Devour

A Pack

Rated M

When Taehyung finally gets to the pack house, his fever is off the scale. His breath is unsteady and his knees are shaking. He's had ruts before, but none of them have been this fast acting or this severe. He'd heard that mating cycles became more intense once a wolf met their mate, but he didn't expect it to be like this. Nor did he expect he wouldn't have his mate with him during his rut.

"God this sucks," Taehyung hisses to himself. He has to steady himself on the kitchen counter. His head is pounding like crazy.

"Taehyung?" a voice calls. "Where the hell were you last night? We were worried."

Hoseok turns the corner into the kitchen with furrowed eyebrows. He hasn't seen Taehyung since dinner yesterday evening. Taehyung is never gone overnight and it the beta panic slightly. He looks Taehyung up and down and is instantly even more concerned.

"'m sorry hyung," Taehyung manages. His throat is sore and his voice comes out deep and scratchy.

"How long have you been like this?" Hoseok presses his hand to Taehyung's forehead, but retracts it like he's been burned. "Namjoon! Taehyung's home and he's in bad shape!"

"Not long," Taehyung assures the beta. Namjoon is in the room in seconds, concern etched on his features. Taehyung shakes his head, feeling how cloudy his thoughts are becoming. He needs to tell them what happened. "But hyung, I found them."

"Them?" Namjoon asks. He grabs an ice pack from the freezer. Namjoon's always been the one most capable of keeping calm even during stressful situations. That's part of the reason his pack alpha.

"My mates," Taehyung breathes. "Both of them."

"That explains the state you're in, but why the hell aren't you with them?" Hoseok asks.

"And what happened to your shoulder?" Namjoon catches a good look at the scarring bite on Taehyung's shoulder before he presses the ice pack against his skin. Taehyung groans at the coldness. It provides minor relief.

"I- It's a long story," Taehyung pants out. It really isn't a long story, but he can't think straight enough to get it out. Everything aches and he can still feel Jimin and Jungkook as if they were next to them. It's driving him crazy. "My mates aren't wolves. I can't be with them like this. Not so soon at least."

"I was hoping it wasn't a vampire I smelled on you," Namjoon sighs. He brushes Taehyung's fringe out of his eyes. Sweat is already clinging to his forehead. As much as Namjoon and Hoseok would love to rush the youngest to his room to rest, they need to know everything.

"One of them, Jimin, is vampire. The other, Jungkook, is human," Taehyung explains. His breath is even shallower now. Just saying their names makes his heart stutter in his chest. His eyes clench shut. "I can't- Jungkook-"

"We understand," Hoseok assures. He takes Taehyung's arm to help him towards his room and Namjoon drops the ice pack. Hoseok's beta pheromones are naturally meant to soothe a pack, even during mating cycles. Namjoon's own alpha scent may upset Taehyung more so. "Come on. You need to lie down."

Taehyung full out whines. A loud and drawn out cry of longing. He's sure every wolf in the house can hear it. "I miss them, hyung. I miss them so much."

"I know, Tae," Hoseok says in a comforting tone. The beta is impressed that Taehyung managed to drag himself from his mates. He's known the young alpha to be bad at identifying when his wolf takes control. "But you did the right thing coming home."

Hoseok gets Taehyung through his door and rests him on the bed. The alpha is a mess. He can't even hold himself up properly. Hoseok's seen plenty of Taehyung's ruts, but none like this. He knows this is going to be a rough one.