Jimin had never felt such devastating pain or crippling fear. He dashed through the pitch black darkness of the forest, feeling every single sharp stone, every broken twig that buried itself into the soles of his burning, bare feet after he turned back into his human form.
Around him, the world seemed to spin, seemed to blur into one big mess, spiraling out of control just like the confusing emotions he felt.
Foxes like him were known to be nimble but the panic made him careless, made him constantly stumble into trees, face first, until his poor button nose became bruised and he tasted blood on his tongue, felt it running down his chin.
Still, after smearing the red liquid all over his face like war paint before a big fight, he kept going, kept pushing his body to move, instincts going into overdrive, always on high alert.
It was a life or death situation, that's what the fox in him screeched fearfully.
When he eventually stumbled and fell to the ground, the shadow behind him was merciless. In a matter of seconds, before Jimin got even the smallest chance to get back on his feet, he caught up and pounced the fox whose small frame was easily buried beneath shadow's bigger one.
"Please…" Jimin whispered breathlessly, eyes already brimming with tears when the growling monster's form changed and he grabbed Jimin roughly to turn him on his back, forcing their eyes to meet.
Ice blue was swallowed by blood red.
"Please, don't eat me…"
As the clouds slowly moved across the sky, the moon was suddenly revealed. It's beautiful, pink light flooded not only the world but also Jimin and the figure on top of him. Jimin's ocean eyes instantly grew, chest freezing as his breath did the same.
This wasn't a monster. It's a huge, black wolf!
The Alpha with bright red eyes had turned into a human form with tan skin, disheveled, black hair and a pair of deceivingly cute bunny teeth surrounded by sharp fangs to their left and right which were revealed when he grinned.
"Wait…Do I know you…?"
Laughing hoarsely, the raven finally let go of Jimin's arm.
"I doubt you know me but I know you."
Where his hand had been, Jimin could see the red marks left behind from how hard the other had grabbed him, and he rubbed those marks with a fearful but also strangely excited tenseness filling his chest.
The wolf unceremoniously sat down on the ground without much grace, legs crossed and hands restlessly holding onto his wiggling feet.
"You're always getting into trouble. Why the fuck would you play around with an Alpha while being in heat, Stupid?"
After being stunned by the brazenness of his words for a few seconds, Jimin would finally sit up as well. He angrily wiped the dirt from his body, rubbed the blood from his nose, and tried to stand on his still shaking limbs, though it didn't work out how he hoped it would.
He barely made it halfway up before his legs gave up and he fell back on his ass, much to the wolf's chuckling delight.
"Maybe you should rest a little, stupid. Take it easy, you look a little out of it."
"My name isn't stupid, it's Jimin!" The fox spat back but the other only lifted a brow, lips once again twitching into a cocky smirk that spelled nothing but pure confidence. He definitely was not sorry in any way and it infuriated the still rather shaken, enraged fox to no end.
"Well, Jimin, my name is Jungkook. It's lovely to meet you but niceties won't change the fact that the way you acted was still pretty stupid, Stupid."
Slack-jawed, the fox shook his head as if he couldn't believe this was happening. He's never met a person so arrogant, so effortlessly annoying.
Again, he tried to stand, strength fueled by his will to get away from the taller male just like the fear that still lingered in the back of his mind.
He's a black wolf, he's dangerous. That's what he's been told since he was born and the way he had so easily defeated an Alpha fox, albeit a young one, really showed what kind of deadly strength is hiding behind those big, innocent blood moon eyes.
Jimin wouldn't let himself be fooled so easily.
Somehow, Jimin made it back on his feet. He let out a sigh fueled by relief but the feeling wouldn't last long. It took his overused legs barely a second to wobble once more.
With a shriek, he felt himself fall, squeezed his eyes shut, but the hard impact of his body hitting the ground never came.
Instead, he felt arms wrap around his middle, felt how his body was pulled in a different direction, against a hard chest, where he was held in a crushing embrace. It wasn't the most comfortable position but the protective warmth that quickly surrounded his before freezing body easily made up for a bruise or two.
"What the fuck are you doing again? Can't you just sit still and be quiet like other Omegas?"
Feeling more offended by the second, Jimin abruptly lifted his head, an angry curse on the tip of his tongue. What he didn't realize was how close their faces turned out to be and when he did, it was a little too late.
As their noses touched, the Omega froze, caught in the glimmering flames of Jungkook's eyes, the slight sheen of his lips. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe.
What hit him even harder than all of this was the overwhelming Alpha scent that almost violently forced its way into the small fox's sensitive nose.
Even when he was held safely, he still felt the need to grab the wolf's arms, nails digging into his biceps, struggling to grasp a clear thought besides how fucking amazing the other's scent made him feel.
"Smells… good…" he whispered, staring in wonder. "You smell so good…"
Jungkook didn't hesitate to hold the fox a bit tighter, constricting his movements, which only made Jimin whine more, made him bury his face in Jungkook's chest while he continued to sniff his way around the Alpha's body, up to his neck.
"Thank you, but see, that's why you shouldn't run around outside while you're in a state like this. If you were part of my pack, you would've been caught and utterly destroyed already… It's dangerous. Even your friend was ready to use your heat to his advantage, even though your scent made it more than obvious how scared and confused you were. Alphas aren't your friends, stupid Omega. They won't hold back when you give them a chance, so don't give them any. You have to be smart, smarter than them. Do you hear me?"
He didn't.
Jimin barely understood a word Jungkook was saying, too caught up in those new sensations, new smells. Everything seemed so different compared to what he knew from home.
Of course it was different. This wasn't a fox he cuddled up to and who he scented excessively. It was a black wolf, one of the biggest predators he could possibly run into. It was bad, was utterly wrong, so why did his tingling body betray him?
Glancing up with glassy eyes, he slowly reached out to touch Jungkook's cheeks. He held them between his tiny hands, squished them and giggled before tilting his head to the side, exposing his neck ever so cutely.
"Won't you scent me back?"
His voice didn't sound like it belonged to him, not even in his own ears, and the way he slurred his words made it seem like he was drunk, completely wasted.
Well, he probably was. Drunk on pheromones and Alpha scents.
Yet, no matter how much he begged, Jungkook didn't move an inch but only stared down at him. A spark of curiosity could be found in his darkening Ruby eyes, only a small one, but it was enough to give the Omega in Jimin hope, making him beg even harder, his body pressing against the Alpha in what was most likely supposed to be a seductive move.
Whether it worked or not, Jungkook did chuckle eventually, even his gaze softened a little.
He put his hands on Jimin's waist, laughing even more when he saw the surprise and confusion on Jimin's face as the rational part of him once again seemed to fight for the upper hand.
"Alright, stupid fox. Only scenting, though, and only for a short while."
Though he didn't reply, Jimin agreed by hesitantly tilting his head further, even holding his breath in anticipation until he felt Jungkook's nose bump against the side of his neck, asking for permission.
Even that first touch was enough to send shudders all over Jimin's tensing body, causing goosebumps to spread, and it only got worse as he continued to rub his nose against the sensitive scent gland sitting right between shoulder and neck.
Almost on instinct, Jimin instantly wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck, pulled him even closer, silently demanding more, and he could feel how Jungkook tensed, could smell the sharp hint of resistance in his scent, albeit he gave in after barely a second
"Only for a little bit…" the wolf muttered again, more to convince himself than anyone else. Then he paused, hesitated, just to realize he truly couldn't resist the sweet Omega smell. Not completely. He needed to have at least the tiniest taste of him, only this once. When he proceeded to lick along Jimin's neck, he felt Jimin melt in his arms, heard him drown in a sea of never-ending, desperate sobs before he fell completely silent.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Jimin woke up right in front of the wooden gates surrounding his pack's village, curled up in the middle of a small flower field.
He wasn't sure how he got here or what happened, but he could feel that something wasn't quite right. His head felt heavy, thoughts fuzzy, and his body was coated in sweat. He felt unbearably hot.
When crawling closer, he heard a noise from inside the village, heard several voices, cries and screams before the gates suddenly swung open and his sobbing mother came running outside. She must've smelled him from afar, her nose has always been sharp when it came to her beloved pups.
"Jimin! My baby!" She yelled before protectively closing her arms around her weakened child.
"I'm so glad you're fine… Why do you have to be such a troublemaker, huh?!"
To calm her down, Jimin whispered a very soft, "I'm so sorry, Eomma…" but instead of making her feel better, the tears that followed his brave words, made her turn even paler, her lips quivered even more.
"Oh, sweetheart…" she whispered. "It's okay now, don't worry. Let's get you home, so you can get some proper sleep."
When she helped him up, Jimin's mother paused for less than a second, the shortest moment, but the young fox still noticed how she lifted her nose, sniffed the air, and a deep frown appeared her brows, confusion and new waves of worry filled her already anxious scent.
Still, she didn't say a thing but simply lead him home where she put him in bed and kissed him goodnight.
Sadly, he wouldn't get much sleep, at all.
Barely two hours later, his mother woke him up again. She dragged him towards a nearby river where she scrubbed his skin for almost half an hour, and even then she didn't seem quite satisfied.
Several times, Jimin tried to ask what's going on but she would only shake her head, nervous tension spiking in her scent.
He'd understand what's going on soon enough. When they returned to the village, in fact.
Much to Jimin's surprise, their pack leader was waiting in front of their small hut. Bruised and battered Haru was standing behind him but he didn't lift his gaze once, didn't even greet his friend.
Was he ashamed?
Squinting his eyes, Jimin tried to piece together what happened one more time. He faintly remembered Haru coming to his window at night, remembered him smiling excitedly before asking him to follow along.
Oh God.
Suddenly, Jimin felt sick, his stomach turned as pictures of him being trapped beneath the fox Alpha returned to the forefront of his mind.
Then, there was a monster. A wolf. Jungkook.
"Don't even try to hide it. It's unmistakable, he clearly smells like wolf."
Growing more anxious with every new word they said, Jimin slowly recoiled behind his mom, feeling embarrassed, ashamed of the way he had acted not only towards a total stranger but also a fucking black wolf! A creature that's said to have eaten several of his kind in the past.
How could he… What kind of devil was the Omega inside of him to throw himself at a monster just because he was an Alpha. Just because the fox in him was craving a fucking knot.
He was disgusting, a shame for his family, but here his brave mother was, still trying to wash him clean from his sins, still doing her best to protect him.
He truly didn't deserve her.
When their lead Alpha eventually fixed his gaze on him, Jimin couldn't help but flinch in fear while fearfully flattening his quivering fox ears against the top of his head, tail protectively wrapped around his waist, and only barely resisting the urge to turn on his heels to simply run away.
Without a word, the Alpha stepped closer and finally grabbed the collar of Jimin's dirty, white linen shirt. After pulling it over his shoulder, everyone who watched the scene sighed in relief.
"No bite marks." Their leader mumbled, looking slightly satisfied despite the scowl that simply wouldn't leave his face.
"That's… Unusual. Wolves aren't known to hold back when seeing a young Omega in heat."
This might've been Jimin's cue to feel relieved but, instead, he felt anger flare inside of his chest because how could they say that when it was an Alpha fox who ambushed him in the first place while it was the wolf who took him home.
Yes, he might not know Jungkook well but he knows, the Alpha could've easily hurt him after he had fainted, probably even earlier.
Yet, he didn't.
However, he knew better than to speak up at the moment. After all, his trial wasn't over yet.
Several times did their head Alpha ask whether Jungkook had done something to him. Even after Jimin said no, it didn't seem like he or the other villagers believed him completely.
Even so, eventually, they had to let it go. Especially after his mother convinced them that she washed him from head to toe and there was no evidence to suggest he had any kinds of relations with the monster, a fact that made Jimin's cheeks glow even brighter.
He's never felt more embarrassed.
Thankfully, things calmed down after that day.
Their daily life moved on and people easily forgot, there were more important things to focus on anyway and Jimin was too sweet, too adored, to be looked down upon.
But Jimin himself… He didn't forget. He could never.
As soon as his heat subsided completely, Haru instantly returned to his side. Just like he did before, he would wait outside of Jimin's hut at night while following after him during the day. Jimin ignored him the whole time until he couldn't because the older had grabbed him by the shoulders and pressed him against a tree, so there was no way for Jimin deny his existence much longer.
"Jimin-ah…" he hissed sharply. "Listen, I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you but when you keep ignoring me, I start to think there really was something between the monster and you."
Jimin wasn't sure whether he should laugh or cry. In the end, he settled on a dry chuckle while shaking his head in disbelief.
"Really? You think my behavior towards you changed because what? I suddenly fell in love with a random stranger? What about the way you acted that night, hm? Did you ever think that something about your actions was wrong? Did you even consider the possibility that I might not respond so well to the fact that you tried to use my heat to mate me against my will? Did you ever think about that?"
Judging from the utterly confused expression on his face, he had most likely not. Jimin struggled to keep it together at that point. A part of him wanted to scream, another wanted to slap the Alpha fox for being so incredibly dumb. It almost hurt Jimin physically to look at his stupidly shocked face.
"Listen, Haru. I understand very well that it was not only your but also my fault. I shouldn't have went with you. I should've known better, but I didn't. I trusted that you would protect me… and you didn't."
After an uncomfortable pause passed, the Alpha finally stepped away, head lowered in shame, and Jimin was finally able to breathe. His tense body relaxed in an instant.
Until now, he hadn't grasped how much the situation had truly affected him, how nervous he felt whenever an Alpha was around, no matter how good his intentions might be.
"Just… Give me some time, okay? I need some space to gather my thoughts and make sure I won't make the same mistakes again. I'm sorry."
"Okay…"
It wasn't lost on Jimin that, even after saying all this, the Alpha fox didn't apologize. Not once.
He wasn't sure whether he felt hurt because of it, or maybe just disappointed. No matter who was at fault, it still would've made him feel much better to know, Haru didn't mean to hurt him. It would've given him a reason to trust him like he did before.
Despite all that, the following days passed rather peacefully.
After anxiously staying at home for almost two weeks, Jimin slowly started to return to his normal routine by walking along the outer edge of the forest, picking berries, climbing trees. No matter what happened, the woods would always be his safe haven, the one place where he felt perfectly relaxed and completely in his element.
Nature heals all wounds, even those inflicted to one's heart, his family used to say, and it was true. The once again energetic fox felt much better already, even more when he finally went back to roaming the deeper parts of the woodland.
It was during one of those trips, when he was sun basking on top of a tree, that he heard the telltale rustling of leaves and nervously ripped his eyes open.
"Who's there…?" He asked shakily but whoever he was expecting, it didn't prepare him for the familiar figure that would eventually step out of the shadows.
Ink black hair, blood red eyes, a confident smirk.
"You're… Jungkook…?"
Looking up, the wolf leaned against the sturdy tree and lifted a brow.
"You remember me?"
"I do." The fox replied briskly before averting his gaze. His heart was beating so hard, he feared it would jump right out of his chest.
When their gazes met once again, Jimin was surprised to see that all confidence had left Jungkook's face. It was replaced with worry and other emotions that he couldn't yet put a finger on. Wolves seemed so different from foxes. Some things, like the difference in body language or expression, Jimin still struggled to understand.
"Why are you looking at me like that…?"
"Your heart is racing. I was wondering if you're going to faint again."
The seriousness in Jungkook's voice made the fox stop, made him blink in confusion before laughing so hard, he almost rolled off the branch.
"I don't know how weak you think I am but I usually don't just faint for no reason. Even if I'm in heat, it usually doesn't happen. I was stressed when I was with you, that's why it happened."
"I'm here now, as well." The wolf challenged with a cheeky grin after putting his hands on the tree as if he was ready to climb it. However, Jimin wasn't scared. He blew away a strand of his pink hair that had slipped in front of his eyes, then he leaned back, almost making a show out of the way he stretched his body and enjoyed the warmth of the sun drowning his body in its light.
"Wolves can't climb trees. You guys are too big and heavy, you won't make it to the top."
"You seem pretty sure of yourself, stupid fox. What if I do make it up there, hm? What will you do?"
Glancing down on him, Jimin gracefully let his body fall forward with his hands holding onto the branch while resting his chin on the back of his palms, legs swinging playfully in midair, fluffy, pink tail curled around the wood to stabilize himself. Even his fox ears were curiously directed towards the wolf.
"Go ahead. Let's see if you're really so much smarter than the fox you like to call stupid. Catch me if you can."
He really had grown a bit too confident again, hadn't he? It might be one of his biggest flaws, or maybe he was just too young to think about the possible consequences of his actions. After all, growing foxes in general are known to be unchallenged when it comes to being whimsical and carefree.
But even still, he couldn't possibly have expected that, although he couldn't jump from branch to branch like Jimin did, Jungkook could, in fact, let his claws pierce into the tree bark and pull himself up, bit by bit.
Sitting up there like a mouse in the trap, Jimin squeaked before crawling backwards, holding onto the trunk and making himself as small as he could.
"Stop!" He whimpered when the tree was shaking more and more.
"Please, stop! I was wrong, I'm sorry! Don't come closer, please…"
But the wolf was already right beneath him, though he did look a bit perplexed when seeing the fox curl up in fear. He had his head tucked under his arms and his body was shaking. The same words kept spilling from his quivering, glossy, pink lips.
"Don't eat me… Please, don't hurt me…I'm sorry…"
Much to his horror, the wolf refused to leave him alone, even when he begged.
Jungkook grabbed Jimin's small lithe body with ease, swung him over his shoulder before sliding back to the ground and putting the fox, who was completely frozen in shock, back on his feet.
"It seems like I won. Do you see now how stupid you are, little fox? Didn't I tell you to be more careful in the future?"
Jimin took a step back but not before slapping the wolf's hand away and throwing a glare. Scared or not, he didn't like to lose, just like he didn't like to be treated as less intelligent and Jungkook did both. He must've been born right from his worst nightmares, that's what it felt like.
"I don't see why this was necessary."
"You would've fallen from shaking too much. I couldn't leave you up there."
"I wasn't shaking…"
"Really? It must've been an earthquake then."
Jungkook really did have a talent for getting under Jimin's skin to the point where the fox angrily stomped his feet like a petulant child before whirling around and storming off.
"Leave me alone, annoying monster! Stop following me around!"
Looking amused and very much satisfied with himself, Jungkook watched the fox dash away before turning around and moving towards his own home.
Once he reached the stonewall surrounding it, he quickly jumped in the river, clothes and all, to swim a few rounds and hopefully get rid of Jimin's plum and raspberry scent that seemed to stick to Jungkook's skin more than any amount of dirt ever could.
When he finally walked into the village, he tried his best to quietly tiptoe past their lead Alpha who was busy talking to Namjoon, the one in charge of teaching the pups how to hunt. Upon seeing Jungkook, however, both of them stopped their conversation in favor of calling him over.
"There he is, our most promising hunter in training." Namjoon announced proudly while slapping Jungkook's back hard.
The poor boy almost stumbled to the ground but caught himself just in time, smiling bravely, or rather awkwardly, before hastily excusing himself.
Unfortunately, he was once again held back when their leader grabbed his arm and sniffed the air, squinting his eyes as he did.
"Jungkook-ah… Did you hunt foxes today?"
As soon as the words reached Jungkook's ears, he froze. He washed himself for so long, there's no way that Jimin's scent still lingered… Right?
With fluttering nerves, he pulled his arm away, rubbed the back of his head, and shook his head, claiming he must've accidently walked into fox territory and that's how the smell got on him. There's no other explanation, he promised.
For now, at least, the two Alphas seemed to believe him.
Jungkook could only hope and pray that it would stay this way.