"It seems to be healing even quicker," mused Jungkook as he looked at Jaci's wound.
"It always feels better when you're around. Maybe it has to do with the bond?" Jaci shrugged.
"Maybe," he muttered in return.
The pair became quiet. Jungkook seemed lost in his thoughts, which was just fine with Jaci.
She was trying to remain calm, despite all of the information running through her head. She was attempting to keep a positive outlook, if for no other reason than she did not want to see Jungkook hurt. But if she were to be completely honest, the entire idea of a mate bond with a werewolf she didn't even truly know scared her to death.
The only thing that gave her some measure of peace that this whole thing was real and would potentially be okay was the strange presence she felt living in her head.
It wasn't a very loud presence, just a subtle touch in her mind, it seemed. But there were definite times when Jaci felt she wasn't in control of herself at all. Just like when her voice was saying things Jaci wasn't aware of. It was creepy and sort of cool at the same time.
Her gaze slid to her right and fell on Jungkook, who was softly snoring. He must have been exhausted. Jaci took the opportunity to truly consider the man whom the Moon decided was the best fit for her.
His dark black hair, parted just a little to the right of center, was shiny and thick. It drifted down over his closed eyes, and she reached up to gently push it back. He grunted softly and shifted his head towards her hand but never woke.
Jaci shifted her body to face him and leaned her head against the wall. What had this man seen in his decades of life? What made him who and what he was at this very moment?
She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them with her arms. Panic was slowly setting into her heart as she watched Jungkook sleep.
This world, this country, these people... it was all so different. She felt like an outsider forcing her way into an elite club.
Sunny didn't trust her, which in turn meant Taehyung wouldn't trust her either. Jungkook was merely defending her because of the supposed mate bond. And his pack... well, at least his Alpha would rather see her dead.
She had already been attacked, and if Jungkook hadn't come along, that she-wolf might have finished the job she started. The entire idea made Jaci shudder.
She had to admit to herself that she was scared. She tried to tell herself that it was more than likely just a fear of the unknown. But Jaci knew it was more than that.
She needed reassuring. She needed comfort. And the only person she knew to call was everyone's mortal enemy at the moment.
But surely they were all wrong. She had spent her entire college career under Derrick Fenton's tutelage. They had worked countless hours together, and she knew almost everything there was to know about the man.
Well, that was obviously false. She had no idea he was a born member of the Hunter Society. But not once did she ever get a murderous vibe from Dr. Fenton. He was gentle, kind, and thoughtful. He never scolded her like other professors, and he never made her feel uncomfortable.
She didn't want to believe that he was this monster who only wanted to kill. It really seemed too far-fetched for her to believe. And what about when he let the group of werewolves and vampires leave? He didn't kill them then, why would he need to kill them now?
She pulled her phone from her pocket and opened up her messaging app. Her fingers trembled as she began a new message.
Part of her screamed this was a bad idea, and the other part screamed and yearned for the things that were most familiar.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the empty message line. Her fingers hovered over the letters with indecision.
A few moments later, she laid the phone down on the bed next to her and breathed out a heavy sigh. Had she made the right decision?
She timidly threw the question around in her mind, hoping that subtle touch would come back and tell her she was right.
But all she received in reply was silence.
***
Derrick watched Fixer pace the floor of the tiny hotel room they were in. The second in command to the Hunter Society Chairman was not used to having to rearrange his plans. To have those plans thwarted must have been extremely maddening.
Derrick stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles. He was of no mind to help Fixer figure out something new. He was all for stretching the entire fiasco out for as long as possible.
"Your pacing is infuriating me," growled Yun-Hee.
Fixer's dark eyes shot to the she-wolf, and he stalked over to her, wasting no time in closing the distance. His large hand snapped around her throat, and he pulled her up off the double bed.
"You should learn to keep that muzzle of yours closed," he snarled, having had quite enough of this she-wolf's loose lips and attitude.
Yun-Hee reached up to grab his hand with her own and squeaked out her response. "And you should do a job right the first time."
Fixer's face became red with anger, and he threw Yun-Hee across the room. Her body left a large dent in the wall as it crumpled into the floor.
Derrick whistled softly and clicked his tongue. "You're letting your temper get out of control."
Fixer's engraved gaze flew to meet Derrick's, his nostrils flaring. "Don't act like you're all high and mighty. You've wanted to do the same thing to her for days."
"Maybe," shrugged Derrick, "but notice I didn't do it."
Fixer growled angrily and stormed out of the hotel room.
Derrick tried not to flinch as the door slammed shut. He sighed and walked over to Yun-Hee, feeling her neck for a pulse. As disappointing as it was to find a strong pulse still throbbing under her skin, Derrick wasn't completely cold-hearted. He scooped her up into his arms and stretched her out on the bed, covering her with the orange and brown paisley bedspread.
Derrick ran a hand back through his dark brown hair and sighed. This was starting to bother him. He had no way of contacting Jaci since his phone had been confiscated. Worry had been nagging at his mind for days now. Jaci could be dead or alive, and he had no way of knowing.
Or did he?
He glanced at the passed-out werewolf and nibbled on his bottom lip. She had more freedom to come and go than he did. He could send her out to get a message to the mountain inhabitants.
No, that was a foolish idea. She already bragged about attacking Jaci and potentially killing her.
Derrick rubbed a hand down his beard stubbled face.
He would just have to take the risk himself. He was tired of sitting by and waiting for nothing to happen.
He threw some items into his backpack, and with one more anxious glance at Yun-Hee, he stepped out of the hotel.
***
"Hyung, you have to eat," said Jimin, worried and fretful.
"Not hungry," mumbled Hoseok, shoving the bowl of soul back towards Jimin.
Jimin sighed and set the bowl down on the table, his jaw flexing with frustration. He had been fussing around Hoseok for almost a week as the pack prepared for the funeral of their Luna. He had done everything he possibly could to ease the Alpha's burdens, be it taking Hoseok's children to his own home for his mate to watch, or by fielding the visits and calls from worried pack mates.
But while Jimin understood and sympathized with the Alpha's sadness, he was growing tired of the ungratefulness and stubbornness of the head wolf.
Finally, with a shaking voice, Jimin spoke his heart.
"Look, Hyung, I totally sympathize with what you're going through. I can't say I understand because I haven't experienced this yet. But you have to snap out of this. Your kids need you to be strong. Sun-hi and Young-Soo keep asking to see you. They can't sleep at night because they're so worried about you. For crying out loud, they won't even focus on their own loss because they are so concerned about you! Ha-Yoon is at her wit's end on how to comfort them. Can't you see that you aren't alone in your grief?"
Jimin's chest heaved with angry breaths as he waited for Hoseok's reply. After a few agonizing moments of silence, Hoseok turned his cold, bloodshot eyes towards Jimin.
"She was merely their mother, not their mate. They have no idea what grief really is. Nor do you! You stand there and preach to me about snapping out of my grief like you are some head doctor. You know nothing, Jimin. Nothing of the grief I bear. I've lost my mate and my brother. I am barely hanging on to whatever shred of sanity I am left with. Every hour that passes leaves me more determined to join my mate in eternity. Every tick of the clock is a mockery of my cowardice to follow through with it. My wolf is mourning, and it's causing me intense pain. Not just emotional but physical. I want to shift and run away from all of this, and hope to find it all just a bad nightmare. But I know I can't do that. I know I can't get away from this torment. Every day I struggle to open my eyes, and I have to force myself up. My children will recover. But I fear I may never."
Jimin felt hot tears rush down his cheeks as his Alpha poured out his grief. Hoseok himself was crying and struggling to maintain control of his emotions.
"I am not belittling your struggle, Hyung, but you aren't right when you say your children will recover. They could move on if their father was beside them. Their broken hearts might mend if their father comes beside them and loves them through the grief. They are feeling their own grief, Hoseok. Again, you are not alone in this. Let your pack comfort you. Let us help you heal. Stop resisting us and stop pushing your children away."
Hoseok had grown angrier as Jimin spoke, and as Jimin finished, he grasped the bowl of soup and threw it across the room, missing Jimin's head by less than an inch.
"Get out!!" he growled, his chest heaving up and down.
Jimin's jaw quivered, but he regained control of himself. He stared Hoseok down with a heated gaze before turning on his heel and storming out of the Alpha's cabin.
Hoseok stood still as his front door closed with a slam. His shoulders kept moving up and down before falling into an uneven rhythm. Collapsing back into his chair, Hoseok folded in on himself and cried.
***
An impatient knock on the cabin door brought Jungkook back to reality. He rubbed his eyes and looked beside him to see Jaci sleeping. It didn't seem like Taehyung and Sunny had yet returned so Jungkook pushed himself off the bed and shuffled to the door.
Another round of heavy knocks made him worried it would wake up Jaci, but she slept on. He flung open the door and saw Jimin standing naked on the front porch. He must have run over as a wolf and shifted to speak more quickly.
Jungkook averted his eyes out of consideration. "Does Hyung know you're here?"
Jimin gasped as he tried to catch his breath. "No. Jungkook, you need to come back. He's is falling apart. The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow, but he won't even leave the cabin or eat. Ha Yoon and I have been taking care of his kids at our cabin. I think you're the only one who could talk some sense into him."
Jungkook listened to Jimin and his brow furrowed. "What makes you think I can help the man who promised to kill me if he saw my face again?"
Jimin groaned and paced the porch. "Jungkook, he won't listen to me, and no one else in the pack has the respect from him that you have. He doesn't hate you, Kook. He even mentioned how he had lost you. Please, our pack can't survive if he breaks."
"I can't help. I have no experience with losing a mate. I barely even know what it is to have one."
Jimin scowled. "It's that girl, isn't it? Hoseok was right. She's tearing you away from us. But listen to me, Jungkook. If you let this pack crumble because you won't swallow your pride and come talk to Hoseok, you will never have a pack to come back to."
"I don't have one now," snapped Jungkook, eyes flaming gold with anger.
"You never lost me!" shouted Jimin, stopping to stand in front of Jungkook, his body trembling with the cold.
"You never lost me," he said again, this time in a whisper.
"I'm begging you, Jungkook. Come home. Help us. Help Hoseok. We all need you."
Jungkook's chin quivered as his brother pled his case. It was true that Hoseok, Jimin, and Jungkook were considered the top three wolves in the pack, having been the only surviving wolves from the previous pack.
That alone gave him some clout among the pack. And it also meant he had a closer relationship with Hoseok, the Alpha. He could speak more freely than others, and he could pry into the Alpha's private life more than any of the others could.
And really, what did he have to lose at this point? He had already been banished from the pack. Hoseok could no longer use that against him. But he could lose his life if Hoseok lost control.
He turned his head towards the cabin door, and his jaw shifted as he pondered. He had other things to worry about now. His life was more important to him now than it had ever been before.
He turned back to Jimin and with a steely gaze, nodded his head.
"Fine, I'll go. But under one condition."
"Name it, and you've got it," said Jimin quickly.
"You can't let Alpha kill me."
AN: Thank you so much for your patience. 💜 I have the best readers on this entire app.
Forgive me for this, but I'm going to take this moment to plug the upcoming release of the non-fanfictionized No Longer Alone! It's available for ebook preorder right now for only $1.99 (that will go up when it's officially released) and the release date is set for June 18th. (you can find the preorder link on my message board) The softcover physical copy will also be available then at a cost of $24.99 (this book is nearly 600 pages long...I wish I could charge less but Amazon will not let me). If you don't want to or can't buy, don't feel bad! I appreciate any kind of support I can get be it encouraging words, telling others about the book, or sharing on social media. You guys amazing. Help me spread the word. I would really appreciate it!