Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Sixty-One

Minho came to stand beside the wolf, and in moments Jeongin was Shifted.

Changbin slowly, gently scooped Felix up in his arms despite the light groan that escaped his lips, careful not to injure the bandaged wound on his stomach. Or any other wound he had suffered. If they didn't move him too much, he'd be fine – he hoped.

Jeongin's white wolf padded up to them, and the two others followed. Changbin carefully adjusted his Mate to hold him in one arm with a tenderness that made Minho's heart ache; he couldn't watch this, not when...

He shook his head and turned his stare towards the ground. He set his hand on Jeongin, as did Jisung. And then they were gone.

~#~#~#~#~#~

It had taken two, perhaps three leaps for them to reach the Sun pack again, and Jeongin quickly Shifted, pulling on some of the clothes Jisung still had in his backpack. It wouldn't be good if more people than necessary saw that he was a hybrid; Minho still didn't understand why it was such a bad thing, but he chose not to question it.

"Take him to the infirmary." Jisung nodded to the wolves that rushed out with a stretcher. Changbin gently laid his Mate down and rushed after them as they disappeared within the packhouse.

Minho trailed behind Jisung almost aimlessly as they began to walk – to where, he did not know. His concern for Jisung mingled with his concern for Felix, and he bit his lip as his eyes surveyed the crowd that had gathered to greet them, though no one said a word.

They all regarded them with judgement, and Minho bowed his head to avoid having them stare at him; it made him uncomfortable and self-conscious. He could see the loathing in their eyes, the blame they all placed on him.

He knew because it festered in his own heart, too.

Their party broke off until it was only the two of them opening the door to his study. Jisung collapsed in the chair, almost as though he hadn't yet noticed that Minho was still there. He breathed deeply, exhaling almost as heavily as he let his head drop in his hands.

"Are you... are you alright?" he asked, though his own voice broke. Jisung startled slightly, though he did not move his head. He nodded, but Minho knew that wasn't true. It was easy to tell with the way his shoulders tensed at the question.

He took hesitant steps forward – he still didn't know where he stood with the wolf in front of him, and he didn't want to overstep any boundaries. "I..." He swallowed thickly. "I don't think you... are..." His voice quietened, but still, Jisung did not look up; not until Minho was at his side, gently tugging at his wrists.

Minho had only ever seen Jisung cry once in all the time he'd known him, and it was still a shock to see the tears welling in his eyes despite his best efforts to hold them back. Minho didn't have to ask any questions; it was easy enough to convey what he would have asked.

"I failed, Minho. Everything I set out to do, I failed." Despite his whispering, his voice still cracked, and Minho's heart reached for him, wanting nothing more than to comfort him. So he took a seat on the desk in front of him, keeping silent.

"I went to kill the King, and I failed. I promised I'd kill that traitor if I ever saw him again, and I failed. I went to save Felix..." His voice cracked again. "And I failed." He buried his face in his hands again as he desperately tried to even his breathing. "My father left me in charge, but all I do is fail." He was back to whispering.

Minho swallowed back the lump that formed in his throat. His hands shook as he reached for the wolf again, tugging on his wrists, though when they fell he didn't let them go. "You didn't fail." He tried to smile. "You... the King was stronger than we thought, and the... traitor... didn't give you a chance to fight him. And Felix..." He cleared his throat despite the tears that welled up in his own eyes. "He's not dead yet, we can still save him."

Jisung's eyes lowered as tears slipped from them. Minho leaned forward and cupped his face, thumbs wiping away the tears that slid down his cheeks. Jisung's eyes snapped up to his, questioning, yet not resisting. "We'll figure it out together, yeah?"

The wolf slowly pulled away, leaning back in his seat as he wiped his eyes with his arm, though it did little to ease his tears. Minho knew there was more to it than what he'd expressed, but he understood easily enough. Jisung desperately blinked, trying to harden his expression, though it didn't really work with the quivering of his lips.

"You don't always have to be strong," he finally whispered, and Jisung slumped in his seat, giving up the fight he'd been putting up. He cried in a way he'd never cried before, Minho wagered, and he slowly slid off the desk to kneel at his side, pulling him into a hug.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours and yet seconds when the door burst open and a wolf thundered in. Jisung snapped up, quickly wiping his eyes, face schooled into one of strength and severity again.

"Alpha, a... a vampire has been spotted on our land. He wants to... speak with you." Minho and Jisung exchanged glances before they both hurried out the study's doors after the wolf.

A/N: So, since you asked ohohoho (seriously, I love that you played along with me on this one), I am currently in the mood to write *ahem* a fairy tale retelling, a time travel story, a zombie apocalypse story, a demon-hell-type ya, a mystery novel, even more fantasy novels, an assassin novel, a sci-fi au, a handful of more supernatural aus... yeah no I can't write all of these things yet but I need to pick one fo nANO AND I'M LOSING MY SHIT- I thought I knew what I wanted to write but alas I do nOT

Q: What type character do you this is the most difficult to write, which type is the easiest? (courtesy of 441NINE, I love you so much ugh you're saving my ass here XD)

A: If I'm completely honest, I'd say the hardest are those who are dealing with recent emotional trauma. For example, in this story, when Dongwook died, I had a really hard time figuring out how Jisung should feel, act, behave, etc. It's even harder to keep those feelings continuous as they would be in a real person -- I've had to question every single line of dialogue and action of his, and decide whether or not his emotions should surface now, or not (I'm still struggling with this, guys), especially because grief hits everyone differently and there's no clear-cut mold on how to write it, and I needed to figure out what Jisung's character needed to behave like (it was a real mess). 

But parallel to this, the characters I find easiest to write are those dealing with long-term trauma and emotional distress. For example, in my novel, one of my characters' parents were killed by *blah blah blAH BLAH BLAH*, and since then their mission has been to get revenge no matter the cost. I find those easiest to write because they have a clear mission, and they have already changed as a result of their grief, while with recent emotional trauma I have to actually write the development.

Lots of love,

~Junnie