"You're back." Mira remarked "Yeonjun and Soobin went grocery shopping." She announced
"Good." I said
I felt anxious, jittery and the fear eating me up wasn't allowing me to stand up from Mira's bed. Quickly noticing my behavior, Mira frowned. The girl was antsy and fear clenched to her scent similar to when she first met Soobin. She had scent Jungkook fetch the girl knowing that he and she were the closest. Or at least, she supposed it to be. Yeonjun also told her she had been napping with Taehyung, to the tiger's delight.
"Is there something wrong?" Mira asked
"No." the answer was too quick to low for Mira's liking
"Did they do something to you?" she asked
"No." the answer was slightly softer "I'm just...I'm me. And they are them." I didn't know how to explain it otherwise
Knowing well it wasn't because they were hybrids, Mira frowned. The distress visible in the girl's body was something she had gotten rid of in the past week and hoped to keep, but here her anxiety was making her sweet scent turning incredibly sour and difficult to swallow.
"We're back!"
Not a word of greeting from her, Mira was even more surprised by Melody's behavior. Her eyes were on the door as she nervously looked at it. The panic attack raising in her throat on the verge of exploding.
"Soobin, Yeonjun stay in the kitchen." Mira ordered before taking a step close to the girl that was shaking.
Her whole body tense as her white eyes showed the older woman how scared and uncomfortable she was. Glancing at the woman quickly, not even recognizing her, a flinch covered her whole body as she brushed a finger against her skin. Mira clenched her fist. She knew the boys didn't do anything, but it was clear that Melody saw something or heard something that made her like this again.
"Melody. I'll step out. Try to calm down. I won't ever let anybody hurt you again. Grandma will always take care of you okay?"
The voice of the older woman sounded false but I nodded. I nodded because I knew I was getting anxious and scared for something that would probably not happened. Probably. The fact that the hybrids who found me were here and had a close link with me somewhat: mates, made me even more sensitive. They were openly mean, refraining from making it easy to communicate and looked at me with disgust. Sliding the long of the wall, I closed my eyes as the door locked on me.
Mira stepped inside the kitchen as a nervous Soobin glanced back and forth between her and the door. Mira wasn't stupide and knew very well that the wolf hybrid and the wild cat hybrid had developed protective instinct over the fragile Melody hiding in her room. Melody had been broken physically and mentally several times and the mates of hers were breaking her without even realizing it by acting like pure assholes. She caught Jungkook's lingering gaze on the door.
"What happened?" Soobin asked in a whisper
"I found her in my room, stiff like a rog, standing in a corner, her eyes closed." Mira sighed "She was waiting for something to happen and even flinched when I brushed a finger against her." She grimaced
"She had stopped flinching." Yeonjun clenched his fist "She was opening up and..." he didn't finish his sentence but his unspoken words hung in the air
"We didn't do anything." Jin argued defending his mates
"Did I ask you?" Mira retorted
"Jungkook just carried her back as soon as she woke up. I asked her if she improved and she answered that she was trying." Jin wet his lips "And..."
"I told her that she couldn't even walk. Overreacting for nothing." Hoseok scoffed
In a mere instant, Hoseok was pinned on the ground a hand on his throat as Soobin growled at him loudly. Hoseok widened his eyes in shock never expecting the younger officer to disrespect him this way.
"You don't know a thing about her." Yeonjun growled "You didn't...You guys aren't even worth it. Worth her." He spat
Soobin jumped off Hoseok as Mira grabbed his forearm and snarled his yellow eyes shining in the living room as Hoseok and the others looked at him. Shock and anger mingling.
"I want you out of my house." Mira said her ice cold voice "J will be sent back when recovered and we will take care of him, otherwise all out. I don't care if you got time of or not and if you don't agree you can take him with you."
Namjoon tensed up as he glared at the door. And then, a cry. A whimper and pleading. Heart wrenching pleading. Jimin was with Taehyung and he just managed to get downstairs when all their ears were up on their ears. Soobin clenched his fist as he walked towards the room and opened the door.
"Please, please. I'll do anything. Stop...Stop...No...Please...I will...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Constantly repeating this words.
The body curled into a ball trembling on the floor was me. Soobin clenched and unclenched his fist as he took a step closer and scooped the girl up.
"Melody." He called out in a soft voice cupping the cheeks of the human girl "Wake up."
"Just kill me. Please. Just kill me. Kill me. I beg you. I beg of you." The tormented sleep
"MEL" Yeonjun's voice was louder and the girl's body jerked in Soobin's hold as her eyes opened white. Possessed as they slowly became yellow and orange before grey took over.
Taking deep breathes following Soobin, I looked at my hand clenching and unclenching my fist.
"I had a nightmare didn't I?" I whispered softly
I didn't know that just behind me stood 7 absolutely horrified hybrids. All of them thoroughly horrified, remembering the begging and the constant apologizing of a so weak person. Namjoon had to bit his inner cheek to not step forward and clenched his eyes tight.
"Reject her if you can't care for her." Mira whispered only for them to hear "You don't want her anyway. She's broken enough. You've done enough."
Taehyung shook his head vehemently, tears streaming down his cheeks as he stepped forward, knees weak. Yeonjun glared at him, and didn't move away from Melody who sat up. Soobin refraining her from turning around as the last strands of sleep washed off her.
"Tae?" the soft nickname asked as a question made Taehyung suffocate
He had seen her smile, a smile that didn't quite reach her high, but he had made her giggle and made her laugh. The innocent afternoon looking like a faraway dream. He managed to drop closer to the girl as her confusion was clear on her face.
"Did I do something? Why are you crying?" I whispered
"You didn't." the voice of Taehyung was croaked "I just...I..."
Feeling the distress of the tiger and ignoring the presence of his mates behind her, Melody hugged the tiger bringing his nose close to her neck where her scent glands were and began softly rocking the tiger that was way bigger than him, giving him head scrubs gently and carefully petting his ears.
"You'll be okay. I'm sure that...I'm sure that the other guys wouldn't like you to cry Taehyung." She whispered "I don't like it. Your smile was beautiful when we played in the water this morning, so you need to smile." She continued as the tiger hybrid sniffed and pulled her closer "Come on, they're going to be angry at me if I make you cry."
The undertone of fear slapped them right in the face as Jungkook took a step back. His heart was paining him too much, he was suffocating. He needed air. He took several steps back and shifted running outside tears blurring his vision. Namjoon looked at Jungkook and Jimin whose tears spilled silently as he shook his head and walked towards the stairs, ignoring the pain in his side. Yoongi was quiet keeping an eye on the scene looking unfazed, but Jin knew the heart of the man was bleeding. He knew Yoongi enough. Hoseok was silent as he disappeared to join Jimin, feeling he couldn't do anything here.
"We fucked up." Namjoon whispered
"That you did." Mira answered
The rest of the evening was uneventful and the night was similar to the previous one. Except Taehyung remained with Soobin, I and Yeonjun. He shifted though. When I slowly came back to my sense, I was surprised to hear that all the other guys except Jimin had gone back to the base. Mira allowed Taehyung to stay because he didn't stress me out or made me uneasy. The tiger was strangely comfortable to stay with.
"Wake up petal." The voice was clear and clear of sleepiness
I groaned, my back surprisingly not stiff. I opened my eyes to realize that I was sleeping on something hard. Something that wasn't the floor. I looked below me and locked eyes with Taehyung.
"Naughty." Yeonjun mocked
I realized that I was straddling Taehyung as he looked up at me a smile way too big, to be innocent. I flushed as I hurriedly stood of him, causing me to loose balance. However, Taehyung was quick and caught me easily.
"You good?" he asked
I nodded as he let me go, eyes unmoving from me as I took a few steps forward and stretched.
"Do you want to come with me to check on Jimin?" Taehyung asked
Biting my lips, I wasn't sure about that at all. I hadn't talked with the snow panther for a long time and the first wasn't really a pleasant time. But I needed to make efforts. Unlike Jungkook, I hadn't made other contact with the snow panther except from the time he lashed out on me.
"Should I?" I asked with a nervous smile
"I'm sure he would like that." Taehyung grinned "We'll help him down to get some breakfast."
I hummed and nodded as the tiger followed me. Realizing I had not climbed up the stairs on my own until now was embarrassing, but Taehyung was quick and he quickly scooped me up climbing two stairs at the time and it was a second as we come on the second floor. Walking towards my room, Taehyung knocked.
"Jimin, breakfast." He called happily
"Not hungry." A grumble was heard
"Injured people need to eat. To recover." I mumbled
There was a silence in answer and the door opened revealing a shirtless Jimin. He was gorgeous: I had noticed that all of them were handsome.
But those bodies, I swear.
Jimin was gorgeous looking and his silver eyes narrowing at me weren't helping at all. I swiftly turned around walking towards the stairs. Yeonjun was already midway up and although my muscles were all protesting I jumpily joined him. He scooped me up as a distinct growl was heard.
"Growl at me when you can carry her." Yeonjun's voice was venomous "Not guarantee that she'll allow you to though."
"Yeonjun" I hissed
"What?" he grumbled stepping back down
"He is injured be nice." I ushered
"You're injured and they were-
"That's not important." I cut him off "Be nice."
The wild cat dropped me on the kitchen counter giving me a glare as he stepped away. Soobin raised an eyebrow at him, but came towards me washing the fruits of the day. Jimin was standing more upright than ever and I didn't feel as scared for him as he didn't try to make any eye contact with me.
"Morning folks!" Mira said
She was dressed in her military gear and now that I noticed so were Yeonjun and Soobin. Taehyung had also military pants on. In fact, everyone was dressed up except me and Jimin. Questions were clear in my eyes, but I still had a hard time speaking up. When Taehyung opened his mouth to explain, Mira raised a hand for him to close his mouth. Gulping, I took a deep breath.
"Morning Grandma. You're all dressed up." I started "Are you all going somewhere?" I asked as I took a relieved breath
"Yes, there's a meeting for all the soldiers around the area including the retired ones. Yeonjun, Soobin and Taehyung will accompany me. You'll stay with Jimin here as he was excused for injury." She commented
My mind registered the information as my eyes darted to the panther who ignored me in all due forms.
"With Jimin?" I asked again
The panther's tail began wagging as he seemingly looked unaffected and I couldn't help but smile. Mira nodded and helped me off the counter as she encouraged me to sit down between the tiger and the panther. Looking utterly betrayed at Mira, Yeonjun scoffed and begrudgingly began eating.
"Feeling all jealous, cat?" Taehyung chuckled
Yeonjun didn't say anything to answering back to the teasing. At the end of breakfast, Mira asked me to clean a few things around the house including do the laundry and hand Jimin's shirt. I took notes of everything, making a list seemingly easier. Soobin put a hand on Jimin's shoulder and whispered something I didn't catch on, but the panther stiffened and nodded.
"Soo?" I asked
"Be careful. Don't do the laundry outside for too long or ask Jimin Hyung to stay with you." He said "We'll be back as soon as possible."
Humming I hugged the three of them including Taehyung who looked simply delighted and waved them goodbye. Jimin sat on the couch.
"Do you want me to check your wound?" I asked after a few silent minutes
He didn't deny me or send me away so I took it as an agreement. I searched for the first aid kit and crouched down in front of him. I began carefully unwrapping the bandage as he kept his eyes close. One could believe he was sleeping. The wound was infected. A few stitches had broken away.
"Some stitches are broken." I whispered
He still didn't say anything. I bit my lips and disappeared to search for the adequate medical material to take care of such. Something in me was telling me to not let him be like this. He was obviously in pain and it would get worse if I didn't take care of it. Reaching out for Mira was impossible. I grabbed the tools and bit my lips. I had to do it. I got my medical degree two years ago to help people despite all that had happened between now and then.
"It's going to sting. But I'm going to do it as carefully as possible. Bear with me." I whispered as I arrived and he was already laying down
His tail curled around my thigh as I bent over him and began carefully cleaning the blood. It wasn't as swollen as it looked like at first and thankfully so. I removed the broken strands and began stitching. My hands strangely stable as I prickled into the skin. Jimin didn't move an inch. The wound was closed and I cleaned it once more. I had made the stitches all again. Thirteen stitches in total.
"It's done." I whispered "Can you sit-"
He sat up keeping his eyes close. His tail releasing me. His eyes were quick to widen in surprise as he probably felt less pain.
"Thank you." He whispered "It doesn't hurt that much anymore." He added
"Thanks lord." I answered
I didn't feel scared at all of him as I bandaged him. It had taken me almost an hour to do the stitches and clean everything up. I decided to do the more tiring tasks all at once.
"I'm going to get your sheets. Try to not stretch the wound too much or the strands are going to break again. I made them tighter so that you'll still be able to walk." I said "Be careful. Please." I said as I climbed the stairs with difficulty
"I'll get the sheets down." He said walking past me
"You'll-"
"I'll be careful with the stitches. Promise."
And Jimin helped me around for the rest of the day. It was late in the evening when Mira came back looking utterly exhausted. Taehyung was shining by his absence and Yeonjun and Soobin just hugged me in a sandwich before I could say anything.
"Welcome back?" I whispered
"You made food! You know I love you right!" Yeonjun grinned as a snarl was heard "Oh yeah, had forgotten about him." He chuckled
"Careful." The voice was ice cold and Yeonjun took a step back as I glanced at Jimin who looked at me looking innocent.
"He's not scary." I rolled my eyes at Yeonjun's antic before walking back to the kitchen.
Yeonjun watched Melody disappear. In front of him, he didn't have an injured comrade. He had a high ranking officer from the Special Forces who was currently probably planning all the possible methods he could use to get rid of him. Soobin was in a similar situation.
"Stop scaring the boys, J." Mira said "Sit on the couch and I'll have a look at your stitches." Mira added "Yeonjun, Soobin go change and help Melody. She must have forced a little too hard today."
Yeonjun obeyed without a word as he and Soobin disappeared swiftly. Mira watched the panther sit down, his eyes darting to the kitchen as all his body was tense. Having his mate out of sight was making him tenser and that wasn't good.
"Melody!" Mira called
Appearing in line of sight, Jimin relaxed considerably and Mira sighed. How will Melody deal with 7 overprotective mates? Mira took the bandage off as Melody fidgeted with her fingers on the side. Freezing, Mira looked at the stitches. They were perfectly done. Without a mistake and better than she ever did. Calmly she stood up and looked at me.
"Did someone come here?" she asked
I frowned and shook my head.
"I was here. With Jimin. I did everything on the list." I added unsure
"Did you stitch him?" the question was straightforward
I looked worriedly at Jimin needing for some acknowledgement from him somehow. He first didn't express anything and then a soft smile adorned his lips as he gave me a small nod. I bit my lips and nodded. Mira stood up and stood right in front of me. I wasn't scared whatever the reason was and had no reason to be.
"Your work is amazing." She patted my head softly "I see why you graduated at the top of your class." She grinned as I flushed "The mate bond must have stabilized you."
My smile faltered as I heard that. Grabbing Mira's wrist, I lead her to her room and closed the door as she gave me an interrogative gaze.
All day, I had been with Jimin.
I hadn't been scared of him, in fact what shocked me the most was that I was irritated with him. I had rarely been so frustrated before. Because Jimin did all his best not to touch me, he didn't even brush against me.
Was he avoiding touching me because he felt disgusted?
Why did I want to hold his hand so badly?
The feeling of safety I felt when I was with Jungkook clearly being the same when I was Jimin.
"I..." Mira waited for me to say something and I collected my breath "I want to touch him."