Low Stress: Bite Me (Jikook)

Chapter Eighteen: Crescendo

Min Yoongi's hands clasped behind his back as he tilted his head at Seokjin. His eyes, now back to their normal brown color, scanned the art in the room like he was simply visiting a museum. There was a strangeness to him, the comfort of an old friend replaced by an innate wrongness. Like someone had torn the moon from the sky and lowered it down to earth.

"Jin, what is this place?" Namjoon said as he walked inside, taking in the mass of paintings. His eyes lit up in a way Jimin almost envied: a man reading a letter he knew was addressed to him by the handwriting alone.

"It was meant to be a surprise." Jin said with a soft smile, kissing Namjoon on the cheek. "If there's anything salvageable after tonight, I'd love to give you a proper tour."

Taehyung walked forward from the corner of the warehouse he was waiting in. He was sweaty, his dark bangs sticking to his forehead and his usually perfectly pressed shirt was unbuttoned at the top, wrinkling with every startled movement as he tore his way to Yoongi, stepping in between the rest of the vampires and the prince. If Yoongi was the moon, Taehyung looked like a burning star to match.

"Taehyung." Namjoon said calmly, his voice laced with almost a father's worry. He took a step forward and Seokjin immediately shifted with. "Be careful, Yoongi's a loose cannon right now."

Jungkook tightened his grip around Jimin's shoulders.

Finally, Hoseok walked in with the door closing shut behind him and Jungkook felt Jimin tense against his chest. Hoseok darted his gaze between Seokjin, Namjoon, and Yoongi with Taehyung a buffer before him. The dancer sighed, strategically stopping diagonally from Namjoon to corner Yoongi if needed.

"We need to talk." Hoseok said. Yoongi's gaze flickered between the opposite coven and the vampire within his own, his jaw locking. Taehyung tensed, taking a rather useless defensive stance in front of Yoongi who's muscles didn't so much as twitch. "Let us help you figure this out."

"Brother." Jin said, a true pity carved into his eternally beautiful face. "I can't fathom the pain you must be in and I would never wish your fate on anyone, but we have to break the feeder bond you have with Jimin. Tonight. This is clearly dangerous if something as small as talking about Jimin moving on is enough to make it act out. One prince to another, you know the safety of everyone comes first. Breaking it here is better than having to call all of us in. The other princes won't be as forgiving if your go off the rails and they'll want to deal with Jimin too. Turn him or kill him for knowing about us."

"So, what? You kill him?" Taehyung said, his voice exasperated.

"The reaction will at least be contained." Seokjin said gently to Taehyung, his gaze softening as he looked at the younge vampire.

"You're choosing between lives!" Taehyung sobbed. "How am I the only one freaking out over this?"

"Love, it's okay." Yoongi said, causing Taehyung to shudder. There was such warmth in his voice, enough that it caused Jimin to flicker with hope. It was so - human. "Seokjin's right. I can't control when the bond strains anymore. If I were to hurt you, hurt Jimin or Hoseok, I don't know if I could live with myself after. The guilt would consume me."

"So we kill you?" Taehyung whirled, nearly laughing at how ridiculous it sounded. Taehyung didn't move, staying between his coven's prince and the prince of his heart. There was conflict furrowing his brows and desperation causing his eyes to water.

"It'll never stop." Seokjin explained gently, grief etched into his words. He swallowed, looking back at his own feeder with such profound love on his face that Jimin felt a tear pool down his own cheek. It was so raw, in a way the world seemed to forget such affection could exist. The way mountains loved the sky, carved by the land itself to forever reach it. Like Namjoon was the breath Seokjin's lungs forgot they could inhale. Jimin looked at Jungkook then, seeing a sky of his own. "I don't know what relationship Yoongi has with Jimin, even if there's nothing between the two of them, even if there hasn't been for years, a feeder bond doesn't die so easily."