that he would explain. “Every wolf has a status in the pack. Alpha, beta, or omega. Betas are the most like humans, but some can lean alpha or omega. Alphas tend to lead the pack, they hunt and protect the pack while omegas tend to be the ones who nurture it and tend to the inner workings.”

 

“Usually, alphas and omegas claim each other and betas claim other betas. You can have some crossover but it’s rare.”

 

“I still don’t…” Jimin starts, none of this making any sense. He doesn’t want to look away from Hoseok, lest he see anything else he’d rather not. “You’re an omega, right?”

 

“Yes,” Hoseok answers, smiling. “There’s more to it and I’ll explain it all. After all, you’re pack now.”

 

Jimin feels overwhelmed with new information, the food on his plate looking even more nauseating now. “Right, okay. And there’s no other way to do this? Beside a run?”

 

Hoseok shakes his head. “Werewolves mate when we’re in our wolf form. The bond won’t form unless we’re at our most primal. The run also ensures no one is claimed against their will, keeps an order to things.”

 

Jimin sucks in a breath, nodding. He’d heard about that but had hoped it was a rumour. Something passed along to instill fear in humans.

 

He feels a different kind of fear now.

 

“And Alpha Jaehyuk was the one who decided any of his children could,” Jimin swallows down his distaste, “claim me?”

 

“I think had Namjoon accepted you, he wouldn’t have left it so open.”

 

“But Namjoon is in love with Yoongi…” Jimin trails, piecing it together. “Is he the Alpha’s real son?”

 

“He’s Alpha Jaehyuk’s successor,” Hoseok says, drumming his fingers against the tree stump. “He treats all his children the same.”

 

“So he isn’t then,” Jimin concludes, which makes sense. It explains the lack of resemblance. “He is an alpha in love with an alpha.”

 

Hoseok seems surprised that Jimin’s put two and two together, both of them glancing in the direction of Namjoon and Yoongi. It’s just the two of them now, huddled together under the tree.

 

Jimin stands up, weary from the days spent travelling and anxious from what Hoseok has just revealed to him. He wants sleep, wants to forget about his future, and pretend that things were still the same as they had always been. 

 

“If you’ll excuse me,” Jimin says, looking down at Hoseok. “I’ll be heading back to the cabin. Thank you for your kindness.”

 

“I’ll take you,” Hoseok offers but Jimin shakes his head, giving him a small smile.

 

“I appreciate it but I’ll find my way. You’ve already spent your whole night with me.”

 

Hoseok seems surprised but nods, “Thank you, Jimin.”

 

If nothing else, Jimin can see a friend in Hoseok and he feels grateful for that. When he looks over to where his father had been sitting, he finds the bench empty. The crowd’s gotten smaller, the bonfire shrinking.

 

Jimin can hear some of the wolves fucking, refuses to look in their direction as he strides back to the cabin. Tomorrow would be a new day and he would swallow his bitterness and life would go on.

 

 

 

 

In the days to come, Jimin learns more.

 

He sleeps next to the fireplace on one of the fur pelts, Hoseok sleeping next to him. At first he’d been startled but Hoseok sticks to him like honey, showing Jimin around and side-eyeing anyone who appeared to give him any trouble.

 

Hoseok is alarmingly tactile but Jimin soon realises that all werewolves are. Touch comes to them as easily as words and Jimin often sees werewolves scenting each other, faces nuzzling into necks and chests. They seem to always cling to one another, brushing the hair out of each other’s faces and holding hands as they walk through the village. It’s an intimacy Jimin is wholly unfamiliar with.

 

Jimin also meets all of Alpha Jaehyuk’s children, confirming that Jeongguk is his son, albeit the youngest of the ones his mate, a beta woman, has borne. Of the eleven, three are omegas, another three betas, and the remaining five alphas. But Hoseok tells him that one of the betas and one of the alphas are both too young for a run so that rules them out.

 

All in all, Jimin is looking at six possible mates (five if he eliminates Namjoon), a mix of men and women, alphas and betas. Hoseok has also told him that unlike humans, male omegas could give birth and female alphas could not. It adds yet more complexity to Jimin’s predicament.

 

Wouldn’t whoever mated him want children? Jimin is not an omega and he is also not a woman.

 

He imagines the most obvious choice for his mate will be the one beta daughter, Joohyun. She is Alpha Jaehyuk’s eldest and carries herself like an alpha despite being even smaller than Jimin.

 

Despite his observations, Hoseok tells him it could still be anyone. The pack raised the children together and blood lines meant very little to them. It’s why Namjoon, despite being Jaehyuk’s nephew, is still favoured as his successor.

 

Jimin spends more time amongst the werewolves than his own townsfolk, feeling distant. The pack is his family now anyways, even if the circumstances aren’t by any means ideal. He finds that the werewolves are kind to him, accepting, and it forces him to let go of some of his own hostility. He goes with Hoseok when he has to fulfil his duties, be they helping with the pups at the nursery or to go foraging with the omegas and betas when Hoseok is instructed to do so by Minsook.

 

Jimin understands her role better, too. She seems to run the pack like Jimin’s mother did just their household. Everyone seemed to have a role, responsibilities to fulfill, although, Hoseok has pointed out that there are alphas who help with the cooking and cleaning, too, and omegas who go out to hunt. 

 

Jimin finds he enjoys the busyness of things, enjoys the treks out into the woods to forage and even the difficult work of skinning the prey that’s brought in every day by the hunters. He thinks he would enjoy going out for a hunt, too.

 

They’re trudging back to the village on one such excursion when a boar comes hurtling their way, clearly being chased as it squeals loudly. Jimin’s surprised that the alphas have allowed it so close given their aggressive nature.

 

He has the dagger he keeps strapped to his calf in his hand in seconds, attention caught between the animal barreling toward them and the omegas around them.

 

“Leave your baskets and climb!” Jimin shouts, pointing toward the trees. The omegas, terrified, obey at once, clamouring up the trunks of the trees around them as quickly as they can. They’re fairly adept at it, some of the fruit the pack gathered higher up in the branches of trees.

 

Jimin follows after Hoseok as he pulls himself up, dagger in his mouth as he climbs. He couldn’t let the boar get to the pack’s village, mind racing, but without his sword, he’s not quite sure he’ll be able to inflict much damage.

 

It’s with little thought to his own safety that Jimin jumps, timing it as soon as the boar nears them close enough. He barely manages to land on top of the animal despite it being larger than him, frantically trying to get a grip on its fur. The boar’s shrieks as Jimin digs his thighs around the animal, fighting the boar's attempts to throw him off as it thrashes wildly.

 

“Jimin!” Hoseok screams from somewhere above as Jimin struggles to keep himself on top of the beast, hands fisting into the boar's coarse fur. Behind him, he can hear howls, but Jimin has no time to wait. He sinks his dagger into the side of the boar’s head, yelping as it finally manages to toss him off.

 

Jimin flies through the air, tumbling into the ground with a loud ‘oof’ as the boar screams in agony. His back hits a tree’s trunk as he skids along the earth to a stop, the boar making to charge at him just as a massive black wolf attacks it.

 

In seconds, the boar’s screaming is cut off, blood splattering to the ground as its throat is ripped out by the wolf. Jimin scrambles up to his feet, wincing at the pain in his side as Hoseok yells out his name again, jumping from the tree. 

 

He’s next to Jimin in a flash, eyes wide with shock as he checks Jimin over. “Are you crazy!? That thing could have killed you!”

 

“I’m fine,” Jimin reassures, careful to keep the pain off his face. “Besides, if it had made it to the village, it could have hurt one of the kids.”

 

“Wha ― Jimin! The alphas were giving it chase, it would have been fine!” Hoseok says, still fussing over Jimin. He pats the dirt off of Jimin’s clothes, gasping when he notices that his pants have torn along the thigh.

 

“Boars are a lot faster than you think,” Jimin tells Hoseok mildly, scowling as he sees the tear himself. These were his favourite pair.

 

What is going on?”

 

It’s Alpha Jaehyuk, his voice booming over the scene before him. The omegas have come down from the trees, one of them still catching her breath from where she stands behind Jaehyuk. She must have gone to get him after Jimin pulled his little stunt. 

 

Four more werewolves have joined the first. Jimin watches, eyes wide in awe, as they shift. Bones crackle, claws retracting to hands, fur vanishing into smooth skin as animal turns to human. Jimin’s breath sits lodged in his throat as he takes in Jeongguk, blood from the boar dribbling from his mouth down his chest.

 

The other werewolves are younger than Jeongguk save one, who Jimin recognizes as Yoongi. He’s scowling at the younger wolves, who all appear to be no older than their fourteenth or fifteenth year.

 

Jimin steadfastly keeps his gaze from dropping lower than anyone’s chest, still not entirely comfortable with nudity the way werewolves seemed to be. He especially avoids looking at Jeongguk.

 

“A boar was charging in our direction, Alpha,” Hoseok says, standing between Jaehyuk and Jimin as if to protect him.

 

He stays quiet, Jaehyuk’s gaze falling to the boar. Jimin’s dagger is still sticking out of its head.

 

“And how,” Jaehyuk says, voice tight with fury as he turns to his son, “did the boar make it this close to the village?”

 

“It was our fault Alpha!” one of the other werewolves says, clearly the bravest of the three standing by Yoongi. “We...we thought we could take it down.”

 

Jaehyuk rubs a hand over his face, sighing, the anger he’s feeling ebbing off of him. “You three are aware that you’re not to make any kills on your own?”

 

“Yes Alpha,” they all chime together, sounding properly mollified. The one in the front, possibly the oldest among them even ducks his head. Jimin’s learned that to be a sign of submission.

 

“You’ve just lost your hunting privileges for the next two weeks,” Jaehyuk says, his composure entirely back. Jimin finds himself impressed. “Now get back to the pack!”

 

The wolves all nod meekly, heads bowed as they head in the direction of the village. Jaehyuk orders the omegas all lingering around to head back with him, but Hoseok stays rooted to the spot. Jaehyuk doesn’t seem to be upset by this, his attention already fixing on Yoongi and Jeongguk.

 

“Where were you while they were chasing down a damn boar on their own?” he snaps, his annoyance back in one fell swoop.

 

“We were giving chase to a herd of deer, Alpha,” Yoongi answers in Jeongguk’s stead. “It was my responsibility to look after the pups, I apologise.”

 

Jaehyuk doesn’t seem pleased with the apology at all. “And you?”

 

“Jeongguk was ― ” Yoongi starts but one look from Jaehyuk shuts him up.

 

“I was leading the hunt, Pa,” Jeongguk says, still covered in blood. Jimin finds he can’t look away. “I gave chase as soon as we realised what was happening.”

 

Jaehyuk’s jaw clenches as he nods. “Alright, that’s acceptable. Is everyone else still hunting?”

 

“Yes. Namjoon’s leading them,” Jeongguk explains, and Jimin has noticed that Jeongguk has a certain reverence for Namjoon. He wonders what that’s about.

 

“Jimin,” Jaehyuk says, his ire now fixed in his direction. 

 

“Yes Alpha,” Jimin replies, stepping out from behind Hoseok.

 

Jaehyuk sighs as he sees him, eyes closing before opening to regard him once more. Jimin notes the hint of red. “Your father certainly meant it when he said you were fearless.”

 

The compliment catches him off guard; Jimin had been expecting a lecture, and he finds he stumbles over his words. “No, he ― that is ― I was just thinking of the pack, Alpha.”

 

“He jumped out of the tree Alpha!” Hoseok blurts out, glancing over his shoulder at Jimin. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

 

“Thank you for your bravery,” Jaehyuk commends, smiling as walks toward the boar. “We’ll have to roast this boar in your honour since it’s your first kill.”

 

“Oh, no Alpha, you don’t ― I didn’t even kill it!” Jimin fumbles with the words, feels flustered as Jeongguk and Yoongi’s gazes fall on him.

 

Of everything Jimin has learned thus far, the most important thing is that Jaehyuk’s children are all wary of him, none of them quite wanting to be the sheep to the slaughter. It almost makes him feel better. Jeongguk has always been the worst, however, jaw clenching in Jimin’s presence, eyes narrowing. There’s a certain aura he has that leaves Jimin’s hackles raised.

 

But today, with a dead boar lying at his feet and his father praising Jimin, he regards Jimin quite differently. Jimin can’t put a name to the look in his eyes, heart hammering in his chest.

 

“First hit always means it’s your kill,” Jeongguk says, eyes holding Jimin firmly to the spot. His intensity is something Jimin feels unprepared for, tingles dancing up his spine and crackling at the base of his neck. He swallows, hands curling into fists.

 

Jeongguk looks away first, always seems to be the one capable of it, and kneels down next to the boar, reaching for the blade to yank it out.

 

“No!” Jimin yells, rushing forward. Pain shoots up his side, along his ribcage but Jimin ignores it, coming to a halt beside the boar. “It’s made of silver.”

 

Jeongguk’s surprised expression morphs into understanding and he draws his hand back. Jimin reaches for the dagger, pulling it out slowly. He grimaces as blood oozes out of the wound he’s left in the boar, dark fur made darker as blood soaks it.

 

“I’ll have father take this back,” Jimin says, surprising even himself. He’d brought the dagger on purpose, sure that he’d never be able to trust the werewolves. But he finds, now, that he can’t justify holding onto his prejudices for anger’s sake.

 

The full moon is in two days and Jimin’s life would change forever thereafter. He had no intention of moving forward with ill intentions.

 

“Will you two be able to carry the boar to the village?” Jaehyuk asks, the question directed at Yoongi. 

 

Perhaps with his father’s attention fixed elsewhere, Jeongguk feels braver or perhaps Jeongguk is always this bold ― Jimin suspects the latter ― but he reaches out, hand grazing over Jimin’s ribs. “Omega Minsook will have a salve for your bruise or you can go see the Healer.”

 

Jimin finds himself frozen in place, breath caught in his throat as he gives Jeongguk a jerky nod. He’s even more astounded when Jeongguk leans in and licks over Jimin’s cheek, Jimin’s grip on his dagger tightening impossibly as his heart comes to a halt.

 

Jeongguk’s touch is gone just as quick as he moves away, standing up. “Thank you for protecting the pack.”

 

Jimin doesn’t understand what’s just happened, startling as he feels a hand on his shoulder. It’s Hoseok, barely holding back a shit-eating grin as he gets Jimin to his feet.

 

“Come on!” Hoseok says, attempting to whisper but he’s far too excited and Jimin hardly understands what’s just happened.

 

His hand goes to his cheek dumbly, wincing when he feels the cut. He must have scraped the skin when he’d fallen. The realization doesn’t fall on him until Hoseok’s dragged him back to the village, practically buzzing as he grips Jimin tightly.

 

Jeongguk had licked his wounds, a sign of kinship among the werewolves.

 

It sinks down to his belly, heat flushing against his skin and Jimin finds himself incapable of determining if the feeling is welcome but Hoseok’s practically squealing, Jimin’s hand squeezed between his.

 

“I can’t believe he did that!” Hoseok exclaims, eyes alight. “Alpha Jaehyuk was right there! The moon above, that boy is either brave or brainless. I thought my heart was going to rip its way out of my chest, goodness!”

 

Jimin laughs, falling into Hoseok as he rambles, hand pressed against his chest. 

 

Hoseok had explained that Jeongguk’s dislike of humans came from the fact that Namjoon’s mother had been killed by them. Jimin had essentially ruled him out as having any interest in him, but now doubt fills him. Jeongguk’s forwardness leaves Jimin flustered at best and completely bowled over at worst.

 

It’s not until Jimin’s lying on the fur pelt that night, Hoseok curled up next to him that Jimin can put his finger on it, butterflies swarming around in his belly.

 

Jeongguk had looked at him with admiration.

 

 

 

 

If Jimin had thought the pack had been welcoming initially, he’d been mistaken. As news of his actions travels around in just a singular evening, Jimin is drawn into more hugs and is scented by more wolves than he can count. He is left flustered by each interaction but finds his chest bubbling with happiness.

 

It’s as if he has proven himself to them, the likely reluctant tolerance morphing into eager acceptance as they all thank him and congratulate him. Jimin can’t say he was ever given such warmth by even his own village.

 

The boar he’d killed is saved for the full moon, and Jimin watches it roast in the bonfire now, skin charing brown. His appetite has been gone since he’d woken up that morning, knowing what the night had coming for him. As he sits around the bonfire with the pack and his townsfolk, eyes fixed to the ground, Jimin can’t say he feels the same apprehension he’d felt before coming the pack. Instead, he’s only nervous and maybe even a little excited, and Jimin isn’t all too sure what to do with that either.

 

He squeezes Hoseok’s hand tighter, having latched onto his friend the second they’d left the omega cabin after they’d prepared Jimin. Hoseok allows Jimin the proximity, occasionally scenting him as if to calm an agitated pup. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work as well and Jimin remains glued to his side.

 

 He’s had everything explained to him now, the run all but upon them. Alpha Jaehyuk, his mate, and his children sit across from Jimin at the bonfire. Jimin’s own father is seated next to him, but Jimin finds little comfort in his presence.

 

There’s a certain buzz in the air, the pack restless and Jimin imagines it has something to do with the full moon as well. From what he’s gathered, full moons were usually spent going on pack runs together and then, as Hoseok had put it, fucking under the stars.

 

The thin linen nightgown he’s been given leaves him a little cold and he wonders how long he’ll be able to run in it once he has to leave the heat of the bonfire. He’s to be given a half hour head start, which is honestly laughable. Jimin couldn’t outrun a werewolf no matter what kind of head start he had.

 

“You sure you don’t want to eat anything?” Hoseok asks, fretting over him.

 

Jimin shakes his head, the mere thought of food made his stomach churn. “I’ll just throw it up.”

 

“Okay,” Hoseok says, wrapping his free hand around Jimin’s as well. “It’s going to be okay.”

 

“I know,” Jimin murmurs, and he finds that he believes it.

 

He had spent the afternoon preparing himself. Unlike male omegas, Jimin didn’t produce any natural slick and had thus spent some time loosening himself up. His ass is still wet from the oil he’d used to prepare himself; Hoseok had advised he’d have no time for anything once he was cornered and claimed.

 

Jimin had questioned what would happen if he was claimed by a beta female, not all that keen on the idea. Hoseok’s explanation had only increased Jimin’s trepidation. 

 

As he gnaws on his own bottom lip, Jimin finds himself jittering his leg up and down, wishing Alpha Jaehyuk would just announce the run already so he could get this over with. He has no intention of giving in easily, wants to make whoever claims him work for it. Jimin’s going to run as far as he can go, ensuring that he didn’t pass the river in the north as it marked a natural end to the Jeon territory.

 

Apparently, the pack had gone to the trouble to mark their territory boundaries visibly for him since he couldn’t rely on scent markers to ensure he didn’t end up in any contested territory. Jimin’s touched by their actions, of course, but he hardly thinks he’s going to make it that far.

 

A drum sounds and a hush falls on everyone, Jimin’s head whipping up to look at Alpha Jaehyuk. He’s standing now, ushering Sungho forward as the drum’s beating slowly ebbs away.

 

“Tonight marks a momentous occasion,” Jaehyuk says, voice booming over the crowd. Jimin swallows, finds his eyes drifting from the alpha to Jeongguk behind him. He’s staring right at Jimin.

 

“Our human friends have brought to us a chance to create a new bond, a chance for werewolves and humans to flourish together. I want to thank Sungho for his persistence and for Jimin’s bravery in taking this step forward,” Jaehyuk continues.

 

Jimin can’t tear his eyes away from Jeongguk. 

 

Sungho says something but he doesn’t hear it, tuning out the speeches and the fluff Jaehyuk and Sungho feel are necessary. The back of Jimin’s neck prickles in fear, burning hot as he attempts to keep breathing.

 

Maybe he’d underestimated just how nervous he felt.

 

Jeongguk’s expression is blank, but his eyes are as intense as ever, fixed on Jimin in such a way that he can’t seem to remember how his lungs work. Their paths hadn't crossed directly since the boar incident and yet Jimin had found himself thinking about Jeongguk incessantly. Earning Jeongguk’s trust had left Jimin feeling all too pleased with himself, shocked that he cared so much to be valued among the pack and especially by someone who’d kept him at arm’s length.

 

The drum sounds once more, snapping Jimin out of his thoughts, attention finally shifting back to Jaehyuk and his father. He feels the heat rise to his face, ashamed that he’d missed most of what they had to say.

 

Hoseok lets him go slowly, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as he urges Jimin up, smiling at him reassuringly. Jimin knows what the second drum means. The run has begun.

 

Jimin moves forward to Jaehyuk, feels naked in the nightgown. Minsook stands next to him now, a smile on her face that Jimin finds comfort in. His boots crunch against the earth, hands shaking as he reaches out for the cup of tea he’s meant to drink. Supposedly, it would help hide any remaining trace of his scent.

 

Part of his earlier preparation had been to apply an oil that would erase his scent, too. It would be too easy for the werewolves to find him otherwise.

 

Jimin brings the cup to his mouth, the tea lukewarm as it goes down, and hands it back to Minsook once he’s finished. It leaves an herbal taste in his mouth, which Jimin doesn’t find all that pleasing.

 

“You will have a full half hour to make it as far as you can as promised,” Jaehyuk says, guiding Jimin to the woods. Everyone seems to follow after them, a rather large sendoff as they wind through the village. Jimin glances at his father when they reach the edge of the woods.

 

The drumming has gotten louder.

 

“Good luck, Jimin,” Sungho says, smiling and Jimin only nods, curt. He looks toward the woods, finds a yawning blackness looking back at him.

 

The final strike of the drum hits Jimin’s ears before the werewolves all howl, frenzy building as Jimin sucks in one big breath. And then he runs.

 

He doesn’t look back.

 

 

 

 

Jimin doesn’t know how far he’s gone but he hears the howls behind him, indicating to him that Jaehyuk’s children had been released to go after him. His stamina isn’t so bad that he’s run out of breath, Jimin continuing on a steady jog, but he knows he’ll be easy to find.

 

He hadn’t exactly tried to hide his tracks as he’d sprinted through the woods, heart hammering in his chest.

 

As he trudges on, he remembers what Hoseok had told him. The claiming could only occur if the werewolf was in wolf form, and to ensure that the bond would form, the werewolves giving chase after him had all drunk some concoction, too. Hoseok had said something about how it was vital that they were at their most primal, since wolf to human bonds tended to be much more fragile.

 

The ground under him is beginning to incline, and Jimin finds himself tiring, steps slowing down. Goosebumps raise against his skin as thoughts of what awaited him thunder in his mind, unrelenting.

 

He wishes he’d been allowed to bring some water, mouth dry.

 

Jimin wonders if he could maybe hide, beginning to feel a stitch in his side, but the thought is tossed right out of his head when he hears the howl. It’s far too close to give Jimin any chance of successfully hiding. And he’s not sure if climbing a tree would do him any good besides riling up whoever’s managed to find him.

 

The incline he’s on tires him out much faster, trees beginning to grow sparser.

 

Another howl booms through the quiet of the woods and Jimin’s skin prickles, this one even closer. Jimin thinks he can hear whoever’s caught up with him, but he’s panting, the hill he’s climbing becoming sharper.

 

As he stumbles through a bush, Jimin finds himself staring at a steep drop from the hill he’s climbed, heart thudding in his chest. It feels silly to run when he knows he’s meant to be caught but his mind keeps telling him to go, to run until he can’t anymore.

 

The moon illuminates the night sky and Jimin has never thought it so beautiful as he does now, turning slowly, and seeing the piercing bright red eyes of his captor in the dark. The shadows of the woods hide the wolf, but Jimin watches its eyes move through the dark as it prowls. His chest heaves, burning from the exertion but he really has nowhere to go.

 

Tumbling down the hill didn’t sound very appealing.

 

Hoseok had said he had to show whoever found him submission, had to accept that they’d caught him unless he did want his throat ripped out.

 

Submission like this isn’t something Jimin is familiar with but he drops to his knees, swallowing. Hoseok had told him how he needed to pose himself and now, as Jimin hitches the nightgown up, his bare legs meeting the cold ground, heat sears into his skin from the humiliation of it. He allows himself to indulge in the one hope he has.

 

He wills the wolf to come forward, to reveal itself.

 

Jimin tears the night gown right down the middle, flimsy cloth giving way far too easily. When his neck and chest are bare, Jimin tilts his head just slightly to the right, baring his neck.

 

He is rewarded with a growl and Jimin closes his eyes, breathing through his nose. There is only one person he hopes the wolf is but when he hears another howl, his eyes snap open.

 

Someone else is there, a second wolf, and Jimin finds he can’t breathe. He watches in frozen terror, waiting to see who would come forward, but nothing seems to happen. There’s a ferocious growl rumbling through the first wolf ― at least Jimin thinks it’s the first one ― that is met with a matching growl.

 

Jimin’s heart feels like it’s going to burst out of his chest, unsure of what exactly was happening.

 

The second wolf seems to step forward, fur an ashy grey and Jimin watches as he nears the first wolf, red eyes flashing. It disappears again, the darkness of the woods swallowing it and Jimin can hear the two wolves growling at one another. A loud snarl is met with a loud smacking sound, and Jimin thinks maybe they’re fighting, eyes widening.

 

He can’t move, heart hammering in his chest as the sound of the wolves tussling travels to him, two shadows moving against each other emerging in the otherwise still darkness. Jimin’s breath quivers, an angry, booming growl echoing through the night as Jimin watches the second wolf tossed aside, hitting a tree.

 

A cowed sound, something akin to defeat leaves it and the first wolf howls, a sound so dark it rips through the silence of the night and leaves Jimin stunned. The ashy grey wolf whines, picking itself up only to turn tail and run, the sound of its feet hitting the ground travelling back to Jimin.

 

He looks over to where he thinks the first wolf is and feels his heart stop in his chest.

 

The wolf is massive, black fur shining under the moonlight as he steps forward. And there is no mistaking who it is, piercing eyes holding Jimin to the spot as if lulled into a trance.

 

Jimin can’t look away, swallowing down a wave of emotions. His hands tremble where he holds his nightgown open and the wolf steps forward.

 

Jeongguk steps forward.

 

He takes slow, deliberate steps, circling around Jimin until he’s close enough that Jimin could reach out and touch him. His stomach churns, chest compressed as if a weight had settled on it, Jimin unable to suck a breath in.

 

Hoseok had told him the second pose, too. The first showed his submission to the wolf and the second his acceptance of their claim, a willingness to be taken, but it burns through Jimin all the same as he moves, ever so slowly. Jimin tears through the rest of the nightgown, hyper aware of the rumbling growl coming from somewhere deep inside of Jeongguk.

 

He finds himself quivering bodily, nightgown falling to the ground as Jimin turns so that he’s on his hands and knees, legs spreading open. When he bows down, head meeting the dirt and his ass still pointedly in the air, Jeongguk lets out a roar of appreciation. Jimin’s heart drums against his chest, breath lodged in his throat.

 

Embarrassment floods through him like a white, hot heat and Jimin’s skin feels too tight as he squeezes his eyes shut. He lets his weight rest against his forehead, hands reaching back to spread his cheeks apart. The cool air of the night does nothing to quell the soaring heat that swarms through him.

 

You have to show that you’re ready for them to mount you, Hoseok had said of the final pose.

 

Jimin does his best to hold himself still, face down and ass up as he spreads himself open in invitation. His cock dangles between his legs, adrenaline rushing through him so fast that he’s already half-hard. He’s taken cock before but what on earth could ever have prepared him for this?

 

Jeongguk approaches him, a pleased sort of growl rippling from him as his wet snout finally meets Jimin’s skin, trailing up the inside of his thigh. He yelps when a hot tongue licks him, nearly losing his balance.

 

As Jeongguk’s touch becomes more insistent, Jimin has to brace himself with an arm and lets go of one of his cheeks. He rests his head against his arm, easing some of the strain, as Jeongguk seems to inspect him, sniffing and licking along Jimin’s thighs. He’s easily twice Jimin’s size, clawed paws settled next to Jimin’s spread legs as his hot breath fans over Jimin’s exposed hole.

 

He shivers, lip caught between his teeth as Jeongguk licks against his hole, wet and slobbery. Spit trickles down his legs and Jimin feels mortified at the way his belly clenches, something hot bubbling under his skin.

 

The oil he’d used to prepare himself is still wet against his cheeks and Jimin is more grateful than ever that he’d prepared himself. He doesn’t think he could have taken Jeongguk’s wolf cock dry.

 

Jeongguk seems to be happy, rumbling from deep in his throat as he inches in closer, his fur soft where it rubs against Jimin’s naked skin. Jimin finds himself staring between his own legs at Jeongguk’s form, sees the expanse of his underbelly as he moves up Jimin’s back, sniffing and rubbing his face into Jimin’s skin along the way.

 

He’s scenting me, Jimin thinks, shivering when Jeongguk’s snout reaches the back of his neck. It’s wet and hot, almost uncomfortable. Jeongguk’s breath falls against his neck, Jimin’s skin prickling at the sensation and then a tongue is licking along the curve of his shoulder and up his neck, teeth nipping at him.

 

Jimin squeezes his eyes shut, does his best to keep his neck bare unless he upsets Jeongguk who lets out a huff, shifting. The sound of his paws against the earth fills Jimin’s ears, Jeongguk’s body all but engulfing Jimin’s.

 

And then he feels it, body stiffening.

 

Jeongguk’s cock prods at his hole, rubbing against it insistently as the werewolf growls. Jimin forces himself to relax, his shoulders having hunched up. He breathes through his mouth, thinks he can taste the dirt under him.

 

It pushes in, a whimper escaping Jimin despite his effort to stay quiet. The cockhead is so wide, it feels like he’s being impaled, and Jimin’s not sure how he’s meant to take the rest of it. His cock spears him open, inch by inch, and Jimin finds himself breathless, panting. Jeongguk’s cock is so big it feels like he’s been split open, body forced to make room for him.

 

He groans, the hand he still has holding one of his cheeks open slipping. Jimin steadies himself on both his arms, humiliation burning through him like hot coal at the way he’s been forced down onto all fours.

 

Jeongguk mounts him slowly, perhaps aware that Jimin can’t take his impossible girth all at once. His hands clench into fists as he’s impaled onto Jeongguk’s cock, going deeper than any cock Jimin has ever taken before. Tears cling to his lashes as a jolt of pain runs up his spine, the oil easing Jeongguk’s way in.

 

His chest heaves, no amount of air feeling like enough as Jeongguk’s cock all but punches everything out of him. Jimin’s gritting his teeth by the time the last of it pushes into him, a haze surrounding his mind.

 

Jeongguk’s steady growl transforms into a howl once he’s buried all the way into Jimin, spreading him open so wide and so deep, Jimin thinks he might break. He gasps, back arching downward as he attempts to adjust to the large intrusion.

 

It’s too much.

 

And still, Jimin takes it.

 

Jeongguk doesn’t move for a while, hot breath falling against Jimin’s neck as he stands above him, his fur so thick, Jimin can barely feel the cool touch of the evening anymore. He feels surrounded, his submission for Jeongguk’s eyes only. 

 

A lick at his neck is all the warning Jimin gets before Jeongguk pulls out, cock dragging against Jimin’s walls and rim. It feels like forever, Jimin whining at the sensation, and then he’s being slammed back into. 

 

“Fuck!” he gasps, eyes blurry as he struggles for air. To his horror, he finds he can see the outline of Jeongguk’s heavy cock against his belly, jutting out. He watches as Jeongguk drags himself back out again, and thrusts right back in and groans, unable to look away.

 

Jimin’s not sure how long Jeongguk goes like this, pulling out slowly only to fuck back into him sharply, snuffling and rumbling above him as he fucks him.

 

Eventually, Jeongguk doesn’t seem to be able to go slow anymore, thrusts turning sharper and harder, his pace unrelenting. Jimin finds himself crying through it, so overwhelmed by the size of him, but the way he feels so full leaves Jimin numb to any other thought.

 

Jeongguk, Jeongguk, Jeongguk, his mind seems to chant, fucked open mercilessly by his future mate. 

 

His own cock drips between his legs as it flops back and forth with each thrust, sometimes slapping into Jimin’s belly uselessly. He’s not sure what compels him but he reaches down, hand smoothing down his abdomen until he can feel Jeongguk’s cock pounding into him through his belly, the shape of his cock pushing into Jimin’s hand. Jimin whines at the sensation, feels his thighs shake from the strain of holding himself up as he’s fucked into.

 

Jeongguk is every bit the animal Hoseok had said he would be, fucking Jimin so fast he’s tugged back and forth on the ground, little rocks and pebbles digging into Jimin’s skin.

 

“Jeon ― Jeongguk!” Jimin cries on a particularly hard thrust, his cock dribbling precum as Jeongguk’s cock drags against his sweet spot incessantly. He feels like a rag doll, or worse, someone’s cum rag as Jeongguk fucks him mindlessly, hips snapping at an inhuman pace. Jimin can hardly bear it, eyes nearly rolling into the back of his head as he’s fucked into oblivion.

 

Jeongguk’s begun growling, the rumbling growing louder and louder as it vibrates through Jimin. He’s all but pinned Jimin down, pressing against him bodily. His underbelly is even softer than the rest of him, and heat sinks into Jimin until he feels like he’s been lit from within.

 

He’s burning, hands scrambling for purchase in the dirt but there’s nothing to dig into, Jimin’s voice coming out in pathetic little whines, “Ah ― ah ― ah!”

 

His knees hurt, the sinking realization that it feels good to be fucked like this tearing through all other thoughts and Jimin’s so far gone he doesn’t have the capacity to be ashamed. He moans, drool dripping from his mouth and running halfway down his chin before it drops to the ground. Jeongguk’s hind legs slap against his ass, cock spearing him open, loose and sloppy.

 

“Please,” Jimin hears himself say, unsure what he’s even begging for but he repeats himself, “p-please, Alpha. Wanna ― ”

 

Jimin’s begging is interrupted by a snarl, the base of Jeongguk’s cock inflating as it pushes past Jimin’s rim. He cries out, mind going blank as the bulge forming inside of him grows larger, pressing right against his sweet spot. Jeongguk’s thrusts don’t stop, and instead the knot only rubs against his walls, pleasure coursing through Jimin so sharply he can’t

 

He comes untouched, orgasm ripping through him as he tightens around Jeongguk, sobbing as his climax crashes into him. For a split second, everything goes white, and Jimin’s gasping as he tries to breathe in, the knot growing so impossibly big, Jimin thinks he might just break.

 

The pleasure is so impossibly loud, leaves Jimin senseless as his little cock spurts out cum, Jeongguk still pounding into him from behind.

 

“Jeongguk,” he croaks out, wincing when Jeongguk just continues to fuck into him, spit dribbling from his mouth and landing wetly on the back of Jimin’s neck. It happens just as quickly, teeth sinking into the curve between his neck and shoulder.

 

Jimin screams, pain lasting all but a millisecond before he’s overcome with a feeling so powerful, it blindsides him. It feels like he’s pulsing through a second orgasm, something even stronger than the first as his mind floats off into nothingness. Pleasure seems to ring through him, so numbingly good that Jimin can’t think. His body gives out under him, kept up only by the thick cock buried in his ass, Jeongguk’s hips grinding into him.

 

The first wave of cum sloshes into him, Jimin groaning as Jeongguk’s teeth pull away, licking at the mark he’s just left behind. He keeps licking, nuzzling into Jimin’s neck as he continues to come, Jimin’s belly beginning to distend as wave after wave of cum is fucked into him.

 

If Jimin weren’t so far gone, it’d scare him but he’s taken everything Jeongguk’s given him so far, he can take this, too. The outline of Jeongguk’s cock disappears as his belly swells with cum, filled to the brim, and Jimin likens it to that of a pregnant belly, protruding outwards.

 

His neck pulses, a pool of his own cum right under him as Jeongguk’s cum begins oozing out of his ass, too much to all stay inside of him. Jimin thinks he can feel it trailing down his thighs, consciousness beginning to waver.

 

Above him, Jeongguk continues to lick at his mark, the pain receding as Jimin’s vision blackens. 

 

There is a warmth, something that feels almost tangible forming inside of him. Jimin wants to reach out and touch it, whining out Jeongguk’s name, a desperate plea for something.

 

He groans, feels so full it’s unnatural, and just as he thinks the night has taken him, Jeongguk begins shifting. Fur disappears, the paws by Jimin’s head turning into hands, bone cracking and shifting all around him until Jimin only feels hot skin against him, sweaty and sticky.

 

To his immense relief, Jeongguk’s cock also changes, shrinking in size but he isn’t able to enjoy it for long, vision blacking out.

 

All he remembers of those last few seconds is a hoarse whisper.

 

Mine.

 

 

 

 

Jimin wakes up groggily, feels something hot and wet and supple at his ass, cheeks spread apart as the source attempts to bury in deeper.

 

His cock is hard between his legs, and Jimin finds himself whining, pushing back into the heat. That seems to rile up the source, a nose digging in between his cheeks as a tongue pushes further into him.

 

His eyes snap open as he starts making sense of the sensations, body burning hotly as he realises Jeongguk’s eating his own cum out of Jimin’s ass. Heat prickles against his skin, embarrassment washing over him just as quickly, mouth dry. It feels good, a stuttering moan escaping him as Jeongguk seems to suck against his rim.

 

The pleasure is different than what he’d felt earlier, not as overwhelming, and Jimin allows himself to rock back against Jeongguk’s mouth, his tongue fucking into Jimin. He feels sticky all over, but especially between his thighs and along his cock. His belly is stretched, the skin pulled taut over the bulge that still sits there. Jimin doesn’t know how much cum is inside of him.

 

His boots also appear to have been taken off, left barefoot, and the nightgown he’d torn off of himself lies under him.

 

That warm feeling at the back of his mind seems to grow larger, tethering him to something, and Jimin wants to sink into it and disappear forever. He feels strangely safe, a sense of calm ebbing through him.

 

Jeongguk draws back, kissing the skin around Jimin’s hole and then his ass, biting into the flesh hard enough to mark. Jimin jerks at every bite, pathetic little cries leaving him as Jeongguk’s mouth trails to his thighs, sucking against his tender skin. Tears cling to his lashes again, his body still sensitive after being fucked out, but Jeongguk seems to only be taking a break for himself, diving back in. He slurps and kisses at Jimin’s hole again, nose rubbing against Jimin’s rim when he kisses lower. For a while, he just lets Jimin roll his hips in little circles against his nose, before he takes back control, his tongue pushing back into Jimin.

 

Big hands dig into the meat of his ass, holding him still, and Jimin can’t help but want the touch to bruise him, a strange obsession with wanting to belong overcoming him. As Jeongguk works him open, growling against Jimin’s hole when he lets out a loud whine, Jimin’s mind fills with a desire to be wholly consumed. He already feels like Jeongguk’s branded him from the inside out, the phantom feel of his cock ramming into him embedded in Jimin’s very being.

 

But this is different, feels almost frantic as Jeongguk’s mouth licks and sucks and kisses at his hole, tongue digging in as far as it’ll go to make Jimin feel good.

 

“Alpha,” Jimin hears himself say, breathless. If he were lucid he’d be ashamed of how desperate he sounds. “P-please.”

 

The feeling, a possessiveness that wants Jeongguk as much as Jimin can feel Jeongguk wants him, swarms into him and Jimin’s left crying, attempting to twist around to see Jeongguk. But he won’t let him, has Jimin pinned to the spot by the grip he has on Jimin’s hips, Jimin’s cock aching to be touched.

 

“Please please please,” Jimin begs, the warmth inside of him twisting, anguished. “Jeongguk, want ― want ― ”

 

Jimin manages to push himself up on trembling arms, neck craning to look back.

 

“Ssh,” Jeongguk hums against him, kissing Jimin’s ass again, mouth travelling higher as he leaves kisses against his back. “Your Alpha’s got you, love.”

 

It’s not enough but Jeongguk seems determined to make him come, plunging back into him. His hand rubs up and down Jimin’s side, the other spreading Jimin open as his mouth works over his hole, licking at his rim and leaving open-mouthed kisses against it. Jimin can feel the familiar heat building, a shaking hand finding the one Jeongguk’s gripping him with.

 

Jeongguk lets him lace their fingers together, Jimin crying out when Jeongguk’s tongue begins to rub tirelessly against that spot inside of him again. He thinks he’s gone mindless, drool dripping from his open mouth, eyelids fluttering as Jeongguk’s steady rhythm carries him right over the edge, the pleasure building and building until it slams into him all at once.

 

Alpha!” Jimin exclaims, body spasming as he comes again, the intensity of it surprising Jimin entirely. “O-oh.”

 

He collapses down, crying out as his cock twitches, cum spluttering out pitifully, belly pushing against the ground. Cum gushes out of him, Jimin’s body feeling like it doesn’t even belong to him.

 

Jeongguk doesn’t let him stay on his belly though, flipping him onto his back in the blink of an eye. Jimin finds himself crying, exhausted, his orgasm still thrumming through his body. He’s so strung out, pushed to his limit and he just wants to sleep but seeing Jeongguk now, Jimin’s heart twists in his chest.

 

The moon shines down on him, his eyes glowing a bright red, hair framing his handsome face in little waves, damp from sweat. Jimin’s breath hitches in his chest, taking in his broad shoulders and sturdy chest, and the desperation inside of him snaps.

 

He finds himself reaching out, aching to touch, and Jeongguk comes so readily, already slotted between Jimin’s legs. His mouth is covered in spit and cum but Jimin doesn’t care, arms wrapping around his neck as he pulls him down, distraught and almost panicked.

 

Their mouths meet, Jeongguk pinning him down and kissing with the same ferocity he’d fucked him with. Jimin whimpers, Jeongguk’s tongue pushing in and he can taste the cum, thinks he should be repulsed but he only clutches at Jeongguk tighter, desperate to be flush against him.

 

The kiss is sloppy, open-mouthed and wet, Jeongguk licking into Jimin’s mouth, still hungry. Jimin feels the ache building up inside of him settle a little, finds himself sighing, trying his best to keep up with the way Jeongguk moves against him.

 

It’s Jeongguk who groans into his mouth, Jeongguk who pulls away first, leaving a trail of kisses along Jimin’s jaw as they catch their breaths before he’s back, biting down on Jimin’s plush lower lip. He sucks it between his teeth, tugging it as he lets go, the kiss filthy as he lets his tongue lick against the roof of Jimin’s mouth.

 

Jimin’s mind goes hazy again, content to be showered with attention, to have Jeongguk so close. His nails rake over Jeongguk’s shoulders, muscle solid and firm under his touch. The frenzy of it, Jeongguk’s intensity, leaves Jimin breathless and gasping.

 

“Alpha,” he whines, surprised when Jeongguk moans, biting at Jimin’s jaw as he noses along his neck, mouth latching onto the mark he’s left on Jimin permanently. It sends a thrill of pleasure shooting through him, Jimin arching into Jeongguk bodily as he sucks against the mark.

 

“Alpha!” he repeats, tugging Jeongguk’s head back up, their mouths crashing together. Jeongguk kisses him again and again, sucking Jimin’s tongue into his mouth, tracing the shape of Jimin’s cupid’s bow with his tongue.

 

Jimin’s never been so thoroughly kissed before, having only exchanged short, messy kisses when he’d rolled around in bed with boys and then men in his town.

 

“Jimin,” Jeongguk says, “pretty little darling.”

 

Jimin’s cheeks burn at the endearment, lashes fluttering shut. He can’t describe how good it feels to hear Jeongguk say his name.

 

“Gonna take such good care of you,” Jeongguk tells him, kissing down his neck again. He leaves new marks, sucks against Jimin’s soft skin until he’s sure that there isn’t an inch of his neck left unmarked.

 

He’d always heard werewolves were possessive.

 

“All mine, aren’t you sweetheart?” Jeongguk murmurs into his skin and Jimin finds himself nodding dumbly, eager to please. “So well behaved, so perfect. Pretty little thing.”

 

Jimin can feel the tears slipping down his face as he lets out a wet sob, overwhelmed as he is. His chest feels like it’s caving in, every breath a chore as he greedily accepts every compliment Jeongguk gives him.

 

He’s always craved praise, but this feels different, a longing so intense filling him. He feels empty all of a sudden, his ass clenching around nothing as Jeongguk looks down on him, eyes ravenous.

 

“Jeongguk, Jeongguk,” Jimin pants, nails digging into his shoulders. “Please, need you.”

 

“Ssh,” Jeongguk hushes, leaning back down, kissing Jimin sweetly. “I’m here, love. You’re okay. You took me so well, did so good. So good for your Alpha.”

 

And it only makes Jimin cry more, face burying into Jeongguk’s neck as he tries to calm down. “’m good?”

 

“The best,” Jeongguk affirms, cupping Jimin’s cheek in a hand. “Such a good little boy, letting your Alpha fuck you, take you.”

 

“Wanna be good,” Jimin insists, words slurring together. Jeongugk brushes the tears away from his face and kisses him, his hard cock pressing against Jimin’s belly.

 

“Gonna let me fuck you again, aren’t you love?” Jeongguk asks, drawing back and lining himself up with Jimin’s hole. “Gonna be a good boy for me?”

 

Jimin finds himself agreeing without thought, nodding quickly. “Yes, Alpha. Want it, w-wanna feel you.”

 

Jeongguk lets out a growl, slamming into Jimin all in one go and it knocks the breath right out of him. He’s too sensitive, cum pushed out of his hole to make room for Jeongguk’s cock, still bigger than any human cock Jimin’s ever taken.

 

He pants, eyes squeezing shut as Jeongguk’s girth stretches him out once more.

 

“You want my cock, huh, pretty darling?” Jeongguk asks, his pelvis flush with Jimin’s ass. Jimin’s eyes slip open, a garbled sort of sound making its way out as he agrees, panting. He’s never felt so pliant before, so eager to be used and to please. “It’s all for you, for your greedy little hole.”

 

Jimin doesn’t even understand what’s happening to him, how he’s still conscious, how he’s taking Jeongguk again. But Jeongguk seems to need it, and maybe it has something to do with the bond, or the claiming, Jimin doesn’t know.

 

He just knows that he feels hot all over, skin too tight, and he wants Jeongguk to move. So he rolls his hips down, moaning as Jeongguk’s cock rubs against his walls. “F-feels good, Jeongguk.”

 

“Fuck,” Jeongguk hisses, whatever patience he’d had slipping away entirely as he bends Jimin right in half, his legs pushed right up against his head. Both his wrists are pinned above his head as Jeongguk all but snarls, driving into Jimin deeper. “Are you that fucking eager, love? Do you love my cock that much?”

 

“Only, only yours,” Jimin breathes out, squirming and overheated as the humiliation of his own eagerness catches up to him. He thinks he’d let Jeongguk fuck him anywhere, memories of his first night at the pack's village flashing before his eyes. Jeongguk had fucked someone right in front of him, and Jimin whines, feels pitiful as he sobs with desperation. “P-please, Alpha.”

 

“Such a good little slut,” Jeongguk coos, snapping his hips into Jimin. “So pretty.”

 

It pulls a throaty gasp of surprise out of him, something curling hotly in his belly as Jeongguk’s hips piston into him in what feels like a trance. It’s so fast and brutal, Jimin hardly has a chance to breathe, fresh tears spilling from his eyes. He’s never been fucked so good.

 

Every inch of his body thrums in pleasure, and he doesn’t even know how his cock is hard again, but it is, caught between their bodies. He has to fight for every breath, struggling against Jeongguk’s hold on him but the werewolf doesn’t budge, sweat dripping from his brow and landing against Jimin’s skin.

 

He sobs through it, forced to take it the way Jeongguk wants him to, and Jimin, for the life of him, enjoys it.

 

The sound of skin slapping against skin mixes with the squelch of Jeongguk’s cum on every thrust in, the obscene noise ringing through the night, falling back against Jimin’s ears like an echo. He can’t escape a single sensation, taken mind, body, and soul.

 

“Such a good boy, taking me so well,” Jeongguk grunts, leveraging himself higher, his cock angled in such a way that Jimin can’t escape the way it thrusts against his sweet spot. “So fucking tight, sucking me right in, aren’t you, pretty darling?”

 

Jimin’s mind spins, the way Jeongguk fucks him leaving him stupid.

 

He can feel the way his balls are beginning to tighten, heat curling in his abdomen, like everything in him wants to escape him.

 

He clenches around Jeongguk’s cock, greedy for Jeongguk’s cum and it has Jeongguk hissing, teeth sink right back into his mark. Jimin cries out, back arching off the ground as Jeongguk’s knot begins to form anew, Jimin’s hands fisting as the exhaustion renders him useless. “’S too much,” he slurs, vision blurred with his tears. “Jeon ― ah! ― Jeongguk, please, ’s ― can’t ― ”

 

Jeongguk only nuzzles into him, sweaty and hot, mouth finding Jimin’s ear. “Made for me, darling. Made for my cock, my knot. Gonna ― gonna fill you up so good.”

 

Somewhere inside of him, that same warmth and belonging rises like a massive wave, crashing into Jimin all at once. Jeongguk’s voice echoes through his mind, Mine, mine, mine.

 

Jimin whines, feels overwhelmed and so mindless that when Jeongguk’s thrusting finally slows down to just his hips gyrating into Jimin, knot pushing against his sweet spot, the orgasm completely knocks him out.

 

His mouth falls open in a silent scream, Jeongguk’s cum sloshing into him once more. His own cock only twitches, empty of seed, and it wracks through Jimin, body convulsing with pleasure. His eyes roll into the back of his head, head lolling as he gives in entirely to the pleasure. 

 

Cum continues to be fucked into him, Jeongguk emptying his seed, and anything he’d lost earlier is replaced, belly straining once more. Jimin groans, Jeongguk’s hold on his hands disappearing, legs falling back down. It’s a temporary relief, kisses pressed to his skin as Jeongguk’s hands smooth down to his belly.

 

The warmth inside of him burns hot like the sun, consuming him, and Jimin can’t hold onto consciousness any longer, passing out.

 

 

 

 

When Jimin wakes up this time, he’s in someone’s arms.

 

His mind helpfully reminds him it can only be one person. Jeongguk.

 

His mate.

 

Jimin whines, barely a sound as he shifts. Jeongguk hushes him, rubbing a hand against his back. “You’re okay, darling.”

 

The thing at the back of his mind fills him with comfort, and it’s then that Jimin gets it. The bond. Hoseok had said he’d be able to feel it.

 

Jimin pushes back against it and earns himself a chuckle from Jeongguk, his hands hooked under Jimin’s thighs as he carries him. Jimin’s draped over him, face buried into his neck. They must be returning to the village.

 

Belatedly, he realises that Jeongguk’s cock is still buried inside of him, his knot still fully formed. He couldn’t have been out for very long then. The nightgown is draped over his shoulders, although he hardly has any modesty left to protect. Every inch of him aches, covered in Jeongguk’s bites and bruises.

 

Jimin curls into Jeongguk, pretends he doesn’t notice how he’s been fucked full of so much cum, his body’s been forced to mould itself to take it. He wonders if it’d have been different were he an omega.

 

“Sleep,” Jeongguk instructs him, voice rumbling through Jimin. 

 

His mind obeys immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing Jimin notices is the softness of the fur he’s lying on top of and the heat against his back. Jimin’s eyes snap open immediately, his surroundings entirely unfamiliar to him.

 

The second thing he notices is the cock still stuffed in his ass.

 

Heat sinks into his cheeks, a hand reaching over his belly and wincing when he feels the swell. Jimin swallows, notes the source of heat behind him is Jeongguk, one of his arms tossed over Jimin’s waist. His hold is looser than Jimin expected, but then they’re still attached together. The knot is gone, which means Jeongguk had simply not wanted to pull out.

 

Jimin flushes at the realization, the skin along the back of his neck prickling. He finds himself reaching back, hand meeting Jeongguk’s abdomen and inching down until he can feel the base of Jeongguk’s cock. He winces when his fingers meet his own puffy rim, wet with cum, Jeongguk’s cock disappearing inside of him.

 

“I didn’t think you’d be this eager for another round.” Jeongguk’s voice is hoarse from sleep, his grip on Jimin’s waist tightening as he shifts them ever so slightly.

 

Jimin winces, hand coming to grip Jeongguk’s. It hurts when he moves.

 

“Why,” Jimin starts, knows he has nothing to be ashamed of but still feels embarrassed, “why didn’t you pull out?” He sounds petulant, maybe even a little irritated.

 

“We fell asleep like this,” Jeongguk answers, moving to pull out of Jimin slowly. 

 

Immediately, panic swells inside of him, and Jimin finds himself shouting. “No!”

 

Jeongguk pauses, returning to press his chest to Jimin’s back. “I thought you wanted me…”

 

“I ― Don’t.” Jimin doesn’t like the edge of fear in his own tone. “Doesn’t feel good.”

 

Jeongguk hums, kissing the back of Jimin’s neck as he nuzzles into him. “Okay.”

 

Jimin doesn’t know how to make sense of anything, feels confused and yet somehow safe. The idea of being parted from Jeongguk terrifies him. Jeongguk wouldn’t leave, he assures himself, but it does nothing.

 

“The bond will be difficult for you,” Jeongguk whispers, his palm rubbing against Jimin’s stomach. Jimin’s breath seems to flutter in his chest at the sensation.

 

“Because I’m human?”

 

“Yeah,” Jeongguk answers. “It’ll take some time getting used to. You have no wolf to temper yourself.”

 

That might explain why Jimin had all but lost himself to Jeongguk when they’d fucked, so eager to please and belong. Even now, he wants nothing more than to feel close to Jeongguk, frazzled by the intensity of it.

 

He figures if they’re stuck like this for now ― despite how Jimin’s sticky and sweaty, cum dried all over him ― he may as well make the most of it. 

 

“Why did you,” he starts, hesitant, “why did you claim me?”

 

As much as Jimin had ultimately wanted it to be Jeongguk, his instincts revealing as much to him when the moment came, he still wants to know why Jeongguk had tried so hard. He’d even fought someone else off.

 

“Are you unhappy that it’s me?”

 

“No,” Jimim mumbles, heart skipping a beat. Jeongguk’s boldness still threw Jimin off.

 

“I claimed you because I wanted to,” Jeongguk answers, somehow pulling Jimin even closer to himself. His next words are breathed right against the shell of Jimin’s ear. “My wolf recognized you as my mate.”

 

“I’m not ― ” Jimin feels flustered, feels heat pulse through him. His hand clutches at Jeongguk’s tighter. “I don’t have a wolf. That makes no sense.”

 

Jeongguk only shrugs, rising up on an elbow so he can look down at Jimin. It’s the first time they’ve seen each other since the run and Jimin’s heart clambers around in his chest, belly swarming with butterflies. Jeongguk is entirely too handsome, large doe eyes heartfelt as he looks at Jimin.

 

“I’m simply telling you what I felt and I always listen to my wolf. It wanted you.” After a pause, he adds. “I wanted you.”

 

“But you hate humans,” Jimin says, voice quiet. It’s almost like he’s waiting for Jeongguk to reveal this is all some joke. But they’re mates now, bonded forever. It would kill them both if either rejected the other.

 

“And you hate werewolves,” Jeongguk counters, an eyebrow raised.

 

“I was wrong,” Jimin admits, gaze dropping away from Jeongguk’s.

 

Jeongguk cups his cheek in his palm, forcing Jimin to look at him. “I was wrong, too.”

 

He leans down and kisses Jimin, the gentlest they’ve shared and the bond sings between them, settling down all of Jimin’s insecurities. Jeongguk pulls back just the slightest, kisses Jimin again, and again, chaster. His fingers stroke Jimin’s cheek, giving him a look Jimin doesn’t understand.

 

“Who was…?”

 

“It was my sister,” Jeongguk answers, leaning down to nose along Jimin’s jaw. Jimin should have anticipated all the touching, but it still leaves his heart trembling. 

 

“You were that sure?”

 

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Jeongguk smiles, amused. He kisses Jimin just under his jaw, nuzzling into his neck, before kissing Jimin again, lazier. It feels good, just exploring each other’s mouths. Jimin finds himself sighing into it.

 

“I don’t know if I could have done what you did,” Jeongguk says, having pulled back, their breaths mingling together. “But I am grateful for your bravery and for changing my mind.”

 

And Jimin can feel that he means it, sincerity bleeding through the bond. He swallows, wishes he didn’t have to feel so vulnerable but there’s nowhere to hide.

 

“You don’t care that I can’t ― That I can’t give you any children?” Jimin can’t keep himself from asking.

 

“There are always pups who have no family,” Jeongguk murmurs, his smile sweet and easy. “I want you just the way you are.”

 

“Oh,” Jimin says, sounds stupid in his shock, flushing. 

 

Jeongguk laughs, leaning down to kiss the corner of Jimin’s mouth, their noses brushing together, before he settles down behind him once more. 

 

“We’ll be okay, love.”

 

Jimin should hate the way Jeongguk sounds so sure, how he grounds him immediately. It shouldn’t feel so easy and yet it does, and Jimin should be grateful for it.

 

“When are you gonna carry me to the bathhouse?” Jimin asks instead, smiling when Jeongguk snorts from behind him. “I feel gross.”

 

“You want to be carried, huh?” Jeongguk says, tone playful. “Are you that spoiled?”

 

“Don’t I deserve to be spoiled after what you did to me?” Jimin huffs, enjoying their easy banter.

 

“If I recall, you seem to have enjoyed it quite a bit,” Jeongguk retorts, their legs tangling together as Jeongguk draws him in close. Jimin’s too tired to fight back.

 

“Is it your ass that got fucked twice or mine?” Jimin argues, eyes narrowing.

 

Jeongguk laughs, nuzzling into Jimin’s neck again. He realises he’s being scented, even if it has no real effect on Jimin. Maybe Jeongguk found comfort in it. 

 

“Fair point,” Jeongguk murmurs. “I’ll carry you anywhere you’d like.”

 

“You better,” Jimin says, doesn’t have any of the bite he’d intended as he melts into Jeongguk’s touch. He’s not ready to move just yet anyways. “But later. ’M tired.”

 

“Of course, love.”