Stay (BTS x Reader-Polyamorous romance)

Chapter 44

Hoseok POV:

As I lay in bed that night with Jimin and Taehyung asleep on either side of me, I couldn't help but think of what Jin had said. Although I tried to pretend like it didn't bother me, seeing Y/N, my only female mate, hugging another male bothered me. It was the protective side of me saying that it isn't right, that she shouldn't be showing affection to anyone else. Whenever I was around them, I could see the relationship was strictly platonic, only the need for comfort, but I still had a hard time reassuring myself that the handsome doctor wouldn't take her from us.

"Hobi? Are you okay? Why are you still awake?" Jimin's voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked over to see my rabbit mate peering at me with sleepy eyes. He had spent the day attached to Y/N's side and I had to drag him away so the others could get a chance to sleep with her. He had pouted, but finally caved in and trudged to my room, Taehyung following behind him with an amused grin on his face. From the whine he had emitted, I knew I wasn't the only one who was feeling extra protective over our female mate.

Sighing, I rubbed a hand over his hair, stroking a velvety ear. He leaned into the touch, his eyes closing. "Yeah. I'm okay. Just thinking."

Jimin opened his eyes again, the pretty brown focusing on me. "It's about Dr. Sehun, isn't it?" I wanted to protest, but Jimin continued. "I... I feel the same way. I know that he needs her, but I hate it. Every time I see him hug her, I just want to yank her away and take her in my arms." Jimin let out a sound of frustration, one tinged with guilt. "And I know he was the one who saved Tae, so me feeling this way makes it even worse."

Feeling a little relieved that I wasn't the only one to feel this way, I pulled him closer to me, letting his tangy scent calm me. "That's pretty much the same situation I am in. I know he's just doing what his brain is telling him to do, but it still bothers me."

Nuzzling his face into my neck, Jimin was silent for a moment as he took my scent in, the same way I did with him, needing the comfort that sometimes only a mate can provide. "We... we just have to trust her, trust him. Who knows? Maybe Sehun will fall in love with someone else and not need her anymore."

I laughed at his suggestion, but I wished with every part of me that it were something that would happen. Not only to get the handsome cat away from my mate, but because deep down, I really wanted the doctor to be happy, to have someone to love him like I loved my mates, to have someone to hold him the way I did. I was selfish, but not that selfish. But until that time came, if it ever did, I was just going to have to suck it up and deal with the little itch of jealousy that scratched the back of my throat. "You're right Jiminie. We just have to trust the both of them."

"I love you Hobi."

"I love you too my bunny."

***

Feeling better after the conversation with Jimin the night before, I went into work with a smile on my face and my heart feeling much lighter. Although I would have loved to stay home and spend time snuggled on the sofa with my mate, I knew I needed to get back to the studio. Both Jimin and I had canceled classes yesterday to spend the day with Y/N, but both of us knew we needed the work to keep us occupied, especially since Y/N went back to work today.

"Mr. Hobi! I missed you yesterday!" A shark hybrid named Cheyenne came running up to me, her arms wrapping around my legs. "We came to the studio, but Mr. Alex told us that classes were canceled."

Alex, the owner of the studio and a German shepherd hybrid, had been sympathetic and understanding when we had called in the day before. Since he had found his mate, a pretty human name Alicia, he understood the closeness we had with Y/N and was supportive of the relationship we had worked so hard to make right. I had learned from Jin that Alex had been one of his patients eight years ago. He had been working for the local police department with his owner when he had been shot in the leg.