A/N: chapter 2/3 that will be posted throughout the day, stay tuned and enjoy <3
"Things in the dream had slightly shifted. The fire was still there, yet, this time it swallowed in the boy. It would consume his body. He'd breath it, the fire would sneak inside him and as he took a deep breath, the blaze would vanish from around him. He'd tame it, store it inside his eyes; painting them in a bright, deep dark red. Yunhee was holding a girl, a toddler in her arms; it snowed around them, the snowflakes fell on their hair. Yet, this time, the girl was very much alive. Her hands were joined together, holding something that she refused to show. A shout excited, full of happiness would echo around the forest; chuckling, the girl would dash out of Yunhee's arms. She'd recognize the boy as the one from the fire as he ran, speeded towards the girl. Tightly, he'd hug her, smiling. And, at last, the girl would reveal what she held in her hands– the three phases of the moon. A crescent moon, a full moon, a waning moon. Maiden, Mother, Crone. The boy would grab her hands and gently, he'd close them again. The three phases of the moons would merge, forming a new moon which is the absence of light, of a glowing orb in the sky. Darkness would cover the skies and in a blink of an eye, above Yunhee's head, one by one, stars would arise. Preparing the sky for another moon to arrive. A rebirth. The goddess had decided to bring you both back to life, to give you both a chance. A beginning." Those present were overwhelmed, baffled at every fact, every statement that leisurely, slipped from Jinsang's mouth. Only Hani an Jungkook remained calm, collected; they were certain that what they were hearing wasn't even half of the things they were supposed to know. "Alec was small around that time. His birth to us had been proof that the goddess had forgotten about their plan. However, this new dream... gave us hope. In the months that followed it, Yunhee got pregnant with Hani. Meanwhile, I invested my time into finding the boy. It took us 4 years to learn of your whereabouts Jungkook but eagerly, we reached out. Your mother came to our pack under the assumption that we were a distant relative of your father. She was shocked to find out the truth and even after everything Yunhee told her, even after warning her about the fire, about the importance of you staying with Hani... she chose to leave. She chose to ignore the fate destined, the path you had to take. And so, you two were separated once again."
The Alpha felt torn. Well, in reality, he simply just didn't want to accept the bitterness that Jinsang's statement arose, towards his mother. He wondered what would have happened if she had listened to Yunhee, if they had stayed. Surely, their life would have been so much better, right? Hani's pack was nice, they'd accept them warmly. Jungkook wouldn't have to experience the public humiliation, the harassment, the mockery, the curses that were thrown at his parents and him. His mother would be able to open her flower shop and watch it grow there. If she had only listened, perhaps, they'd still be alive and the Alpha wouldn't have to carry the trauma, the pain, the guilt they had left behind for him to hold onto.
"I believe she thought she could protect you. That ignorance was safer than knowledge. Yet, it is important that you know, that I'm not the only one who can see. There's someone else who can, someone else who is able to see things like I do. And thanks to them, Ulric and his father, continued on with their goal – to monopolize their lineage. They wanted to be the only Alphas, they wanted to be unique. True Alphas were a threat to that goal of them, they switched the hierarchy. They positioned themselves above them, in a pillar so high, no matter how much they tried, they could never reach it. Remember that, Jungkook. Don't let him sway you into believing otherwise." The story transformed into an advice, a scolding from the older male. His tone was harsh, stern. Jinsang knew Jungkook better than what the boy was expecting, which only proved to him, furthermore, how strong their bond had once been. "That's why True Alphas were killed. It's not leadership that they crave for, it's just power, strength – a means to turn everyone into their little pets. This is merely a hunch, yet, I'm inclined to believe that the seer that is working with them, somehow, saw Yunhee's dream, even before she could see it herself. Perhaps, there was something about your second birth, or something, a lingering trace of your greatness that remained on your hands, and that only those close to you could notice. Either way, she found out about it. However, without no wolf, it was hard to be certain; so, in order to keep a close eye on you, you were marked... The scar. Then, the hunting started. With you under close vigilance, Ulric's father searched for Hani. Once more, the seer of theirs has knowledge beyond my expectations. They knew what they were looking for, they knew Hani's characteristics and, above all, they knew the one special characteristic that turned Hani, much like yourself, special. Her blood."
It wasn't as if Hani was hearing this for the first time, yet, the shock that washed over her made it seem that she was. Her eyes glanced at Jimin that, at the mention of the hunt, sulked in his seat. The scar hovered above Jungkook's head and, at last, following the swirling red flame that often coated his heart, his eyes found their way to the toddler. Fai had fallen asleep against Hani's chest, slowly he took deep breaths, lullabied by the gentle feeling of the girl's hand rubbing his cheeks – a habit so deeply settled in her that, she no longer, noticed that she was doing.
"Hani's blood carries special characteristics necessary to the goddess plan, yet, I'll leave that conversation to the end, since my focus is to the tell you what had happened, before alerting you to what you shall do. The hunt was a massacre, through it, Ulric's father expanded his territory and his power. However, when he least expected it, you, Jungkook, raised up to the role designed for you. Faced with your growth, with the bravery and strength that was numb inside you and that, yet, each day awakened; they decided to kill you. You killed them, first. And, then, you slipped out of their grasp. Leaving them leaderless, pack-less. With nothing. Ulric, bitter, full of revenge, decided to twist the narrative, creating the tale as we know it today. Although it does not conceal the actions you were forced to enact, it hides the reason behind it. Justice requires a reason to be called so, and when it does not have one, we call it murder, slaughter. Without ever laying his hands on you, Ulric hurt you far more than anyone ever could, did he not?" It was not a question; it was an affirmation. The look in Jungkook's eyes said it all and rather weakly, defeated, utterly vulnerable, he nodded his head; at last, accepting in front of them all, the guilt, the pain, that to this day, tainted his chest; caused all his actions to be hesitant, reluctant. "The tale started spreading, you disappeared, Ulric, despite his young age, was able to rebuild his pack with the help of his father's allies and the seer. The hunt initiated once more, even more violently than the first one. There was a point in time in which people believed you were behind it, since the group that showed up in their territory, refused to tell their Alpha's name. Yunhee and I knew that they were after Hani so we did the best that we could to protect her. Hani's role and connection towards you was kept as a secret from Haewon, Alec and everyone else. We both feared of what could happen if you knew. Instead, we kept it just between us and like that, for many years, we were able to hide Hani. In the meantime, Yunhee had convinced me to go and search for you. And I... she was so stubborn, so head strong, she forced me to go on that day. I still... I still wondered if I had arrived sooner, I would have been able to stop them from killing her."
Hani's heart stopped. A part of her knew, a part of her had suspected him from the get go but, she wasn't prepared to hear it. She wasn't prepared to face the truth. Foolishly, she missed when things were simple. When her father's lies were enough to console her naivety. Haewon's eyes were glued to Jinsang, the old friend, which had kept him so much as a secret. So much that, as a mate, as the man she loved, Yunhee chose to hide from him. And, honestly, he didn't know what to think about it. Perhaps, her death, her absence, had melted out the emotions who once were intense and furious. Perhaps, learning the truth, every bit of it, was the closure Haewon had been trying to obtain from revenge. After all, he thought, the truth was all he needed to sleep through the night. And with that realization, came the guilt, the regret of pursuing a revenge, a slaughter; the regret of allowing angry violent emotions that he had, not towards others, but towards his own self, hurt those he loved the most; for never being able to understand what had happened that day, he punished others, instead of his own self. The revolt against his own self, the feeling of uselessness, powerlessness, being utterly lost – that was the emotion he hated. The lack of control, the not being able to move on because, in fact, he didn't know where to go, for he didn't know what he was moving on from.
"They burst inside their house, screaming, demanding to see Hani. At that point in time, we were aware that one day, eventually, they would find her; yet, we hoped, that when that time came, you two would already be together. Yunhee used the bunker, the little basement under Haewon's office, to hide Hani whenever strangers came to the pack. Yunhee put up a fight, things escalated. She ran out of the house, hoping to drive him away from where Hani was, listening to everything, to all the screams and shouts. They were somehow certain that Hani would be there, they brought an army with them. Yunhee didn't have a chance against them... there was... nothing she could have done differently. Hani decided to see what was happening, she followed her mother's footsteps. It was raining heavily, thundering. She found her body, Yunhee died right next to her. That's when I... I found you both." Directly to Hani, Jinsang spoke and his eyes welled up with tears as he relieved those memories in his mind. Hani furiously shook, silent tears ran down her face; for as he talked, at the same time, he awakened the numb, forgotten, memories in her own mind. "It was just the two of you. You were holding your mother's body as you cried. You kept on talking to her, tricking your own self into believing she was still alive. I approached you and when I touched you, you passed out. I believed it was from exhaustion, from shock, yet, you only woke up the next day and you had no recollection whatsoever of what had happened to your mother. Your father and Alec were on their way back, people already knew of Yunhee's passing. Why I kept her murder as a secret? Why I covered her death with a lie? Well... I... I thought it was the safest choice we had, all of us. If by chance Haewon found out that Ulric's men had killed her, surely, he'd go and try to avenge her. Which would only aggravate our situation, since it would expose Hani. It would bring her closer to Ulric. And I had promised Yunhee, I had given her my word, that no matter what, I'd keep you safe. It seemed to work. The hunt stopped, soon after. Ulric's sudden calmness, inertia led me to believe that he had given up. However, one day, he showed up at the pack with your father, he had a deal to make."
"This doesn't explain why you kept her things" Haewon, sharply, interrupted Jinsang. "Why would you keep her belongings to yourself? The notebooks? The necklace I gave her?"
"The necklace had blood on it. Her clothes too. I was so shaken up that I had to keep them. I had to erase all proof of a slaughter. The notebooks contained information regarding the dream and her past, things that she begged me, and I promised to keep a secret. She never wanted you to get involved, Haewon, neither you Alec.... she didn't want no one to get hurt. And, maybe, I admit it, it was selfish of me. I recognize it now that you deserved to know the truth. But, you changed. I realized that you knowing the truth, knowing who was the killer, would only cause more slaughter, more catastrophe that was not needed."
"My memories..." Shakingly, Hani spoke; the tone of her voice wavered with each tear that slipped from her eyes. Tenderly, the Alpha had his arm around her waist, holding her close to his chest. "Why were they erased...."
"Their seer. One who sees all, can help others see what they cannot, or erase what has been seen. It requires years of experience, yet, it is not impossible. I am assuming that they were there when your mother was killed. I'd go as far as state that they were the ones who had the idea behind it. Honestly, Hani you should have died. The only logical outcomes were your death or your kidnap. And still, they didn't touch you at all. Instead, Ulric ceased his movements, stopped playing in the shadows, came forward with a new plan; manipulated your father into giving you away under the pretext that he knew information regarding your mother's death. He needed you alive for some reason, yet, not bonded to Jungkook."
"They, whoever they are, they erased our memories every time we found our way back to one another. So, they wanted to keep us apart but alive?" The Alpha inquired sensing, just like everybody else, that something wasn't quite right. That they were missing something, a hint, a clue, a connecting dot. "If they wanted the lineage gone, the possibility of a rise of True Alphas, why not kill me, then? On those multiple times me and Hani met?"
"Their plan has shifted. They learned something that we have not, yet. Erasing memories is not an easy feat. Perhaps, their initial goal was to just keep you separated; perhaps, they just wanted to erase the existence of the other from your mind. However, the first time they attempted it, on your first life, it didn't work. Memories cannot be erased if there's a physical proof of them. Bonds are impossible to break if there's something tying it together, something physical. And when her initial plan didn't work, they panicked and killed Hani. With that in mind, I believe there's a physical proof of your bond, this time as well. Or else, you wouldn't be here, correct? I'm certain it was not the mark, neither the mating process. It is something that you both contributed to, together. Something you created or did together. Like... a symbol of your bond, a... an object?"
"There's nothing. That night we just... kissed?"
"Did it trigger something?" The mates were throwing different questions at one another; they were confused, lost, at what this 'symbol' or object could possibly be. "It caused a shift, perhaps?"
"Or you created something, without ever realizing it" Jinsang's words, his suggestion, provoked a similar reaction on the mates. Their eyes flew towards one another, their heartbeat accelerated frenetically in their chests; yet, none of them dared to say what they were thinking because, in their mind, they refused to see it – it was impossible. Things like that didn't happen, right? "When your bond breaks, you both die. I'm starting to believe it can also create things far beyond our imagination. If I'm allowed to be honest, there's no limits to what you both can do. You are the first, the path that lies ahead for the new age of wolves depends on you and on your actions. There's no boundaries; only uncharted opportunities. "
"So, if this thing that we created, is destroyed what happens to us?" The Alpha was coated in fear; dread imbued every word, every inch of the tone of his voice. "Will we die again?"
"No. But it will turn your bond vulnerable, it will allow them to erase your existence from the other's memory, again. And no matter how many times you find one another, your memories will continue on vanishing."
"I just..." Hani, utterly overwhelmed, tried to make sense of all the revelations that Jinsang was telling her. "Why would they go so far just to... just to keep us apart? Why do our memories need to be erased? Isn't being far apart enough?"
"It's more than that, isn't it?" The Alpha was quick to read the tension that caused Jinsang's body to become unsettled. His eyes, fiery, stared into his; pressuring the male into opening up his mouth and speaking. "It's not just about stopping a new lineage of Alphas to arise. There's something else to it, that's why Ulric is so desperately trying to get Hani in his hands. There has to be something more to it!"
"In fact, there is Alpha. Although I'm not sure exactly of what it is that he wants. I believe that what Ulric wants and what the seer wants are different things, yet, both of them require Hani. There's a role, a duty that has been enforced onto you since birth. And Ulric and that seer know of it as well, and my guess is that they are trying to take advantage of it in some way. The cycle, the prophecy, your bond... it all leads to rebirth. To the rebirth you must contribute to, for you have been rebirthed into this world, too. Ulric is trying to stop it. He wishes to manipulate it, to stir it his way. For that reason, he needs Hani. Without her, a rebirth cannot happen. She's the vessel towards a new world and you're its guardian, Alpha."