When the two Omegas returned to the wolf pack, they were greeted by complete and utter chaos.
Taehyung's pack mates almost fell over each other as they grabbed their children and hid in their caves. Some of the hunters and guards picked up the broken pieces of what used to be a stone table but now looked like mere rubble as it was scattered everywhere around the place.
"What happened?" Taehyung asked one of the Alphas who grimaced uncomfortably. He looked around and lowered his voice, a hand in front of his mouth to make sure the people around them wouldn't freak out even more.
"I'm not sure myself… Leader Min and Jungkook suddenly started fighting. Then they took off."
"To where?"
"North. Towards the sea."
Jimin grabbed Taehyung's hand and pulled.
He looked nervous, much more than he did before. It's not that he had doubted Tae's words but seeing the damage with his own eyes made it even more shocking. More real.
Taehyung himself seemed to feel the same way because he followed Jimin without hesitation. Together, they ran up the hill behind the village and across those endless stone plains. Running until the crystal clear blue of the ocean lit up the horizon. Their hearts started to race.
"I can smell them…" Taehyung whispered and Jimin nodded his head, swallowing hard. He noticed it too. Not only their scents but also the distinctive iron stench of someone's blood.
Please, Jimin prayed to the forest spirits, it can't be Jungkook's. He has to be okay.
By now, all anger had faded away. Whatever happened before didn't matter. His bold claim that he didn't care about the younger Alpha's life, it had all been a stubborn lie born from anger and broken trust.
He was so stupid. So damn childish. If something truly happened to Jungkook, Jimin didn't think he could forgive himself.
"No!"
Taehyung's shocked gasp woke Jimin from the guilt induced haze and made him flinch before he followed the shocked wolf's example and ripping his eyes open in disbelief.
They found Jungkook collapsed on one of the cliffs right above the raging sea. Waves crashed against the stone walls as the wolf leader stepped closer with a stone ax clenched in his fist and lifted above his head, getting ready to strike.
"I'm… Not...a traitor…" They heard the young Alpha whisper without any strength behind his crumbling voice. It's a helpless sound that had Jimin's heart drop to the pits of his stomach, chest feeling tight when the leader yelled back.
"Lies. All you Jeons do is lie to my face and scheme behind my back! Where's my fox?! He was supposed to be mine! I deserved to have him after Jitae was stolen from me! That fucking bitch… Even when I killed your father, he refused to come back to me."
The older paused and sneered. His expression belonged to a person who lost himself to old grudges, to unfulfilled desires of the long gone past.
"I'll never forgive them for embarrassing me in front of my pack. Your father and the foxes, those deceitful creatures, they truly deserved each other. I should've disposed of you, too, when I got rid of your old man. It would have spared me the trouble of having to raise you just to be disappointed again in the end. I had so much trust in you, Jeon Jungkook, I can't believe you threw it all away."
Struck by the brutal truth of the situation, Jungkook's posture instantly straightened together with the before flattened ears. His burning eyes, as well, grew wide, filling with sadness, with tears he held back since he was such a small, fragile child.
Maybe, deep inside, he still was.
"It wasn't… it wasn't Jitae Hyung who murdered my father but… you…?"
Rolling his eyes, the older snarled, "Of course. I don't accept traitors in my pack. Never. Jitae was obsessed with him and you brats. Even after I got rid of your father, that bitch still spit in my face, claiming he'd rather die than come back to me. That's why, when you showed up with that pink fox of yours, I thought it must be fate. Finally, I'd be able to take from you what your father took from me. And even if it didn't work out that way, I knew your desire for revenge would make the two of you miserable for all eternity. And I swear, I would've enjoyed every single second of it."
Lost for words, Jungkook could only stare blankly at the person whose words he had once trusted, the person who took him in during his worst years, who led him, influenced him, but apparently despised him all this time.
Worst of all, Jungkook slowly realized that he really hadn't been that much of a better person. He, too, had conflicting emotions towards Jimin in the past.
Even if he ultimately felt a slowly blossoming kind of affection towards his sweet miracle fox, he was still just as horrible for letting himself be blinded by the unjustified bitterness he felt.
Folding in on himself, he curled up in a ball with his head tucked between his arms, legs pulled up to his chest as he whimpered a broken, "I'm sorry…" which only seemed to fuel the rage Yoongi's father felt.
"Shut up! What the fuck are you sorry for?!"
The younger didn't seem to listen. All he did was rock back and forth while squeezing his eyes shut. Even now, he still saw Jitae's face in front of his closed eyes. He saw the sadness, the desperation, the love in his eyes that Jungkook's child self chose to ignore in favor of having someone to blame.
He couldn't help but wonder if, maybe, the reason why the fox ended his own life wasn't to be a coward and flee from the responsibility of what he had done.
Maybe… He simply didn't want to leave the pup he loved so much with blood on his hands and the guilt of having taken a life.
"I'm so… So s-sorry… Jitae Hyungie… Jiminie… sorry…"
In the state he was in, Jungkook didn't notice how the older had again lifted his ax. His eyes were flashing bright red while he continued to growl at the young Alpha over and over again, yelling at him to shut the hell up and be quiet.
Before he could hurt Jungkook, though, something quick and small jumped at the leader's throat, sharp fangs ripped into his skin.
With a loud scream, the man stumbled backwards before finally grabbing the tiny bundle of pink fur and slamming it against the ground where Jimin uncurled with a pain induced squeak that even captured Jungkook's attention, making his head snap up an instant, face turning pale.
"Jimin!"
The familiar name hadn't even fully rolled from his tongue when Jungkook's body was already changing. Next thing he knew, Jimin heard a piercing howl, followed by a growl and then he saw Jungkook's wolf form jump in front of him, shielding him from whatever attacks they faced.
Yoongi's father wasn't far behind them, though. He too had turned and, much to Jimin's horror, his wolf form was easily double Jungkook's size.
Suddenly, he understood why everyone was so scared to go against the cruel man. Jimin himself felt like he was frozen in fear, the fox in him terrified to face this mountain of a creature that could easily rip off his head with a single, well placed bite.
But no, Jungkook wouldn't even give him a chance to get close to the cowering fox.
As aggressively as he could, the young Alpha growled and hissed, head lifted high to make himself seem as big as possible but, despite all warnings, the fight itself was a short one. With a single swipe of his paw, the older sent Jungkook to the ground before grabbing his leg with his teeth and whirling the howling boy around like a helpless doll he tried to rip apart.
In the end, Jungkook couldn't even get up anymore. All he could do was lie there. Lifeless.
Seeing this, Jimin felt shocked to the core. Even in his worst nightmares, he had not believed any leader would be capable of torturing one of their own like Yoongi's father did.
He didn't want to see Jungkook die… but what should he do? What could he do?
In front of this beast, he was nothing but a mere bug beneath the Alpha's paw. One that would easily be squashed.
Still, he couldn't give up either.
The fox once again jumped on the huge wolf and desperately clawed into his fur. If he couldn't win, he'd at least distract him for a while. Long enough for Jungkook to hopefully somehow save himself.
Well, that was the plan, anyway. In reality, Jungkook could barely lift his head, even less run away.
So, is this the end?
The two of them sure thought so. But no, it wasn't. Not yet.
In the midst of their desperate fight for survival, something hard and hot was suddenly raining down on them. Stones wrapped in burning cloths, that's what it was. One of them hit Yoongi's father who instantly let go of the fox he was just about to throw off the cliff.
Rolling around, on his hands and feet, the now human Jimin used the moment to grab Jungkook, who had also changed to his other form, and dragged him as far away from the dangers of the battlefield as he could.
Brown dust and sand whirled through the air as they moved. Jimin gasped and wheezed. He didn't dare stop, though, in fear of the wolf catching up to them but no matter how far they walked, the scenery around them just wouldn't change. There was a graveyard made of stone and sand on one side and the all swallowing sea on the other.
Whatever they chose, it probably wouldn't end well.
Eventually, when Jimin's legs had already given up twice, they found a bunch of completely dried up bushes behind which they could hide. It wouldn't help much, they both knew, but it was better than being completely out in the open for everyone to see.
"Just… Just leave me here and go home…" Jungkook whispered weakly with his eyes closed and his lungs working hard to pump that much needed air into his battered body.
Jimin himself couldn't believe what he was hearing. He only stared in shock, body still shaking from the adrenaline that was the only thing keeping him upright, keeping him going.
Once he let himself calm down, the fox knew he wouldn't make it another step, so he continued to stay on alert, thoughts racing to the point where he couldn't grasp a single one of them besides having to keep moving, having to make sure the injured Alpha was safe.
However, Jungkook didn't seem to see it that way, it was easy to tell from that jaded look in his eyes. An unusual aura of hopelessness surrounded him.
"Even if we make it out of here alive, where would I go? My own pack leader wants me dead and I doubt the foxes would be happy to see me hide in their forest. If you leave me here, you can go home. That's what you want to do, right? You don't have to die with me, Jimin. After everything I've done, I don't deserve your help anyway."
Kneeling in front of him, Jimin lowered his head as if to think. The next time he looked up, his bright blue eyes seemed like two shattered mirrors, sparkling with tears that got caught in his lashes before finally pearling down his cheeks.
The usual gentleness of his touch was gone when he grabbed Jungkook by the shirt and shook the younger with all his might. Broken whines left his dry lips, distorted whimpers that eventually turned into unrecognizable syllables and finally choppy words.
"...iot… Idiot! Idiot!"
Despite looking confused at first, Jungkook's ears instantly snapped forward to catch the familiar sound his heart had always secretly longed to hear.
Before he knew what he was doing, the Alpha's hands had already found Jimin's cheeks and he squished them lightly. His vision blurred as his own eyes were flooded with tears.
"Really…?" He whispered with a broken chuckle, voice drowning in disbelief. "This is the first thing you want to tell me after all this time?"
Jimin quietly shook his head. He tried to escape but the Alpha's arms already looped around his body, pulling him close, close enough for Jungkook to press his face into the crook of Jimin's shoulder, muffling his sobs just like his words.
"You're right. I'm an idiot, Jimin-ah. I'm so damn stupid, I wish I could hit myself. I knew you're not that type of person but a part of me always waited for you to turn into this horrible, murderous monster that I was told all foxes would be. You were so miserable and even then, I kept thinking about how I could use the situation to my advantage. I thought I would feel better when I get my revenge. Maybe I could use you to distract the foxes and reclaim the forest. I thought doing this might ease the pain but seeing you be so sad and upset only made me feel worse."
He paused and took a shaky breath. Jimin felt the hot air hit his skin, felt those salty tears born from regret wet his clothes. Yet, he didn't move, didn't stop it. All he did was listen.
"When I couldn't take it anymore, I just sent you away instead of dealing with the situation. Alphas are supposed to protect the Omegas around them, right? I didn't do that. I'm so weak, so useless, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jim-"
Before he could end the sentence, Jimin pushed him away and pressed a finger against the Alpha's quivering lips, forcing him to be quiet.
Then, he closed his eyes, lashes fluttering shyly on his cheeks before he finally looked up and spoke.
"Yes. Alphas are supposed to protect their Omegas but Omegas are supposed to protect their Alphas too. No matter what your intentions used to be, you kept me from being swept away by my worst fears. When I needed someone, you were there. That's why, Jungkookie, I won't let you drown today either."
His voice wasn't fully there yet. It broke and crumbled, every word accompanied by a scratchy sound as if he had slept for a very long time.
Still, Jungkook heard him. He understood every single word and it made him tear up even more, made him cry like the helpless child he used to be. The one he never wanted to be again.
Once their emotions cooled down a little, Jimin grasped Jungkook's shaking hands and got up, pulling the younger with him.
They couldn't stay here. Not only because Yoongi's father might find them at any moment but also because they had to find a place where they could actually stay and hide.
They needed a river, a lake, anything to quench their thirst and catch some fish for them to eat.
"If we keep walking this way, we should find something at some point, right?" Jungkook asked hesitantly.
His face was distorted in pain as soon as he put the slightest bit of weight on it. The way he flinched was obvious enough for Jimin to notice and send him a worried glance, though he nodded right after and did his best to support the Alpha, even when he felt his own body tremble.
As soon as they took their first step, the wind carried a voice towards them. One that called their names and made them freeze before both of them whirled around to face a very familiar figure.
"Sure, you can just keep going and hide but I could also give you another option if you're willing to follow me."
"Yoongi Hyung!"
Before replying at all, Jungkook was already falling into his friend's arms. The young Alpha was still in tears and Yoongi's tense posture quickly relaxed upon feeling the boy's cheek rub against his hand in an attempt to scent him.
It's something they hadn't done for many years but it still made the older male smile fondly as he rubbed Jungkook's back.
"Oh my. I guess it was a hard day, hm?"
Hell yes, it was.
After using his arm to wipe the tears from his cheeks, Jungkook finally took a step back with Jimin instantly holding onto his hand to help him stand upright under Yoongi's watchful gaze.
"Sorry about the fire rain, by the way."
"That was you?!" Jungkook huffed, making the older shrug.
"I couldn't think of any other way to distract my father. Oh, and I sent Taehyung back to the pack. He's taking care of my old man's injuries and hopefully makes sure he won't leave the village for a while."
The short moment of safety was reassuring enough for Jimin and Jungkook to trust Yoongi's judgement and follow him. Whatever he planned for them to do was probably better than just wandering blindly.
Still, the further down they climbed, the harder it became for them to hide the doubts and finally surprise that flickered across their faces when the shore of the ocean entered their vision, followed by a small raft, if you can even call it that.
The unstable looking transportation device consisted of a few logs that had been tied together and an only halfway polished plank that was probably used to change directions or move the raft forward even if there aren't any waves.
Jimin could only assume that safety hadn't been the main concern when building it. The whole thing was so open all around that one wave would be enough to throw everyone on it into the raging sea.
He must've noticed their hesitation because Yoongi put a hand on both of their backs and pushed them forward, telling them to try and get on it.
Jungkook had half the mind to push his heels into the sand like a stoic deer, eyes growing huge when he realized what was happening.
"Wait! Where are we supposed to go?!"
No explanation was given. All Yoongi did was point his finger towards the sea.
When Jimin followed his line of vision, he gasped, grabbed Jungkook's arm harder, and whispered almost inaudibly, "The island!"
It all fell into place then. The island. The wolf pack's last hope in the past and maybe theirs in the future. It would be their perfect hideout. Far enough away to not be found but easy to live on and they could still return if things over here would ever calm down.
This could be their chance to find a new life… a better one.
"But… what if we won't make it?" Jungkook argued hesitantly. He had visibly paled and Jimin wasn't sure if it was just because of the pain caused by his injuries or maybe the fear of what they were about to do.
Either way, he didn't look too good, causing the fox to subtly bump his hip against the wolf's who instinctively leaned into the short touch.
"You know very well that I never really had to swim much before, Hyung… and I don't know if you noticed but I'm not exactly in good shape at the moment."
"Well, it's either this or hiding for the rest of your life, kid."
"But… What about you? What about Tae? I don't want to never see you again..."
With a calming hand on Jungkook's shoulder, Yoongi sent him a reassuring smile. It's a rare occurrence that easily put the younger's heart at ease. At least for the moment.
Yoongi never smiled. Not unless he's confident and knows what he's doing.
"We planned to leave anyway. We will follow you guys as soon as the time is right. But, for now, your lives are more important. So please, go. It's safe, I promise. I made it over there before. Trust me."
Trust was truly all they had left.
With shaking hands and knees, the young pair climbed onto the constantly moving raft, holding onto each other more than to the boat itself.
Yoongi gave them a last shove and then, just like that, they floated away from the land and towards new beginnings.
It was a bumpy ride, to put it nicely. Not only did the wind pick up midway and almost pushed them off their course but the water was constantly washing over them, turning the logs into a slippery trap in the middle of nothingness.
This whole time, Jungkook had to use all the strength left inside of him just to hold on while Jimin grabbed the plank to navigate as best as he could.
Like this, they very slowly moved forward and after more than an hour, the island was finally in reach.
However, fate wouldn't let them get off the hook so easily, it seemed.
The wind once again changed its direction and this time it came right at them from the front which made it almost impossible to move forward but pushed them backwards instead.
Jimin cursed silently and threw the plank away, much to the Alpha's shock.
"What are you doing?!" He yelled over the storm noise but Jimin just shook his head and crawled towards him. Together, they cowered in the middle of their tiny safe space.
"W… We have to swim…"
The Omega's still rather weak voice almost got lost between winds and waves but Jungkook caught just enough of the sentence to panic and shake his head hard while drilling his claws into the wood to stand his ground.
"No! No, I can't! Jimin, I can barely walk, how am I supposed to swim all the way over there?!"
"It's okay, I'm a good swimmer! All you have to do is float and I will pull you to the shore. I'm confident that I can do it."
Not again.
Trusting others had never been Jungkook's strong suit. He'd much rather rely on his own abilities if he had the choice but it really didn't seem like he had one this time around.
Fuck. He couldn't believe he was about to put his own life into the hands of a fox. Even if it was Jimin.
Very carefully, they crawled back to the edge of the raft where they stopped for a second to look at each other.
There was confidence in Jimin's wild ocean eyes, a slowly growing fire Jungkook had never seen in him before. Like a never fading light in the dark, it gave him hope.
"Can… Can I trust you?" He then asked and Jimin looked surprised for a split second before smiling sweetly, challenging almost.
"What about you, Jungkookie? Can I trust you not to eat me when we make it to the island and it turns out there's no food after all?"
"Tche. No promises." Jungkook laughed dryly before rubbing his quivering hands across his face and directing his piercing, blood red gaze towards their goal.
A true Alpha never backs down and neither does a stubborn Omega.
"I guess, we just have to trust each other for now. Let's see how much of a miracle you truly are, little fox."
After closing their eyes and taking a last, deep breath, they grabbed each other's hand, both holding on for dear life, and then…
They jumped into the dark.