Alright, this update is the last for this week, I think I managed to write quite a lot for this book, I was on a roll lmao. Hopefully this was enjoyable for you! We'll be back to week 1 tomorrow! But I'm having my second vaccine tomorrow as well so we'll see how it goes.
Also I just wanted to express just how much love I have for you all, everyday is a fun day with you and I can't thank you enough for being a part of this adventure on wattpad with me, I'm truly blessed to have each and every one of you! I love you ❤️
Jimin's POV
I freeze at his words. Namjoon wants to talk to me. He wants to talk to me.
The tiger wants to talk to me. How-
My eyes widen and I take a second look at the man to see him nod at me. "He shifted".
Without waiting any longer, I run past Eunwoo and towards the room where he was with Y/N to find him covered by a blanket that was probably laying around. As soon as he notices my scent, his eyes light up and fall on me, although he remains sitting on the floor, Y/N snuggled up in his lap and asleep.
"Jimin" he greets me and right away, his deep voice takes me aback. It's even deeper than Taehyung's and I thought that was something nearly impossible to achieve. As for his appearance, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, Jungkook and Hoseok are breathtaking as well, but I can't help but stand in awe as he stares at me with his heavily hooded eyes, sharp and smart orbs on my form.
"Namjoon, I didn't expect to find you shifted" I let out, feeling a little dumb now that the words leave my mouth as I step closer to crouch in front of him and he nods, a small smile playing on his lips as if the situation he found himself into was child's play. I guess having Y/N feeling better and resting where he can see her is helping him relax as well.
But then his eyes take on a glint of worry. "How is Yoongi? Is he okay?" he asks and I nod, a hand going through my hair to free my forehead. "He's alright now, not wounded or anything, he simply lost himself in his anger, he was protecting his pack no matter the cost. The tranquilizer finally took effect and they took him to the truck. Come with me, we need to take you both back to the center as well" I say, offer a hand to help him up but he shakes his head.
"Wait, I heard things, Jimin, important stuff. About our kidnapping, about their boss, bases and the breeding farms. Someone is supposed to be coming back here later today with hybrids he bought from somewhere in Sacheon" he says and I blink a few times before turning around to Eunwoo to see him taking his phone out, ready to record the conversation to send to the others.
"Tell me everything" I urge to which he nods.
With that, he proceeds to repeat everything he heard from the truck, information that has me both cringing for the men's stupidity and also bowing to it because damn, this is years worth of information in a single day.
Sacheon being a source of breeding farms, at least one anyway, Osan being home to some of their bases and more than that, them having to be satellite scanned to be found, the tech team is going to have so much fun with all this information.
About how the damn man in cell has been talking with outside people right in our face, we're going to strip him of even the basic everyday life comfort if that means he'll stop this madness. Hiding a phone in a pillow?
And then, the hybrids that were supposed to be coming here today. We'll need to make an ambush if we want to free them, we can't have the driver think something happened here and leave, we need what he knows.
Once done saying everything he can remember, I turn to Eunwoo who's currently sending everything over. "Can you take Namjoon and Y/N back to the center please? Keep her wounds stabilized and get MJ to do her stitches, I trust him to do it well. I'm going to stay here until the hybrids arrive, they're going to be confused and I want to have a look at their condition" I tell him, watch as he nods before moving towards the two hybrids.
Jay hurries over to help him bring the snow leopard and I can see in Namjoon's eyes that it costs him to let her go, but he's in no state to lift her up, his legs wobbly and exhausted. Him having been able to keep consciousness even after shifting after so long, it's extraordinary all by itself so I only wish he'll allow himself to rest and sleep for the night. It's getting late enough and they haven't even eaten yet. I trust Taehyung and Jin to take care of them.
Namjoon makes his way towards the door but stops when next to me. "Thank you, for finding us. Eunwoo told us that you rushed outside as soon as you heard of our disappearance. I knew you would find us" he murmurs, his kind eyes gazing at me warmly, thankful and bright.
Moved by his words, I nod and can't help but take him in my arms, his tall body hovering over mine but he responds to it nonetheless, although a little clumsily as he wraps his arms back around me. "Anything for you, anything" I whisper and I too soon regretfully step back to allow him to join Eunwoo so he can get back to safety.
Now, off to make sure some new hybrids avoid a life of suffering.
Hoseok's POV
It's a feeling of endless waiting as Jungkook and I follow Taehyung all around the center, unable to just sit still, the simple thought of being left to our worries making us want to cry again.
I never thought such a simple walk to the garden could have ended up the way it did, to see these strange men covered in black take our three pack members away in such a short time, it all feels like a blur when I try to remember.
Jungkook holds my hand tighter and I turn to see him smile softly at me. I squeeze back and nod, although unable to form a smile of my own, the corners of my lips curved downwards. I just want to see them come back safe.
I'm so worried for them. What if they got hurt? What if something bad happened? What if they come back but one of them is missing? So many possible scenarios filling my mind, even if I try to stop them, I can't. I just want to see them again.
"Here you two, you have to eat" Jin murmurs as he sets plates in front of us, easy to eat sandwiches that should smell delicious, but instead smell like ash to my nose. Taehyung steps closer and nudges us softly.
"You two have to eat, I'm sure Y/N, Namjoon and Yoongi wouldn't want you to skip meals worrying for them, hm? They'll be back shortly, Jimin just called us, they're on the way" he says and we both look up to meet their eyes instantly.
They're coming back? "All three of them?" I ask, unable to stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks. Taehyung nods and cups my face softly to remove the tears. "All three of them. Eat now while we wait for them, okay?".
I nod and proceed to take a bite of my sandwich, watch as Jungkook does the same, teary eyed but he tries to stay strong as he chews on his own sandwich, thankful eyes meeting Jin's as the latter gazes at us, looking just as relieved by the news.
We manage to eat everything, stomachs accepting with joy the food since it's now much later than the normal dining time, every hybrids gone to sleep already and although very tired, I can't handle the thought of them coming back while I'm sleeping, I need to see them first, I need to see them looking healthy before I can finally rest.
"Taehyung ssi, Seokjin ssi, they're here" Sunoo exclaims as he enters the kitchen before running back out just as fast.
But as much as I want to scream in joy, Jungkook and I share a worried look at the hint of shock that mixed in his scent. Something's wrong. Jin gathers the dishes and turns to Taehyung. "Go and take them to their pack, I'll clean this up and will be there as soon as possible" he says, impatience in his voice but he can't just leave the kitchen dirty after using it, he knows he won't be able to leave their sides once he sees them.
Taehyung nods and takes us with him towards the infirmary half of the building, quick feet as we walk through the corridors to reach the emergency section. My eyes widen at the words above the door but Taehyung reassures me with a smile.
"Don't worry, it's only to make sure they're not badly wounded. They'll get the necessary treatment and once fine, they'll be out and going to a room like the one Y/N was in" he explains and I nod as he takes us inside a large room. I look around, finding many beds with curtains around them, but the lack of smells tells me the place is mostly empty. What I do notice though is the heavy scent of my pack mixed in with the smell of blood.
Jungkook starts running towards the beds at the far end of the room and I follow behind, wide eyes when I see Yoongi's mane covered in blood, slick and sticky, Y/N looking unconscious, blood-stained fur telling me that her wounds reopened again and-
My eyes meet sharp ones and I freeze, notice the white stripey ears on his head, his smell so very familiar... "Namjoon" I breathe out before rushing to him and jump straight into his arms, so glad to smell no blood on him, to see that he's perfectly fine and shifted.
He hugs me back and it doesn't take long before I feel Jungkook take part in the hug from behind me, the three of us staying close to one another and letting it sink in that they really are back, that it's not our imagination.
"We're back, it's okay now, it's okay" he murmurs, knowing just how scared we were with how thick the smell still sticks to our skin, remnant of tears dried on our cheeks and neck.
"Don't leave us like that ever again" Jungkook lets out with a sob, his body shaking behind me. I turn to the side and wrap an arm around him to get him closer into the circle, Namjoon's arm clinging around our snake as well to keep him close and he just bursts into tears, all his worry flowing out of his body to leave place to relief.
Namjoon shushes softly as he keeps hugging us and it hits me that although he was the one going through this event, he still ends up being the one comforting us. Namjoon is strong, physically and mentally.
Jimin's POV
We cleaned up the place to the best of our abilities and hid the trucks inside before closing the front gate. I changed into one of the dead men's uniform before rushing to the little cabin from where one would normally open the gates.
Our goal is to get the person bringing the hybrids as far in as possible before ambushing him and bringing him back to the center with us. It's a pity that everyone else had to die, but if we can bring this one with us to get answers out of him, then not everything is lost.
The walkie-talkie Rocky lent me screeches a little and I pick it up to hear better. "Niki on call. A truck is coming, open the gates. Over". Thank goodness. The night has long settled in and with the darkness surrounding us, only the gate's strong spotlights truly allow us to see what the heck is happening around us, which, for now, is basically nothing.
I start hearing the growling motor of a car and proceed to open the gates, something I practiced a few times since it has three different unlocking keys. If it appears unprofessional and random, I fear the driver would turn around and flee the scene and we definitely don't want that.
I sit still and bow as the truck proceeds inside and as soon as it's safe... close the gates.
And then the driver's doom begins.
Our armed elite men jump out from their hiding places and point their guns at the truck just as a man steps out. It doesn't take long before he lies down on the floor at Rocky's directives, the man clearly not trained to be dangerous, a simple messenger, a do-what-I-say man. That makes me tick, irked because that means he might not know as much as I had hoped.
But as long as we can get out of him the locations of breeding farms he knows of, then I can call that a successful mission. I step out of the cabin and rush to the back of the truck, doors opening to reveal five scared hybrids.
When they see me, they curl up as far away from the exit as possible, all of them cuddled together. Another pack, I come to realize.
"Shh, it's okay, you're in good hands now. We ambushed the bad guys, nothing bad is going to happen to you five now, alright? We're going to take you somewhere safe, I promise" I say in an attempt to soothe them.
An attempt that doesn't work too well, obviously, but it's normal. I turn to Sanha, the rat hybrid standing not too far from me. "Can you bring one of our truck over please? We're going to transfer them into it, I don't want one of their trucks near our center" I say, watch as he nods before swiftly running to one of ours and gets inside.
I turn back to observe the group in the cage. A cobra, a hyena, a cougar, a leopard and... a parrot. They don't look too young, which surprises me. I would expect the hybrids being sold to be younger. Must not be the breeding farm they usually contact or the farm's owner themselves got these from another place.
The truck Sanha is driving gets closer and once the back facing me, he steps out and proceeds to open the doors to help me push the cage out and into the other. Jay and Niki eventually come to help us because that shit's heavy as heck, obviously.
The hybrids whimper, afraid, but no one tries to bite our fingers off, which I'm grateful for. They visibly haven't gone through much trauma yet, extremely sheltered, but since they haven't experienced the horrors of a circus as illegal as the ones we're trying to find, they can see more clearly than others that we're not here to hurt them, their eyes mostly confused and curious as they glance at us.
That's one thing I'm thankful about hybrids. Their ability to smell emotions. If they can tell that we mean them no harm, then they're more inclined to trust us. That can go against them though if they end up meeting some people with an extreme control of themselves, such as manipulative people, but that's something they'll learn to prevent with our classes, to not depend blindly on their sense of smell, but for now, it goes in our favor.
Once the transfer done, I take a look at each of them and smile. "You did a good job staying calm, lovelies, let's bring you home and give you a good bath along with a filling meal, okay?" I say softly, hear the hyena cackle happily at the mention of food before the leopard pulls him into his side protectively.
I sigh to myself and close the doors before turning to the others. "Is that all that's happening here? Was there any other hybrids hidden inside the building?" I ask and Rocky shakes his head.
"We searched each rooms, the basement, we also used a heat radar, nothing showed up, the place is empty. Still, I'll stay here until the investigating team gets on the grounds, I don't want any proof that could be here taken away, you can go. I'll only keep Sanha and Jay, Jake will drive the truck back to the center with Niki".
Nodding my head at him, then at Jake and at the fox hybrid, I make my way to my own car and get inside, the heaviness of what happened tonight barely sinking in just yet. That was a mission like I rarely assist in and I can't say I'd like to do this on a regular basis.
Still, that allows me to see just what exactly Jin has to do and even then, I barely got a glimpse of what he usually does. My soulmate may appear soft, but he is strong in so many aspects and he impresses me so much.
As soon as the gates open, I follow the truck out of the area and towards the center, knowing that I won't be able to take it easy tonight, not with these new hybrids arriving at the center.
I'll have to take a few blood tests to see if they're able to shift because if they can, I'd ask them to do so so they can have a room right now and eat proper meals. Being surrounded by hybrids in a homey dormitory would surely make them feel safer than in a cage in a large and empty room.
I look at the time, 2am. I wonder if Taehyung and Jin are sleeping right now. Are Hoseok and Jungkook feeling better? Was Y/N taken care of with her wounds? Was she able to wake up to eat a little? What about Yoongi? How is his mental state? He must have woken up from the tranquilizer by now.
So many questions I have and no one to answer them for now. I won't take the chance to wake up Jin and Taehyung, I'm sure they had a hard time tonight as well and I want them to rest as much as possible. As for me... coffee will be my best friend until I can sleep at the end of the day.
Your POV
Waking up feels weird. As if I'm being pulled from under a heavy weight, as if freed, finally, from something that kept me prisoner for too long.
It barely registers in my mind, questions like, what could it be? No, my reflex is to simply reach out to this feeling that offers itself to me, like a long lost friend, a warm embrace that I missed so much.
As soon as I feel my body start to change, a strong mix of heat and cold flows through my whole being but I keep pushing, needing to get this done and over with. To retrieve a lost part of me. Even through the unnatural temperature of my body, even as I whine and growl in pain, unaware of the way my voice changes, from animal-like to human-like, I keep pushing, needing to feel this completeness again.
It's only when the uncomfortable feeling goes away, pain fading into nothingness that I open my eyes to find fingers in front of my face. Fingers. Hand. Arm.
And then it clicks. I just shifted. I sit up quickly, blanket falling off me to reveal my body and I look down, fascinated to have it back. I'm finally able to shift! I did it! I bring a hand to my head, feel my hair that surrounds my face, my neck, my-
Right, this body is different from how it used to be. I let my eyes fall on my stitches, notice the now bright contrast of red on pale skin, no fur to cover it up and looking sensitive. As long as I don't touch it, I think it's going to be fine.
Taehyung's scent reaches my nose before the door opens and I look up right as he proceeds to enter the room, door closed behind him before he looks to stare at me. It takes a moment for his brain to register just what he's seeing before he turns a scarlet red and quickly turns around.
"I'm so sorry, I got the wrong room, so sorry, really" he hurries to say before leaving the room.
I stare at the door in confusion. He didn't get the wrong room. Unless he wasn't looking for me? That's possible, maybe he was looking for someone else. After a minute of silence, the door opens again and he covers his eyes.
"... Y/N?" he asks softly, tentatively, as if scared that he's becoming crazy. I smile. "That's me, Taehyung. Are you okay?" I ask, notice the way chills cover his whole body, scent perking up and softening before he steps closer, slowly and careful to not bump into a chair.
"Can you... cover up, please? The blanket" he asks shyly, clearly taken aback by the situation. I nod and grab the blanket with my fingers.
With fingers! Can you imagine? I can grab stuff! Feeling a smile stretch the corners of my mouth even more, tail curling behind me and swaying at a slow pace, ears standing tall and proud, I cover myself up and stare at Taehyung with impatient expectation.
"Can I look?" he asks again and when I hum my approval, he slowly, very slowly moves his hand from his face to gaze at me, eyes wide and sparkling.
"I- Y/N, you... you look beautiful, I can't-" he ruffles his own hair with a groan before stepping closer to hug me tight.
Surprised as I didn't expect that at all, it takes me a moment of confusion before I hug him back, wondering why he felt the urge to hug me like that. What I don't take into account is that, by hugging him, I stopped holding my blanket.
And as it slides down my chest, the door opens again. Taehyung steps back to see who entered the room, Jin looks down at my body, eyes widening before he glares at Taehyung. The latter, confused, turns back to me to see the blanket covering only my bottom half and gasps, hands going back to cover his eyes.
Then the door opens again and Jimin enters inside, confused by the sight before his eyes fall on me too.
And then it's silent. Eerily quiet
"Y-y-you- Taehyung!" Jin screeches, body running towards the man to pull him away from me quickly, slaps heard on the man who screams, begs for help as Jin doesn't stop hitting, ears burning a bright red.
All of this, because they saw my boobs? I shrug and pull the blanket back up, notice Jimin scratching the back of his neck, cheeks flashing a vibrant pink, eyes wide and fixated on mine, as if afraid to see anything he shouldn't if he looks away.
"That's... not what I was expecting to find when coming in" he mumbles, feet taking him to me so he can take a look at my condition. Hands on my forehead but eyes unable to look away from me, as if looking at something amazing.
"How do you feel this morning?" Jimin asks me, voice gentle and warm, finger grazing my skin ever so softly as he exposes only my side where the stitches are. "Fine, like I could start running and never stop. Ah but I won't do that, I know I'm in not state for that yet" I respond, hear his chuckle as he smiles.
"That's right, sweet girl, we don't overdo it. The stitches are looking good, which I'm relieved about. No fatigue, heaviness, headache? Anything that feels abnormal?" he continues asking and I shake my head. He hums, finding this curious.
"Alright, that's good then, I thought it would take longer for you to shift, when did it happen?". I turn to see Taehyung now hugging Jin tightly to try to be forgiven, eyes clenched tight before the eldest sighs and hugs him back, eyes meeting mine shyly and nodding with a small smile.
The door opens again and enters inside a group of confused hybrids, a new human body adding itself to the lot. My smile widens, completely oblivious to the panic taking over the men in the room when I let go of my blanket to throw my arms in the air. Jin screams and turns away, head bumping against the wall as if to punish himself for having seen too much again while Taehyung can only follow with a confused gasp.
"Yoongi! You shifted too!" I chirp while Jimin hurries to grab the blanket and twist it around me, a silent swear leaving his mouth as he looks just about ready to seal it to my skin when it doesn't stay. I bring my arms back to hold the blanket and purse my lips together when I see the doctor rubbing his temples with a groan, face too colorful for it to be comfortable.
But when I bring my eyes back to my family, my worry for him dissipates as I watch their eyes fall on me and sparkle at the sight. "You shifted! My cute girl isn't cute anymore, she's beautiful! I'm so happy for you!" Hoseok chirps back first before running over to hug me but this time I don't hug back, needing the blanket to stay in place to avoid causing even more chaos.
Namjoon, Yoongi and Jungkook come over happily, bright smiles on their faces as they take turns to hug me, starting with Jungkook.
"How do you feel, baby?" he whispers, eyes meeting mine as he pulls back from the hug to see how I'm doing. I grin, unable to keep from bouncing lightly on my bed. "I feel awesome, it's amazing to be able to talk again, it had been so long!" I say, see his smile widen as he gazes at me, hand going to rub the base of one ear gently before he gives place to Namjoon.
The tall man half bends down in front of me and smiles as he observes me. "You sure you don't feel sick or anything like that? Not tired?" he asks with a kind voice, needing to confirm that I really am doing fine. I shake my head. "I'm fine, Joonie, perfectly fine" I answer with a smile. He nods and stands up to hug me. "I'm glad, love, really glad".
When Yoongi's scent starts becoming more impatient, Namjoon chuckles and steps back to leave place to the lion who perks up now that the space in front of me is free. He steps forward and cups my cheeks right away, turns my head left and right before leaving a peck on my forehead, then rests his own against mine.
"You look like nothing happened at all last night, I'm relieved. You look beautiful, doll. I missed your voice" he murmurs, his smell strong and intoxicating and wrapping around me without leaving any skin out of its reach.
"I missed yours too" I whisper back, content to stay basking in their scent, all of them mixing together, even the humans'. He steps back and I take a good look at his face. The scar on his eye seems to be healing rather well, but it doesn't show any signs that it's going to disappear one day, the line red and jumping above his eyelid.
Holding my blanket to my chest with one arm, I bring my other hand to his face, fingers grazing the scar as he closes his eye to let me follow all of its length, his other eye not letting go of me. It breaks my heart when I imagine the kind of pain he must have went through to get this one, but I'm glad it didn't make him blind.
"Alright... erm... I'll go bring her clothes. And... shit, we don't have bras, do we? What the heck, I'll go shopping right now" Jin exclaims, still flustered at the highest level. Taehyung stutters out that he'll go make something to eat and only Jimin stays behind, seemingly getting over his initial shock.
"Well, Jin clearly won't be coming back with clothes right now so I'll go get something that could fit you..." he says before turning around and towards the door.
"I can't believe we didn't even think of that... of course a female is going to have breasts, gosh dang it. I need to call Jin so he can get more for the other hybrids as well" he mumbles before closing the door behind him.
Alright so, you know, Daechwita Yoongi? Yeah.