Yoongi POV:
"No." I shook my head and turned away from Y/N. "I don't want to meet them." We had been having this conversation since we met and even though I knew Y/N was only trying to help me, I had no interest in meeting my other two mates. I didn't even really want to meet Jungkook, but he came in with Jin and Hoseok, so I had no choice in the matter.
"Come on kitty. They're... they're leaving tomorrow. It will be good for you to at least get to know them." Y/N's hand touched mine gently and I couldn't help but feel my resolve start to soften.
Although the bond was calling me to them, the knowledge of them rejecting the beautiful woman in front of me hurt my heart and I didn't like how that made me feel. From the moment she hugged me in that hospital room after I attacked her, I knew I would do everything necessary to protect my mate. I was going to make sure nothing ever hurt her again, especially the three other mates who decided to reject her.
"I'm not changing my mind about staying with you. I want to be with you." I clenched her hand tightly, trying to let her know with my actions that I wanted to stay with her, that no matter what, I wasn't going to leave her.
Y/N grinned at my words and the pure elation in her smile touched my heart, making me feel like I was making the right decision. "I'm so happy to hear that kitty."
In the past week, I had gotten the opportunity to learn more about my human mate and I knew my initial impression of her was correct. She was kind, compassionate, and so caring about everyone, both human and hybrid. Hoseok had explained that the day I attacked her, she had just come back from the cemetery with Dr. Sehun after burying a hybrid who didn't survive and that the deaths affected her more than anyone else in the sanctuary. He had also let out that Y/N used the money left to her by her parents to pay for the burials. It was just one more thing that told me I was making the right decision to accept her as my mate.
I had noticed she was one of the few humans who worked at the sanctuary and Jin had explained it was because most humans chose not to study hybrid medicine. Y/N had been one of only two humans in her hybrid nursing program and had made that decision when she was still young, shortly after her parents had brought Jin home. The other two humans that worked in the sanctuary were in different area. One was a male doctor who worked in the Intensive Care Unit and the other was an older female doctor who worked in Labor and Delivery. I hadn't met them, but Jin assured me they were nice and had the hybrids best interest at heart.
"Do... do you really think I should meet the other mates?" I knew Y/N had been saying it, but I wanted to make sure she didn't mind. As much as I denied it, part of me wanted to meet them. Knowing my other mates were just down the hall was something I couldn't resist, even if I wanted to.
"Of course I do." Y/N squeezed my hand then kissed my cheek, making my heart flutter in anticipation. "It's going to be okay."
"O-okay, but can I..." My words trailed off, not sure how to ask the question hanging in the back of my mind without sounding desperate. "Can I kiss you first?"
Y/N looked surprised for a moment and I wanted to slap myself for being so forward but then she gave me that beautiful smile that I had grown to love and nodded. "I would like that."
Studying her face for any type of resistance and seeing none, I leaned forward and gently pressed my lips to hers, capturing them in a soft kiss. Keeping the touch gentle, I moved mine against hers for a moment, letting myself get caught up in her captivating aromatic scent, letting it wash over me and fill me up. Pulling back, I kissed her once more then leaned my forehead against hers. "I..." The words I wanted to say got caught in my throat and I pushed them back, believing it was too soon, too soon to tell her how I felt. It had only been a week, but I knew without a doubt that I never wanted to leave her side.
Y/N wrapped her arms around my neck, nuzzling her face into me and I couldn't help melting in her arms. "I'm... I'm so happy I'm your mate." Her words were soft, but I could feel the sincerity in them and knowing she felt that way made a bubble of happiness grow in my chest, threatening to burst and spill over.
After a moment, a knock on the door disturbed us and Y/N sat back, moving herself from my arms as Jin stepped through. "Hey Yoongi. How are you doing?"
I waved at my other mate, giving him a grin. "Good good. How about yourself?"
Jin returned the smile. "Doing just fine. You ready to get out of here soon?"
The doctor that had taken care of me, Sehun, had told me I was okay to leave a few days ago, but at the moment, I didn't have anywhere to go, so he told me it was perfectly fine for me to stay at the sanctuary. Although Jin had mentioned me moving in with them, I didn't want to while Jungkook was still there. As much as I wanted to get to know my other mates, knowing how much Y/N was hurting because of them held me back. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was doing the same thing. It was why I had decided to meet the other two mates.
"Yeah. Definitely. Although this one is nice, hospitals aren't really my thing."
Jin laughed at my response and nodded in agreement. "Yeah I can understand why that would be." He turned to Y/N and an unspoken conversation seemed to take place between them. Turning back to me, Jin moved closer to me. "We... we are moving into our new house in just two days. We were wondering if you would like to come with us."
"A-re you sure? Are you really sure?" I couldn't stop the tears that pricked the corners of my eyes and the shakiness of my voice.
"Absolutely." Y/N was the one to answer this time, her hand squeezing mine gently.
"YES! YES! Of course!" I hurried to answer, just in case they changed their minds. "I want to. I want to live with you so badly. I want to be with my mates."
Jin laughed at my reaction and reached over to ruffle my hair. "I'm happy to hear you say that. The house has five bedrooms so a couple of us will have to share, but we will figure that out."
I tried to hold back the smile that threatened to split my cheeks, but I couldn't. "It doesn't matter. I can sleep on the couch or the floor. Anywhere. It doesn't matter."
"Oh silly kitty. You're not sleeping on the floor. If you don't want to share a room with one of the guys, you can share a room with me." Y/N winked at me and I all but melted into a puddle on the floor.
Jin crossed his arms, a pout on his face. "That's not fair. I want to share a room with you."
"Nuh uh. She asked me first." A smug smile crossed my face at my words and Y/N laughed out loud.
"Calm down Jinnie. We'll figure it out later." Y/N released my hand and stroked a hand over my hair, softly petting one ear. "But can you... can you take Yoongi to see the others?"
Knowing I had made it clear that I didn't want to meet them, Jin looked over at me in surprise but then quickly cleared the expression from his face. "Of course. Whenever you're ready."
I turned my attention to Y/N, who smiled happily at me and I knew this was going to make her feel better about the whole situation. "Can we... can we just get it out of the way?" Jin nodded and I stood up from the chair I had been seated in.
Giving Y/N a last peck on the cheek, I followed Jin from the room. I could see he wanted to ask me about it but he said nothing and I was grateful. We walked down the corridor to a room and right away I could sense the fragrances inside: key lime pie, strawberry shortcake, and banana milkshakes. The third one was familiar since I had met Jungkook, but the other two were new to me.
Jin knocked on the door and pushed it open and we stepped inside the room. The three hybrids in there looked up at our entrance and I could see the surprise in their features. "Jimin, Tae? This is Yoongi, our other mate."
A golden eagle hybrid was seated on the edge of the bed and he looked at me with a grin. "Hi! I've wanted to meet you. I'm Taehyung, but call me Tae. This is Jimin." Taehyung pointed to the rabbit hybrid, who was studying me with a curious look on his face.
"It's nice to meet you both." I kept my voice polite, not wanting to let myself be too open with them, especially knowing how they felt about my human mate.
Jungkook looked over at me and I could see the hesitant smile on his face. When he had visited me before, I had made it very clear that I was going to stay with Y/N. "Hi Yoongi. It's nice... nice to see you again."
I simply nodded at him then turned my attention to the other two. "Um... I wanted to come meet you before you leave tomorrow."
"Are you staying with the human too?" The question came from Jimin and I could detect the hint of a sneer in his voice.
I bristled at the question, already annoyed at his tone when it came to my human mate. "The human's name is Y/N and yes. I am going to stay with her."
Taehyung held out a hand to Jimin, squeezing the rabbit's fingers. "Minnie... not now. Please."
There seemed to be some sort of unspoken agreement between them and I watched as the rabbit sighed then sat back in the chair, his face an unreadable mask. I could see that Taehyung cared for Y/N, even if he didn't want to admit it, but there was no reaching Jimin. He clearly had his mind made up and there was nothing I could do about that. However, I could protect my mate from him and that's exactly what I intended to do.
Taehyung POV:
As Yoongi stood in the room with us, I could see the hesitation on his face, sense the reluctance in his frame. I knew he had been unwilling to meet us, but I could guess that he was here simply because Y/N wanted him to be. Knowing her kindness, I knew she would want him to meet all of his mates, even if they didn't want anything to do with her. When Yoongi walked in the room, the scent of chocolate covered cherries clung to him, along with his sweet sugar cookie smell and I knew he had been close to Y/N before coming to see us. I couldn't help but feel envious of the tiger, knowing he had been close to our human mate. Something I knew I would never get.
My eyes scanned the room and I could see the tension in Jungkook's frame and knew he had realized the same thing I had. The jealousy in his eyes was almost impossible to miss and when my eyes landed on Jimin, I was almost positive I saw the same thing. Could it be...? A thought crossed my mind and I couldn't help but wonder if Jimin was regretting pushing our human mate away so quickly. Was he finally realizing what Jin had been trying to get him to see all along? What Hoseok and Namjoon tried to convince him of? Studying him for a moment, I wasn't sure, but the look on his face couldn't be mistaken for anything else.
"So Yoongi tell us about yourself. I want... want to get to know you." I turned to the tiger and he gave me a small smile. No matter what happened, he was still my mate and I wanted to know him.
"Um..." He hesitated and I could tell right away he didn't have a good story to tell. "There's not much to tell. I've... I've been part of a circus for the last 20 years. Since I'm a white Bengal tiger, I'm considered a rare breed so... so people would pay more to see me." He looked embarrassed to admit this, his cheeks turning a deep red. My heart broke at the idea that he had been going through such torment for so long.
"See? This is why I don't trust humans." Jimin's voice was stiff and I flinched at the tone. Shit Jimin! Not now! Don't start this now! "This just proves my point that they are disgusting, terrible people."
Yoongi's eyes narrowed in irritation and he turned his attention to Jimin. "Interesting since the owner of the circus was a hybrid."
Jimin's mouth dropped open in surprise and I knew my own face mirrored his shock. A hybrid had done this to him? Treated him this way? The idea was almost hard to believe, seemingly impossible.
Jungkook's eyes widened and he put a hand over his mouth, the distress written all over his handsome face. "A hybrid? How... how could it be?"
Yoongi shrugged, as though the topic bored him. "A hamster hybrid. Much easier to hide his tail and ears. He was adopted by a woman as a child who helped him hide his features. Raised him as a human child and when he was old enough, he left her and bought the circus. I found out by accident what he was and let's put it this way. You would think as a tiger, I would be able to defend myself, but a cattle prod in the hands of a hamster is a lot stronger than I ever was." Yoongi lifted the edge of his shirt and I couldn't stop the gasp of horror that left my lips as I saw the scars of burns on his side, leading around to the front of his body.
Jimin sat there in silence, not sure what to say to that. Jin simply put his arm around Yoongi, comforting our mate in the only way he knew how. "It's okay Yoongi. You will never have to go through anything like that ever again."
Yoongi gave Jin a sad smile then turned to Jimin. "Before you judge a human, especially someone as caring as my mate, you might want to get to know them first. Turns out that some of the worst monsters are the ones who are supposed to understand what you're going through the most, the ones who are supposed to be on your side." He turned to me and gave me a hesitant smile. "It was nice to meet you Tae. I wish you guys the best of luck. Maybe we'll see each other again." With those final words, he left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.
The room was silent for a moment and when I turned to Jimin, his cheeks were pink, an obvious sign of his shame. I said nothing and neither did Jin or Jungkook, but I could see they were surprised at Yoongi's words, surprised at the boldness of his statement. The idea of him going through so much pain, so much torture at the hands of a hybrid made the bile want to rise up in my throat, the horrifying situation that he suffered through almost too much to bear.
"Um... so Jungkook said you guys found an apartment?" Jin tried to break the silence and I was grateful for his gentle voice cutting through the tension, easing some of the awkwardness that was left behind when Yoongi left.
"Y-yeah. It's a nice place. F-furnished and everything." I tried to keep my voice positive but I could feel the sadness filling me. "And... and I spoke to Joon's boss, Owen. I'll be starting at the coffee shop in a couple of days."
Jin's smile brightened and I could see his happiness for me. "I'm happy to hear that Tae. What about you? Have you found something?" Jin turned to Jimin, his eyes curious.
Jimin looked stunned for a moment, clearly still caught up in the conversation with Yoongi. "Uh... yeah. Hobi got me a job at the studio he's working in. I... I like to dance."
"That's great Jiminie. I'm glad to hear that." Jin's voice was sincere and I knew no matter what he was going to still accept us. Regardless of how things went with Y/N, he clearly had no intentions of rejecting us, although I couldn't blame him if he did.
Jungkook was quiet the whole time and I could see the regret in his face, but I knew his pride, along with the worry that Jimin put in his heart, was too great for him to change his mind. From the shattered look on his face, I could see he wanted Y/N so badly, but he was going to let her go, let his own heart break in the process. The idea of one of my mates being sad hurt so badly, but I didn't know how to make it better. Although the whole situation sucked, I didn't want to go against Jimin since we had been together so long. Even if he was wrong.
Jin sighed and I knew the whole situation frustrated him. "Would it... it would be okay if Joon, Hobi and me visited you guys sometimes? We would still like to build our bond. You are our mates after all."
Jimin smiled for the first time since Yoongi left and I could see Jin's words helped alleviate some of the guilt he was feeling. "Of course. You are welcome anytime. We definitely want the chance to spend more time with you. Get to know you better." If Jimin noticed that Jin didn't mention Yoongi, he didn't show it.
I worried bout the bond with Yoongi. Was he rejecting us? Was he denying our bond because of what happened with Y/N? The thought made my stomach clench in pain at the realization that I was not only losing one of my mates, but potentially two.
A fuzzy tail wrapped around my wrist and I looked up to see Jin standing next to me, his hand reaching out to brush my hair back from my face. The gesture was sweet and caring, something I had come to learn about the marten at my side. I leaned into his hand, wanting to enjoy the simple comfort he was giving me. "It's going to be okay. We'll still see each other. You're still our mates so it's going to be fine."
The unshed tears burned my eyes and I gave Jin a small smile full of relief at his comforting words. Without me saying a word, he knew exactly what I was thinking, what I was feeling. And he knew just what to say to try and make me feel better.
Jin turned back to Jimin and Jungkook. "I'm going to go ahead and head home. Joon's supposed to come over tonight. We... we need to finish packing and he offered to help us."
At the mention of packing, I could see the sadness fill Jungkook's eyes and I knew the idea of them moving on without him hurt, but he wouldn't say anything. "Okay. I'm... I'm glad you came by." I gave Jin a smile, trying to let him know without words how I felt.
"Anytime. Let us know when you guys get settled and are ready for some company." Jin hugged the three of us, giving us each a peck on the cheek and left the room, leaving a faint hint of peppermint candy canes in his wake.
The silence in the room was almost overwhelming and I knew the others were lost in thought, just like me. Jungkook with his heartbreak, Jimin with his guilt, and me with my own sadness and questions. Where was Y/N? Why hadn't she come back to see me? Was she sad about us leaving? Would she miss me? Why couldn't I just tell Jimin I wanted her?