Truebloods
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Taehyung fought with his tears as his mouth fell open and an enormous yawn left his throat. Almost the entire pack was in the foreground, waiting for the well-known Bae Hyungsik and his famously pretty omega daughter to finally arrive. It was Taehyung's duty as a leader to greet their guests at the door, the others just came to scrutinize but as a Head Alpha he couldn't let his men see him slacking off.
It was a harder task than he initially thought because they had already been waiting for more than thirty minutes by now, which could have given him thirty more minutes of sleep if he had known exactly when the Bae pack would arrive. Next to him, Jungkook seemed to share none of his concerns. He was standing like a stake buried deep in the ground. He didn't yawn or squirm but looked at the door with military discipline.
Taehyung wished he could be like him too. He wished to be more collected and focused. It was difficult for him to sit through a meeting and maintain his attention for so long. Jungkook was different.
"Funny. And I wish I could be just like you," Jungkook said once before.
"Why would anyone want to be like me? I'm useless."
"You're precious, Taehyung," the omega said with that soft smile of his. "You are able to see the good in everything and everyone. Even in my bastard father, you saw only the good and believed in him solemnly. It's a gift."
Taehyung called it naïve, but Jungkook's words were nicer. He really saw the good in everyone, but was that really a good thing?
He looked around the room, inspecting every wolf of his. According to Bae Hyungsik, someone took advantage of his so-called gift. But who? Lee Minho, who lived as a rogue in the forest for years because the Jeons exiled him and was one of the very first members? Or Choi Soonbin, who was even afraid of a fly? Or Choi Beomgyu, who was so precious to Taehyung that his heart began to ache even at the thought that the boy might betray him?
After yesterday, Beomgyu became the number one suspect, at least for Hoseok, but Taehyung couldn't believe him. Beomgyu was just an innocent boy. Even now, he was laughing in the corner with Taehyun. With a faint blush on their faces, they whispered and giggled in each other's ears.
Young love, Taehyung knew how sweet it was. His gaze wandered back to the blond omega. Jungkook was no longer watching the door, but him, concern glinting in his eyes.
"Don't let Hobi get into your head," Jungkook said. He probably saw him watching Beomgyu and Taehyun. "Until we have proof, we cannot be prejudiced against anyone."
Easy to say. Not like Taehyung actually believed Beomgyu could be the spy - or that there was a spy, to begin with - but he knew Hoseok did, which already made things difficult.
He let out a painful sigh. He really wanted this war to be over soon.
He looked back at the entrance which magically opened like it was just waiting for his attention all along. A group of wolves walked in, some of them Taehyung even recognized, although he hardly had time to acknowledge them. Bae Hyungsik immediately distracted him.
"Pleased to see you, Kim," the man nodded at him, not looking pleased at all. Taehyung returned the gesture, thinking why the man was particularly grumpy today. From the corner of his eye, he could see Suzy embracing Jungkook in a warm hug. She looked fine.
"How was your trip?" Taehyung asked politely. It took about two hours to get from one pack house to the other, but during the war, when Jeon's men could be anywhere, they had to be extra careful and use smaller, more hidden paths which may have taken twice as long.
"Uneventful, thankfully." Although these were good news he still looked glum. "Shall we start? I think we have a number of things to discuss."
"Right, this way." Taehyung led them to their biggest meeting room.
Only people from the innermost circle were aloud to participate in the meeting. The door was guarded by alphas from the Bae pack to ensure that no uninvited guests could overhear them.
The mood took on a serious tone and the air almost froze in the room. Jin and Namjoon told their story with just as much emotion as the first time, and Taehyung shuddered again at the thought that this war could actually end very badly for them.
Bae Hyungsik politely listened to the story, never interrupting it, but the deepening wrinkles on his face told everything - he was worried, just like Taehyung.
When Jin and Namjoon finished the story, he didn't hesitate. His eyes darted across the table to Jungkook and he spoke firmly. "Jungkook, may I speak with you in private?"
Taehyung was neither surprised nor offended that the Head Alpha wished to negotiate with Jungkook instead of him. This was the usual for them.
Taehyung saw that Jungkook's posture also hardened. He returned the Head Alpha's strict gaze. "I don't think it's necessary. I trust my men here, you say it in front of them."
"Under the current circumstances, I do not agree. At least the betas should leave."
Jungkook's fist rolled up into a ball on the table. "Like I said-"
"It's okay," Namjoon's voice suddenly cut the omega's sentence in half. The two betas looked apologetic - for what, Taehyung had no idea. "We're kinda tired anyway."
The whole crew watched in utter silence as the couple slowly stood up and excused themselves. Once the door closed behind them, Jungkook shot an angry glare at the man.
"Was that really necessary?"
Bae Hyungsik didn't bounce. He answered in a calm voice. "I believe so. You take in everyone as if you are begging Jeon to plant a spy between us. Besides, they just joined, you can't trust them with secret military information!"
Anyone could sense the tension in the room. Suzy began to shiver at the dominance emanating from her father and squirmed in her seat . Taehyung glanced curiously at the blond omega sitting next to him, but he wasn't the least bit surprised that Jungkook was still sitting in his chair, facing the challenging gaze of the Head Alpha.
Jungkook wasn't affected by Bae Hyungsik's pheromones, but everyone else glowered uncomfortably in their place. Even Taehyung felt that unpleasant tickling sensation at the back of his mind. Something he only felt around Jeon before. It was more annoying than commanding. Jungkook, on the other hand, showed no sign of even that.
"Namjoon and Jin are different!" He stated with gritted teeth.
"No, they aren't. They were in Jeon's pack."
"Just like all of us!" Jungkook's fist banged at the table, scaring almost everyone.
Bae Hyungsik narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare talk to me in that tone, young man!"
"I'll talk to you the way you talk to my men. With all due respect, Head Alpha, I think you're forgetting about a crucial thing here. This is not your pack. We gladly take your advice, but the decisions are still ours, you have no say in it. You didn't want us in your own pack, so don't try to control us now."
Taehyung nodded in agreement. Jungkook was right and Taehyung knew that this had been bugging his mate for a long time. At the time, Bae Hyungsik made it clear that he did not wish to accept them into his pack, even though they asked. So he didn't have the right to give them orders, let alone dominate their wolves. What he did in the meeting room was downright offensive.
"You're not careful enough."
Jungkook slowly stood up, emitting a calm, shooting feeling. Taehyung suddenly felt at peace. "We will take care of the spy as well but that's not why we asked you here."
"The two thing are connected. I should've known something was going on. Our allies step back from our unity one by one. We thought they just wanted to stay out of the power game, but now I understand why. Surprisingly they are showing up on Jeon's side. Why now?"
"Are you implying that someone is leaking information about our allies to Jeon?" Hoseok spoke up this time.
"It's possible."
A heavy silence fell on the people in the room. For a short time, no one talked.
"Does that mean we don't have anything against them?" Jimin's faint voice was laced with concern as he slowly raised his gaze at the Head Alpha.
Bae Hyungsik's face was still slightly offended and irritated by Jungkook's tone, but something else was hiding behind his wrinkles. Taehyung also looked at him curiously. It was like he was afraid.
"There might still be some hope," he said uncertainly and met his eyes with Taehyung. The boy blinked in surprise. It was the first time since they had entered the room that the Head Alpha had acknowledged his presence. He usually only communicated with Jungkook, and Taehyung was completely at peace with that. He never handled tense situations well, and these discussions were always tense.
"What is your plan?" Jungkook asked, looking between Taehyung and Bae Hyungsik.
A tiny sigh escaped through his chopped lips before he spoke, but his gaze was still fixed at Taehyung as if he was only talking to him. "Truebloods are very rare, you know. There's only a handful of them and they are very cohesive. You understand each other."
Taehyung already had a faint understanding of what the old man was implying to. Everyone knew history, they knew how the mighty Bang Sihyuk single-handedly ended the 10-year war. But what many people didn't know - or rather didn't take note of, was that Bang Sihyuk had grown old since then and had no intention of participating in another war. Taehyung, on the other hand, was aware of this.
"Bang Sihyuk is too old for-" he tried to say but got interrupted by the Head Alpha.
"I'm not talking about him. There is a young trueblood in the north. In the last couple of years, she has built a strong pack around herself. She currently dominates the entire northern region. If you could convince her to stand by us, we might have a chance."
No one expected this.
Of course, Taehyung guessed that there existed other truebloods besides him and Bang Sihyuk, but somehow he was never interested enough to look for them. Mainly because truebloods were quite different from a normal wolf. They didn't like to share or obey. They were selfish and willful unless it was for their own kind. But since truebloods were almost as rare as male omegas, the chance of them running into another was pretty slim. Rather, they retreated into the forest or founded their own pack over which they can practice their overflowing dominance.
Taehyung had learned that the greatest tyrants in history were all truebloods - expect Jeon, he was an exception. This was why he was so distraught when it turned out that he was also a trueblood. As a child, this basically meant eternal ostracism for him or that eventually he too would become an impenitent tyrant.
The fact that Taehyung was so different from a trueblood was a big puzzle even for him. Of course, he showed the signs sometimes, especially when he was angry, but normally he preferred to stay in the background and let Jungkook handle everything. Maybe if it wasn't for this war and Jungkook, he would have ended up as a hermit in the forest like his master. Maybe he was that kind of trueblood. But the one that Bae Hyungsik mentioned now seemed to be from the other kind - a tyrant.
"Another trueblood?" Jungkook echoed. His voice was doubtful and uncertain. "I don't know... The Northerners are not really open to the power struggle of the Southerners. Especially not truebloods, they think we are insignificant."
"That's why Taehyung has to go. As I said, trueblood to trueblood is a completely different situation. She will want to help him."
The Head Alpha didn't seem entirely confident. He glanced at Taehyung again, waiting for confirmation. The boy couldn't claim to have dealt with too many truebloods over the years, but he knew himself. If someone as desperate as them had reached out to him, he would want to help.
Being silent for such a long a time, he cleared his voice before speaking. "I guess it's worth a try. Hobi and I can visit them-"
"I can't go." Hoseok said firmly and Taehyung snapped his head at him in confusion.
"Why not?"
"Who will take care of the pack then?"
"Jungkook, obviously."
"No, I'm coming with you," Jungkook chimed in.
Taehyung suddenly didn't know whether to be surprised or offended. True thing was that he was not used to organizing these kinds of meetings, but Bae Hyungsik also said that he was the one needed now. Did Jungkook really think he was so incapable?
"It's way too dangerous." Not wanting to sound petty in front of so many people, he said the second thing that came to his mind. After all, that was true as well. Their jurisdiction did not extend to the north and they had never been there.
But Jungkook only chuckled at him "It's only safer if I go with you. Plus, how could a Head Alpha go to negotiate without his Luna? They would laugh at you."
"Jungkook's right," Suzy agreed as well. Her small voice was hardly sensible in the large meeting room. "You're the most powerful if you are together."
Even Jimin and Yoongi nodded in agreement and Taehyung officially had no one else to back him up. He wished Jin and Namjoon would have stayed.
He fell back to his seat, defeated.
"I... I don't like this," he muttered.
"Well, suck it up. I'm going," the omega patted his shoulders before turning back to their guests.
"It's settled then." Bae Hyungsik clapped his palms together in joy. "I really hope it will work out for the best. Otherwise, we are dead."