Roses. [JiKook]

I. Roses.

When his father, Namjoon, asked him about finding a suitable mate, he tried to tell him about the brawl that happened in the woods earlier and how he has beaten every single beta in their pack. His father sighed. “You can't lead the pack on your own, guk-ah. You need a partner, a confidante, someone who will stand by your side when things get bad.”

“Oh, and beat them to death whenever I feel wronged?” he asked, his voice dripping venom, “You treated mom so poorly when she was alive,” he faced his father and looked him in the eye. “If that's what having a mate is like, I don't want it.”

“You're too young to understand—“

“I'm not like you, Dad. I will never hurt the person I love.”

-- 🌹 --

He fell on his knees, wrecked sobs escaping his throat.
He let out a low howl, a sound so sad and broken, he was glad no one from his pack could hear.

“Hello?” said a soft voice, startling Jeongguk.

He quickly wiped his tears away, stood up and looked around, his stomach sinking at the realization that his assumption of solitude had been wrong. "Who's there?" he said, baring his teeth, "Show yourself!"

He sniffed at the air and was hit by the strong scent of roses mixed with the very faint smell of blood..

He knows that the forest is filled with flowers, The rose being one of them, but this one is strong, inviting, and too sweet to belong to an ordinary flower.

Jeongguk’s heart thundered in his chest. He doesn’t know anyone with the scent, and the thought of a stranger witnessing one of his vulnerable moments as an alpha worried him more than anything.

He sniffed some more, eyebrows knit in concentration. He then realized that he's standing by the lake, the deep blue water glistening in the afternoon sun.

His mom loved the lake..

He shook the memory off, reminding himself to focus on the task at hand. He needs to find where the scent is coming from so he can clear things up.

He stopped in front of a bunch of tall bushes, his senses being invaded by the saccharine scent, and scoffed. “Come out, I know you’re here.”

A mop of raven hair slowly emerged from the bushes, then amber eyes are blinking up at him, and soon, the man in question stepped out.

The man is a bit shorter than him, but his movements were graceful, measured, unlike Jeongguk's raggedy and clumsy ones. He has full, pouty lips, slightly chubby cheeks, and eyes that are narrow but expressive. He's wearing an oversized light blue fuzzy sweater, his small fingers barely going past the sleeves.

The man smiled up at him, revealing his tiny fangs.

A vampire.

Jeongguk frowned.

Upon closer inspection, he decided that the man was very much like his scent; sweet, innocent, but can also be dangerous.

How ironic, he thought.

“Hi,” the man said, awkwardly waving his hand but instantly put it down when Jeongguk’s frown deepened, “I just want to ask if you’re okay? I was walking by when I saw you howling, and I was wondering if you're in pain..” he trailed off, playing with the hem of his shirt. “I'm Jimin by the way.” he lifted his right hand and reached for Jeongguk's, but Jeongguk stepped back.

He did not miss the brief flash of pain that crossed Jimin’s face, but the latter quickly recovered.

Jeongguk eyed him warily. “Why are you here?” he asked, quickly evading the smaller man’s question because he’s clearly not fucking okay.