Bound by Blood

Chapter 87- sweetness and temptation

JIMIN POV:

The upcoming days to the exhibition seem to pass in a blur of lessons and time at the nest- the excitement wiping away any real focus on anything but the anticipation that came with going to see Amparo's new work. Days dawned with sleepy cuddles with at least one mate in our beds, to lazily making our way to breakfast and when we'd be wide awake- spent time theorising what their next theme would be. Amparo was a silent yet extremely powerful presence in the art world and the fact that no-one knew who they were, that they didn't even have a name or face to go by just added and heightened the mysterious allure they had.

And at nights we'd find ourselves curled up in each other's arms, lazy slow feeds to satiate our instincts and slowly roving hands and lingering kisses as we settled down. And yet the buzz remained, like a constant presence under our skin, a repetitive thrum through the bond as the days lessened and we were growing closer and closer to finally going to the exhibition.

(Y/N) had taken several shifts at the book-café, insisting that she'd missed far too many when we'd called in and explained that she'd be unable to come for the unforeseeable future, we wanted her to be healed and healthy before she started working again.

And yet it caught me by little surprise when she announced it over dinner that she was picking up her shifts again, that she wanted the normalcy of work again even if for the past few weeks we'd rarely caught glimpse of her unless it was mornings.

But it was taken easily, nodded over. Because we'd never force her to abandon aspects of her life for the sake of it. She had every right to make her decisions and I respected her choice.

But even so I enjoyed tagging along, seeing her in her element- hair bundled up, delicate curve of her neck exposed and eyes shining with a focused gleam as she balanced the work between managing the café orders and helping customers with their book requests. And I can see that the customers have noticed a shift in her, noticed that now she's a vampire and yet she's still treated the same, accepted with warmth.

One of the most memorable moments was when we'd first walked in and a blur of limbs had gone flying into her, a small frame hurling towards (Y/N). And (Y/N) had lit up, scooping up the young girl with a fondness as she hugged her and giggled when the young girl had immediately nestled her head into the crook of her neck, pressing tiny kisses there.

It turned out the young girl was the vampire Tae had briefly mentioned, and I can see the adorable love between the two as well as the fierce protectiveness the girl holds for (Y/N). The way she'd turned to shoot me a suspicious glare when it clicked to her that I was (Y/N)'s mate, given the cursory glance to my arm around her waist. And poked at the marks on her neck with a faint curiosity before tightening her hold. The girl...Hye-Jin was wrapped around (Y/N)'s torso and even as she continued to work placed herself near her, eyes constantly darting to me with a thoughtful look.

It was almost intimidating and yet even so I found myself wanting to please the girl who clearly held such a possessive protective stance over our baby mate.

And yet it was all worth it when afterwards she came towards me, small yet firm steps until she stopped in front of me.

"Make sure you treat unnie like a princess. She deserves her happily ever after the most." She says.

I nod seriously, because I know just how much (Y/N) deserves happiness, how much she's had to endure- she deserves it more than anyone.

And then Hye-Jin's face breaks into a smile, bright and beautiful and sunny.

"You're not too bad Mr Jimin." She concludes before skipping away.

And it feels like a monumental victory.