JUNGKOOK POV
Jeon Jungkook couldn't stop fingering the tattered blue baby blanket he held in his hands.
It still held traces of Jungmin, his 3-year-old son's scent.
He shifted on the uncomfortable dining chair and glared at Agents Taemin and Bam from the Police Investigative Unit.
Both men looked at him impassively, He culled the urge to punch their faces.
Inflicting violence on these two would only delay Jungkook from his search.
"Do you know if Young had any enemies?" Agent Taemin, the older of the shifter agents asked.
His red-haired partner drank coffee as they studied his response.
"He doesn't have enemies, not that I'm aware of." Jungkook gritted his teeth.
His inner wolf scratched at the surface of his skin, eager to be released.
All three of them were in the dining area of the house where Young, Jungmin and Young's boyfriend Jinwoo lived in.
It felt tiny.
A cage that could barely hold him, Jungkook's gaze slid to the body in the living room, covered with a tarp. The tops of Young's sneakered feet peeked out.
Jungkook had an iron stomach.
He and his friends used to be enforcers for an enormous pack before they formed their own.
He had seen his fair share of violence but looking at Young's body made him feel nauseous.
It was a reminder that Jungmin was still out there probably lost, frightened or both.
He clenched his fists on his thighs, His human fingers lengthened to sharp claws.
Taking calming breaths, he willed the claws back.
He wished Hobi, his lead Alpha, was here. Hobi could soothe his vicious wolf.
Being around his fellow pack mates might stabilise him.
He came to Seoul, the town where Young and Jungmin lived with San but San was out there in the woods, searching for his son with the cops.
Jungkook sure as hell couldn't wait to join them.
If he was dealing with the local cops, they would question him at the station but this was a shifter murder. Of course, the assholes from the IU had to step in.
"You don't seem to know much about Young." Bam commented.
A tick formed in Jungkook's jaw. "Of course I don't, He's my ex-boyfriend for a reason."
If he didn't have an alibi, they'd probably slap silver-coated handcuffs on his wrists but he had been guarding a client when the murder happened.
His client, a prominent investor would support his story.
"Why don't you ask Jinwoo? He's Young's boyfriend." He pointed.
He and Hobi had taken multiple secret trips here to check on the small family he could never be a part of. It wasn't exactly stalking.
Jungkook had every right to see if Jungmin was being treated right by Young and Jinwoo's boyfriend of the week. The last time they'd checked on them, everything looked fine. Normal
"We're unable to find or contact Jungi Jinwoo." Bam said.
The younger agent seemed to realise he made a mistake, because his partner threw him a withering stare.
Bam shut his mouth.
What the fuck?
"Jinwoo's missing too? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" He demanded. Jungkook ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
"He could've killed Young and taken Jungmin, Has that ever occurred to you?"
Judging by their expressions, he gathered Jinwoo was a potential suspect, Why were they keeping valuable information from him?
Jungmin was his kid.
His responsibility.
"This is pointless," he muttered.
"If there's nothing else, I want to join the search for Jungmin."
Jungkook had been cooperative and patient, They'd been at this for over an hour.
Jungkook had no further answers for the two agents.
Taemin and Bam looked at each other, Jungkook wondered if the two Alphas could sense his angry beast, which felt barely contained inside his human body.
"Very well Mr Jeon, You'll be hearing from us soon." Taemin said.
"Fine."
"Let me know if you find out anything about Jinwoo." he grumbled.
Jungkook moved from the dining room to the living room.
He exited the house through the glass doors that led to the backyard.
Like most houses owned by shifters, it didn't have a fence.
The yard opened right into the woods that circled the entire town. Damn it.
Jungmin was only three. Calm down, He reminded himself.
Panicking wouldn't get him anywhere.
It certainly wouldn't help his son.
He took a sniff of Jungmin's old baby blanket, memorising his son's scent.
Then he inhaled a lungful of air.
Jungkook had a sharp nose.
The lead Alpha of his old pack sometimes relied on Joon another pack mate and Jungkook to track down the traitors and enemies of the pack. He was excellent hunter and tracker.
He could pick out lingering scents here that belonged to the occupants of the house. Young.
Jungmin. Jinwoo. There were fresher scents as well.
San's and the three volunteers, local shifter cops who wanted to help with the search.
In addition, there was a scent he couldn't identify.
Jungkook hesitated as he stood in the untidy backyard. He looked through the sliding glass doors.
The two agents were still talking.
His gaze slid to the tarp-covered body again. Regret filled him.
It didn't feel right leaving Young's body there, The Omega had been nothing but a pain in his ass.
After all, Young made sure he never saw Jungmin after his birth again.
Still, Jungkook and Young shared a connection once upon a time.
They made Jungmin after all, He heard ambulance sirens close by.
The paramedics Finally.
They'd bring Young's body to the morgue, Jungkook will pay him one last visit then.
First, he needed to find his son.
His phone vibrated in his pocket as he got to his truck, He left the old Ford parked outside Young's house, Seeing hobi's name flashing across the screen, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Are the IU agents done questioning you?" Hobi didn't beat around the bush. He immediately went to the point.
"For now." He agreed.
"I'm on my way." Hobi was telling him.
He told hobi about Jinwoo. "The fuckers didn't volunteer that information."
"I had to work it out." he said, frustrated.
"Are you joining the search now?" Hobi asked.
"Yeah I'm about to, I can pick out Min's scent in the backyard."
"Okay, I'll be there in half an hour."
"What about Tae, Jin and the kids?" He asked.
Jungkook was referring to hobi and Joon's Omega mates and their offspring.
Finding his son was his number one priority but he didn't want to leave the vulnerable members of their pack unprotected.
"Joon volunteered to watch them."
"Understood." Jungkook ended the call.
The agents were lazy ass bureaucrats.
Jungkook had no expectations they'd take part in the search for his son, so it surprised him when Taemin soon joined him in the yard.
He finally glanced at Taemin.
"Let's look for your kid." the older shifter said.
He only gave him a nod, grateful for any additional help.
Knowing he'd be able to do his job better in animal form, He took off his clothes.
Once he was naked, Jungkook let the wolf take over.
Fur covered his chest and shoulders, Bones broke and organs moved,Claws replaced his human feet and fingers.
He went on all fours and a tortured howl escaped his furry throat.
Jungkook ran into the woods.
This was unfamiliar territory but Jungkook had to make do, He kept his nose to the ground.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
The late afternoon sun dipped low, It would soon be nightfall.
Not good, It would be harder to track his son in unknown lands.
Who knew what other predators lurked out here when the sun set?
He circled the same path he'd taken earlier, when he spotted a familiar face in the distance.
A scarred, dark-furred wolf.
Hobi. His lead Alpha had joined the hunt.
Hobi and his gazes crossed.
Hobi would have nodded if he were in human form, They headed to different directions.
Spreading out would make the search more effective.
Knowing two of his pack mates were out here with him bolstered his confidence, Jungkook would find his son no matter what.
Jungkook stopped at a clearing.
There he caught a faint whiff of Jungmin, His son had been here.
Encouraged, Jungkook went deeper into the forest.
A second scent joined it.
Jinwoo's.
He refused to let his rage get the better of him.
So Jinwoo took Jungmin. But why? Did he slash Young's throat, then fled with Jungmin?
Then there was that additional scent he couldn't identify.
Another shifter? It made little sense.
The clearing he was currently in veered off to two paths, he noticed. Which should he take?
Jinwoo and Jungmin's scents were all over the place, as if Jungmin wanted to confuse his potential pursuers.
A jackal appeared next to him.
He nearly went for the intruder's throat but he stopped at the last second.
Taemin in his animal form, The agent looked at the two paths.
Taemin took the left and Jungkook went for the right.
His nose soon picked up a familiar scent. Blood.
Growling under his breath, He spotted bloody paw prints on the ground, His heart thundered.
These belonged to an adult shifter. Not a child's, he reminded himself.
Too preoccupied with his recent discovery, He bumped into another furry body.
He bared his teeth, then realised the enormous wolf with the light brown fur was San.
Had San been looking for him?
San padded forward, looking over his shoulder to see if Jungkook was following him. Did his pack mate find something?
Jungkook tailed San into another clearing,His heart nearly stopped as he beheld the gruesome site.
Another corpse. A cougar.
No, another shifter. An Alpha.
Jinwoo, he thought.
Bloody rake marks covered Jinwoo's body. Jungkook padded forward, sniffing him.
Jungmin's fresh scent hit him like a wrecking ball.
He bared his teeth but the dead had no answers for him.
Questions raced through his head. Did Young's killer also get rid of Jinwoo? Was his son even alive?
Jungkook couldn't imagine what kind of mess Young and Jinwoo had gotten into.
They could've called Jungkook and his pack for help.
Things might've been rough between Young and him but Young should've known that he would do anything for Jungmin.
Taemin soon joined them.
The agent froze at San's warning snarl but Jungkook gave San's side a nip, telling his pack mate that Taemin was an ally.
"I guess that rules out Jinwoo as Young's killer." Taemin said, returning to human form to speak. "I need to head back and report this to my boss, Good luck with your search Mr Jeon."
Once Taemin left, it was San's turn to shift. "The other shifter volunteers have left, Said they didn't want to be caught dead in the woods during nightfall."
Jungkook shifted to human form to converse.
While he didn't just want to stand around when there was better use of his time, he needed to catch up with what San knew.
He frowned, processing San's words. "How come?"
"They say a small but vicious pack lives in the heart of the woods, A bunch of outlaws. Their lead Alpha supposedly belonged to a big city pack but got booted out for unacceptable behaviour."
Jungkook breathed hard, This didn't sound like good news at all.
He looked back at Jinwoo's body.
Taemin would take care of it, he knew.
The agent might've come off as a prick earlier but Jungkook knew he was just doing his job.
Taemin wouldn't leave Jinwoo's body to the mercy of animals.
He finally saw Jinwoo in another light. "He could've been protecting Jungmin from Young's killer."
"Maybe, We have nothing concrete but we will soon." San clasped his shoulder.
"What now?"
"We'll continue our search, I'm not afraid of the dark or these outlaws."
"Agreed. They're no match for us. I bumped into hobi earlier."
"He's searching the southeastern area of the woods, I'll take the west."
"I'll take the north." Jungkook agreed.
He returned to wolf form and resumed tracking his son.
Night had fallen.
Despite being up since the crack of dawn for his job, He wasn't the least bit tired.
He was full of boundless energy.
Whoever took Jungmin was going to pay with his life.
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