A/N: Just a heads up that the smut (or in this chapter mentions of) really gets going from here and will be in most, if not every, chapter. And we're talking explicit. Really explicit! Read the Welcome! chapter again if you need to remind yourself of what's about to happen. This is your only warning! It's going to get crazy from here on out! Enjoy!
Jimin POV:
"Nice job Jiminie." I turned to see Hoseok standing there, a grin on his face and his fluffy tail swaying back and forth. "The little ones seem to like you a lot."
Shutting down the stereo, I wiped my face with a towel then turned and made my way to Hoseok. As much as I wanted to hug him, take in his sweet orange dreamsicle scent, I held myself back, not wanting to get my sweat on him. "Thanks. The little ones are cute. They seem to listen pretty well and they're adorable."
Hoseok laughed and pulled me into a hug. "I don't care about the sweat. I just want to hug my mate."
Although I wanted to protest, I let myself relax in his arms. Even though I saw him everyday at the dance studio he helped me get a job at, it still wasn't enough. The faint scent of our other mates clung to him and I couldn't stop myself from taking it all in, let it cover me, let it surround me. "How is... is everyone?"
Kissing the top of my sweaty head, Hoseok released me. "Doing good. Jin helped assist on a complicated brain surgery and he was ecstatic and Joonie is loving having Tae work with him. He says the customers love him there. We move into the new house tomorrow so Yoongi will be joining us."
I felt a little pang of hurt at the mention of Yoongi. I had only seen my tiger mate once and from the way I acted, I wouldn't be surprised if he never wanted to see me again. It was still hard to imagine another hybrid torturing him the way that he was and it was something I didn't want to think about. I waited for a moment, seeing if would mention Y/N, but Hoseok changed the subject, asking about the new apartment. My heart sunk at the quick redirection, but I knew it was Hoseok's way of trying to protect her. He knew I didn't want anything to do with her, so why would he tell me anything? I kept trying to convince myself of that, ignoring the little voice in my head that was calling me a liar.
"The apartment's nice. They had a two bedroom, which we took, but we usually... usually just end up in the same bed at night." The apartment really was a nice place and I was surprised the sanctuary had helped us find it. After the uncomfortable interactions with Sehun, I was surprised they were willing to help us as much as they did.
Hoseok grinned. "Yeah. Kookie is a bed hopper. Jin would laugh and say he would usually start off in his own bed but then ended up in..." His words trailed off and he laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his next in a gesture I had become familiar with.
I knew what he had been about to say. I knew he had been going to mention Y/N, my human mate they all avoided talking about. As much as I didn't want to admit it to myself, I was dying for information about her. Was she eating well? Was she sleeping? Did she miss Jungkook? Did she miss Taehyung? Did... did she miss me? I hadn't spoken to her since the day I confronted her in the corridor at the sanctuary and anytime I did see her after that, she would turn and head the other direction, her fear of me rolling off of her in waves. Each time, a rush of guilt would crash over me and I would try to force it down. Try and tell myself that Taehyung was hurt because of people like her, but at this point, I knew she would never hurt him, that she would probably take better care of him than I could.
"Um... did you, Jin, and Joon want to come over this week? Have dinner with us? Hang out for a little bit maybe? Bring... bring Yoongi if he wants to come." I tried to keep my voice calm, but even I could sense the hopefulness that clung to every word. Twisting my fingers in front of me, I waited in anticipation for his answer.
Running a finger down my cheek, Hoseok's touch was gentle and I couldn't help but lean into it. "Let me talk to Jin and Joon, but I'm sure they will want to. I know they miss you guys. Believe it or not, we want to spend time with you. I want to get to know my mates. I care about all of you. I want all of you." Bending down, Hoseok pressed a kiss to my lips. It was short and sweet, but everything to me since it was the first bit of intimacy we had shared.
Unable to stop myself, I twined my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me, capturing his lips with mine. His lips were soft as they moved against mine slowly, building up until my resolve snapped and I thrust my tongue in his mouth. Hoseok groaned against me, pulling me closer to him and wrapping his arms around my waist. He carded his fingers through my hair, brushing against one of my ears and I shivered in delight at the sensation. After a moment, he pulled back and I could see the dark need in his eyes.
"Not exactly what I meant when I said getting to know you. At least right now, but hey it works for me." Hoseok's voiced was filled with amusement and I couldn't help but laugh. He always seemed to know just what to say to make even the most uncomfortable situations better. It was one of the reasons I adored him so much.
I pecked his cheek then moved away from his arms. "I'm going to head home and get a shower since I know I need one." Picking up my bag, I slung it over my shoulder then ran a hand through my hair. "I'll call you tonight and we can decide on when you guys want to come. It will give you a chance to talk to the others."
Hoseok nodded then held the studio door open for me. "Sounds good to me." We parted ways outside of the studio and I made the short five-minute walk home. I was lucky that we had such a close apartment. Taehyung worked a little further away, but his boss, Owen, seemed more than happy to take him to and from work. Taehyung had nothing but good things to say about the human and I was happy that he was enjoying his job so much. Jungkook drove to work everyday since the apartment was a little further than where he had lived with Y/N and the others. Jin and Namjoon had helped him get his license then a car and I knew it made things easier on him.
Arriving at the apartment, I let myself into the quiet place. Taehyung wouldn't be home for another hour, Jungkook shortly after so I took advantage of the time by myself to take a nice long shower. As I stripped down and stood under the hot water, I thought of the last couple of weeks. We had been in the apartment for two weeks and had our first intimate moment just a couple days ago. I had worried it would be strange with both of them since Taehyung and I had an established relationship, but it seemed like it was always meant to be this way. I couldn't stop thinking about the way my mates looked when I stripped their clothes from their bodies. I had seen Taehyung before but his body would never cease to attract me. Jungkook was just as handsome, just as sexy. He had a broad chest and toned abdomen that I loved exploring with my fingers then with my lips.
After getting comfortable with each other, I had sunk my cock into Taehyung as he took Jungkook between his lips. The sight of my mates receiving pleasure, both from each other and me was enough to push me over the edge. I had come deep inside Taehyung while Jungkook spilled himself down Taehyung's throat.
The thoughts of my mates had my cock plumping up and I wrapped my hand around it, stroking it quickly. The memories flooded my mind and within moments, I was cumming all over the shower floor. Leaning my head back against the wall, I took a moment to catch my breath and let my heart rate settle back into a more normal pace. I finished my shower then stepped out, wrapping a towel around my waist. Throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, I headed into the kitchen to start dinner. Taehyung and Jungkook were okay cooks, but since I got home earlier most days, I did the majority of the cooking. I didn't mind it and loved the chance to take care of my mates.
I was draining the noodles when I heard the door open and both Taehyung and Jungkook come in. Their happy voices made my heart fill with love for them even when I tried my hardest to ignore the empty feeling that existed. "Hey guys. I'm in here." I called out to my mates, grinning when they both entered the kitchen.
"Hey Minnie." Taehyung's voice was soft as he kissed my lips. I returned the kiss, smiling against his lips when I felt Jungkook hug me from behind, sandwiching me in between the two of them. Turning in their arms, I gave Jungkook the same treatment, feeling his lips move against mine.
"Hi Kookie. How was your day?" I ran a hand through his hair, smiling when he leaned into the touch, closing his eyes for a moment.
Jungkook opened his eyes, focusing his pretty gaze on me. "It was good. You?"
Nodding my head, I grinned at him. "Excellent. My classes of little ones seem to like me an awful lot."
Taehyung giggled from behind me and I turned to him, pinching his side. "You always did like kids Minnie."
I tried to hide the sorrow in my eyes at his comment. It was true. I did love kids and for a long time, I had always imagined meeting my mate and having a whole bunch of kittens with her. When I had met Taehyung, I was not disappointed at all, but I knew somewhere we had a female mate waiting for us. Once I realized she was human, all plans for any type of babies imploded.
Trying to change the subject, I turned back to the stove, picking up the drained noodles and mixing them in with the sauce I had made. "I spoke to Hobi today. Him, Joon and Jin are probably going to come by this week. We can eat, hang out, something like that."
I saw Jungkook's tiny ears twitch when I mentioned our other mates, but when I didn't say anything about Y/N, his face dropped and a shadow of pain passed over his face. I hated seeing that look on my mate's face and know I was partially responsible for it. Yeah he may have made the choice, but I'm the one that put the worry in his mind. The more I thought about Y/N, the more I wondered if I had fucked up. Whenever I saw her at the sanctuary, around another hybrid, her hands were always gentle, her voice always soft. I didn't understand the relationship she had with Sehun, but they were close. Closer than I felt comfortable with. Every time I saw them together, I wanted to jerk her away, but I knew it wasn't my place. She wasn't mine and the sooner I accepted, the better off I would be.
Yoongi POV:
The morning I was leaving the sanctuary, I woke early, way earlier than I had planned. Although the doctors had said I was free to go, I wasn't ready to leave while they were still living in the apartment. I didn't want to admit it, but I knew Jungkook's scent would be present and the thought of my other mates not being there hurt more than I wanted to admit. Although I had decided from the beginning that I didn't want anything to do with them based on how they had treated Y/N, I knew I was being just as judgmental as they were.
Y/N had told me countless times that she wanted me to get to know the other three, that she wanted me to have that bond with them, but I just felt weird about it all. When I had learned about being part of a mate group, I had automatically assumed that we would have a happily ever after, but once I heard about the three rejecting Y/N, all ideas of that flew out the window. I did want to form a bond with them, but I didn't want to hurt Y/N, make it seem like I was betraying her.
"You're thinking awfully hard this early in the morning." I had been so caught up in my thoughts that the scent of chocolate covered cherries didn't even register until she spoke.
"Hey. You surprised me." I sat up in bed, swinging my legs over the side and reaching out to her, needing the feel of my mate in my arms. Y/N came over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck as I buried my face in her neck. "I missed you."
I could feel Y/N laugh against me, the vibrations shaking the both of us. "You saw me yesterday silly."
"I know, but then I didn't see you once you left until this morning. That's a lot of hours in between." I knew I was sounding whiny, but I couldn't help it. There was something about Y/N that made me want to let her baby me, cuddle me, take care of me.
Leaning back, Y/N ran a hand through my hair, stroking my ears and I couldn't stop the raspy sound that left my throat. "Aww my sweet kitty. Starting today, you'll be able to see me a lot. You'll probably get tired of me."
Shaking my head, I pulled her back in, my nose nuzzling against her neck. "Nuh uh. Not possible. Just wanna be close to you."
Without a sound of protest, Y/N continued to stroke my ears, letting me snuggler her, giggling as my tail wrapped around her thighs. I heard her name called and reluctantly released her, knowing she still had a job to do. "Hobi is leaving early so when he gets here, him and Joonie are going to take you home."
The word home made my heart flutter, but I couldn't help but be nervous. "Can... can I... um... can I wait for you?"
Reaching up to stroke my ear again, Y/N gave me a gentle smile. "Of course you can." A soft knock sounded on the door and Sehun peeked his head around the edge, catching Y/N's attention. "I know, I know. I'm coming." Turning back to me, she kissed my nose, making me blush. "I'll be back in a little bit." Giving me a wave, she exited the room, her scent trailing behind her and making me feel safe, protected.
Sehun hesitated at the door and I could see he wanted to say something. Stepping in the room and closing the door, Sehun approached me. "Please... please take care of Y/N. She is special to me. More than you could understand. Don't let... don't let anyone hurt her."
Although I wanted to snarl at the way he spoke so fondly of my mate, I could sense right away that his love for her was strictly platonic. Nodding my head, I gave him a small smile. "Of course. She's my mate."
Sehun sighed at my words. "We both know that it doesn't always matter."
I knew he was thinking of the three that had rejected her, breaking her heart. "Yeah. I guess you're right."
"I'm happy you're going home today Yoongi." Stepping towards me, Sehun handed me a card, one with his name and phone number on it. "You need anything, let me know."
"Thanks. I... I appreciate it."
Nodding once, Sehun left the room, leaving me a little confused. The mention of my other mates made me wonder if I was hurting them the same way they were hurting Y/N. Being hybrids would make them feel the bond more strongly, so the chances were high. Hurting someone was the last thing I wanted to do, but I couldn't help but feel protective towards Y/N. I wanted to take care of her, protect her; however, I knew deep down I would need to build the bond with my other mates. I just wasn't ready yet.
The day passed quickly and before I knew it, Hoseok and Namjoon were arriving, excited smiles on their faces. I knew they had just received the keys today so the house was new to all of us. They had taken tons of pictures a few days ago and had been excited to show them to me. "You ready to go home?" Hoseok's question was filled with anticipation and I grinned at him.
"Um... I'm going to wait for... wait for Y/N. I'm sorry." I ducked my head, embarrassed at my nervousness, but was instantly soothed when a fuzzy tail wrapped around my wrist. I looked up to see Namjoon standing by my side, a reassuring smile on his face.
"Don't apologize for anything. I understand perfectly. If it was up to me, I'd wait too, but someone has to be there for the movers and we," Namjoon gestured towards himself and Hoseok, "were chosen as tributes."
I laughed at his words, feeling comforted by his understanding. Hoseok moved next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Yeah. No worries. We'll go meet the movers and let them know where to put the furniture. That way when you, Jin, and Y/N get there, we can leave all the unpacking to you."
Nodding my head, I agreed but then let out a sound of protest when I realized what he said. "Hey! Not cool!"
Hoseok ruffled my hair and I let out a teasing hiss at him, making him grin and peck my lips. It was the first time any of my mates besides Y/N had shown me any kind of intimacy and even though it was simple, I could feel my pants tighten around my hardening cock. It was the same reaction anytime Y/N kissed me and I couldn't wait to take that next step in the bonds with my mates. With all of them.
From Hoseok's amused smirk, I could tell he knew what I was thinking because he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine again, this time letting the tip of his tongue touch my bottom lip. I couldn't stop the quiet moan that escaped my lips as I parted them. Hoseok deepened the kiss, his tongue rubbing against mine and I shifted on the bed, trying to move my now completely hard length to a more comfortable position.
Hoseok leaned back, kissing me gently one more time. "I can't wait until we're all home, together. I'm ready to spend some time with my mates."
Namjoon nodded in agreement, his eyes bright with mischief. "Same here. I can tell we're going to... to have some fun together." Without another word, he leaned in, pressing his lips to me, moving them against mine. Unlike Hoseok's soft gentleness, Namjoon was rougher, but the contrast was amazing and I felt myself getting caught up in him.
When I pulled back, the scent of chocolate covered cherries filled my nose and I looked over to see Y/N leaning against the door, an amused smile on her face. "Oh please. Don't let me stop you."
Feeling my face get hot, I looked down at my fingers. Was she going to be angry? Would she be mad that I was kissing someone else? I knew how humans could be. How did she feel about seeing that?
Moving to my side, Y/N brushed my hair back then tilted my chin to look up at her. "Don't you worry my sweet kitty. I know who they are to you. I know you're going to spend time with them, like I will. It's okay."
Y/N's words were soothing, a gentle balm to my racing heart. I should have known right away that she would have been fine with it. Nothing had ever indicated that she would be angry with me about having time with my other mates. Turning my face to her palm, I kissed the soft skin there. "Okay."
"Well I hate to interrupt this love fest, but Joonie and I are going to head to the house and meet the movers." Hoseok tapped us both on the shoulder, making her laugh out loud.
"Okay sweet boy. We will be home in a couple of hours." Y/N moved from me and gave Hoseok a kiss and then rubbing her fingers over his ears. "I love you."
The words that spilled from Y/N's lips made my heart flutter and I knew I couldn't wait until she said those same words to me, telling me she loved me. From the look on Namjoon's face, I could see he felt the same, but he grinned when she gave him a soft peck on the lips.
They both came over and hugged me, giving me quick kisses before exiting the room. Y/N turned back to me, stroking my ears again. "You sure you don't want to go with them?"
I nodded my head. "I'm sure. I want to go... to go with you."
Y/N leaned down and kissed me. "Okay. I'll be done soon. Just two more hours."
The next couple hours seemed to drag by, but soon Jin and Y/N were coming into the room, followed by Sehun. "Alright Yoongi. Here are your discharge papers. Although you are over 18 and can legally be a free hybrid, I would recommend letting Y/N put you under her protective custody. It will just make things easier to handle should anyone decide to mess with you when you're in public." He handed me a set of papers, along with a list of companies. "And these are some hybrid-friendly places that are currently looking for help should you choose to work. The one on the bottom is a hybrid music school. They're currently looking for a children's piano teacher."
My eyes widened at that. I had mentioned once to Sehun that I liked to play piano. I used to use the one at the circus when the owner and the humans that worked for him would go out drinking. They would forget to lock my cage and I would wander the empty circus. One evening, I had stumbled on the piano and taught myself to play. It was the one thing that made me happy there.
Sehun grinned. "I thought you might like that one. Michael, the owner, will be expecting your call within the next couple days, but take your time."
Standing up, I shook Sehun's hand. "Thank you. For everything."
Nodding, Sehun returned the handshake. "It's what we do here. Take care of my girl and we'll call it even."
Wrapping an arm around Y/N, I pulled her close to my side. "That's exactly what I intend to do."