Taehyung sighs, his head starting to hurt as everyone looked at him expectantly.
"I don't think it's working." He says. "I don't even know how to tell if it is."
"Just try again, kitten." Jin says, his voice still sounding worried.
They had brought Taehyung to Hyoyeon to try and contact Jungkook through some kind of internal link they both shared but they hadn't had any luck.
"I can't, hyung. He isn't answering." The younger says, biting his lip nervously. "I don't think he's coming back."
"I don't get it, why would he just leave without an explanation?" Jin sighs in frustration.
"Are you sure this link thing is real?" Yoongi, who still hasn't spoken directly to Taehyung, says. "Maybe there is no way to contact him."
"I've been alive a longer than you have, Yoongi. Are you really doubting me?" Hyoyeon asks as she stares into the fire in front of her.
Yoongi sighs, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Maybe we should just forget it then."
"Just try again, child." Jin says, shooting Yoongi a glare. "If Hyoyeon says there's a link then there is one."
"I'm trying, hyung. I can't feel him, I can't feel anything." The younger says standing and pacing the ground in front of him.
'Jeongguk, wherever you've gone, please come back. If you aren't coming back please let me know somehow.'
He receives more silence in return.
'Jeongguk, you're making me very very upset and I'm about to lose my temper. Please let me know you're alright somehow. If this stupid link thing is working please respond.'
'I don't get how I'm supposed to respond. Is it the same kind of wolf link? No, he's a whole vampire, Jeongguk, come on.'
'Jungkook!?'
'Holy shit, you can hear me!?'
"I think I got him." Taehyung says out loud making Hyoyeon release a sound of relief.
'Jeongguk, where are you? You just left, how could you just~'
'I can explain. I found Namjoon~"
'Is he alright?'
"What's he saying, kitten?" Jin asks, only being able to pick up Taehyung's thoughts.
"He found his friend and he's alright." Taehyung says, still pacing nervously. "And he found some kind of...camp...hideout...bullshit or something."
Yoongi frowns in confusion, all of this was confusing to him.
"Vampire and werewolves...mates." Taehyung continues as he tries to focus on the link. "Willing to protect us if we reveal ourselves as mates."
"What?" Jin asks, standing up himself.
'Jin-hyung doesn't like that I don't think.'
'I know. I don't either. I can't let anything happen to you.'
'I can protect myself.'
"Taehyung." Jin says. "Absolutely not, you absolutely will not do such a thing. Not now, you aren't ready."
'You can't, Taehyung. You aren't trained to fight. You aren't ready.'
Taehyung sighs, he was already expecting to hear that though.
'What are we going to do?'
'I don't know. We'll talk more when I get there, okay?'
'Okay. I love you, Jeongguk. And please don't disappear like this again. I thought you left me.'
'I could never leave you, Tae. I love you. If I went anywhere I'd take you with me.'
Taehyung smiles a little, the stress slowly fading away as he hears those words.
"What else did he say?" Jin asks after a long moment of silence.
"We'll talk more when he arrives." The younger says with a sigh as he sits down again.
"Good. We'll wait here for his return." Jin says retaking his seat.
Hyoyeon starts to hum as she watches the flames of the fire dance along the wood, her voice filling the silence and giving them a strange sense of calmness.
This was the calm before the storm one would suppose.
♾🖤♾🖤♾
Jimin was in his own room in the elder's quarters when Yoongi came to him that night, not apologizing for being upset but apologizing for the things that were said.
"You and Jin put Taehyung's life in danger and it's my job to protect him." He says crossing his arms.
"He put his own life in danger. We didn't know until it was too late." Jimin says, his back to Yoongi as he looks out his bedroom window.
"That still doesn't make it right." The older says. "It's beyond me how something like this could happen with any of us noticing."
"What's done is done. Your apology is accepted." Jimin says, not at all convincing Yoongi that his apology was accepted.
"Jimin~"
A shrilling siren rips through kingdom making Jimin flinch.
"Intruder, intruder!"
They both share a confused look before rushing out of the room.
"I'm going to find my father." Jimin says, starting to go in the opposite direction of Yoongi.
"No, you stay with me." The older stops him.
"No." Jimin says. "Go get Taehyung. I can handle myself."
"Now is not the time, Jimin." Yoongi snaps.
"Is it ever?" The younger snaps back before rushing off in the opposite direction anyway.
Yoongi curses under his breath, almost deciding to follow his mate.
"Intruder, intruder!"
He decides against it and runs to get Taehyung, using his supernatural vampire speed.
The heart of the kingdom is completely empty, no one there preparing to fight or attacking.
The sirens suddenly stop, confusing Yoongi even more.
"What?" He says to himself as he slows to a stop in the middle of the street.
"Yoongi!"
Yoongi turns to see Taehyung rushing towards him, his robe blowing in the wind behind him as he runs.
Yoongi reacts after a moment of shock, running to meet the boy.
"Taehyung what~"
"Jin-hyung. Were~ wolves, huge ones a-and he~ they. Hyung, Jin-hyung he~"
"What's wrong with Jin?" Yoongi asks, pulling Taehyung along in the direction he came.
Taehyung starts to stammer again, tears falling as he tries to form a proper sentence.
"Taehyung, listen to me." Yoongi says, stopping and making the younger face him. "What happened?"
"They had to be rogues." The younger cries. "We were with Hyoyeon and they c-came and they took h-her. They took Hyoyeon and Jin-hyung~ Jin-hyung is hurt."
Yoongi starts walking again, hurriedly pulling Taehyung along.
Taehyung continues to cry, tripping over himself at times as Yoongi rushes towards Hyoyeon's cabin.
When they get there Yoongi finds Jin leaning against the wall barely conscious.
"Seokjin." The older says kneeling down to assess the wound that crosses from his side over his stomach, his flesh torn by the claws of a wolf.
Jin releases a series of dry coughs, his chest heaving.
"Seokjin, can you hear me?" Yoongi asks taking Jin's face between his palms and trying to meet his eyes.
"Yoongi." Jin says, his voice pained. "They w-weren't~"
"Shh. It's okay." The older says before standing. "Stay here and keep him awake, do you understand?"
Taehyung nods before Yoongi rushes away to another compartment of the small cabin.
"J-Jin-hyung?" Taehyung asks as he kneels next to the older.
"Everything's okay, kitten." Jin says, trying to sound like everything was. "You have t-to tell Yoongi, they weren't rogues. Okay?"
"You'll tell him." The younger says. "He's right there, he'll be right back."
Jin shakes his head. "I can't, kitten."
Taehyung closes his eyes and tries to take the pain but Jin stops him.
"Don't." He says. "Tell Yoongi, okay?"
Taehyung shakes his head. "Yoongi-hyung!"
"He'll know what to do, I promise." Jin reassures him, his eyes falling shut.
"Move, Tae." Yoongi says reappearing beside the younger.
Taehyung flinches away, moving so Yoongi is directly in front of Jin.
His eyes widen when he sees what Yoongi carries. "Hyung...that's human blood."
"I know." Yoongi says as he tries to figure out how to connect the IV. "Go stand over there, kitten. It's fine."
Taehyung stands, backing away from them.
He can't help but to recognize the scent of the blood, it smelled exactly like the blood Jin gave him daily.
"Hyung...that's the blood Jin gives me." The younger says, his voice growing more confused. "Is that human blood?"
Yoongi curses under his breath, ignoring Taehyung and entering the iv into Jin's arm.
Taehyung frowns, they weren't supposed to feed on humans.
That was the agreement made hundreds of years ago when the kingdom was built in this land.
They were surrounded by different werewolf packs who agreed to let their kingdom reign as long as they didn't feed on humans.
And Taehyung felt that it was wrong to do such a thing, humans were creatures trying to survive just like they were.
And the blood was from the hospital, meaning that they were taking it from their blood supply, which had to be against human law.
"Hyung..." Taehyung trails off as he tries to make sense of this, why would they feed him human blood and not tell him the truth about it?
"Royal bloods feed on human blood. All of them." Yoongi says, his tone short. "It's not because they want to, they have to."
"Humans may need that blood, it belongs to the hospital." Taehyung says, his brows furrowed. "You lied to me."
Yoongi doesn't respond as he lifts Jin and carries him to one of the cots located along the walls.
Jin coughs a few more times, the only sign that he is still alive.
"If royals don't drink human blood they become violent. You'd be going on killing sprees and killing humans anyway." Yoongi says.
"Well maybe you should just kill me." Taehyung says, completely horrified. "I'm no better than those evil vampires."
Yoongi sighs, trying to focus on finding something to stitch Jin's wound to help the healing process.
"I'm going to my room." The young prince says when Yoongi doesn't respond.
"Taehyung, I'm sorry. Okay? It has to be that way, it's the only way to tame you." Yoongi explains quickly. "We knew you'd hate it so we kept it from you. And we're sorry, alright? Now sit down, you can't go anywhere."
Taehyung shakes his head, heading towards the door.
"Taehyung, you can't leave. You stay here until I can escort you. That's an order." Yoongi says sternly.
The younger stops, facing his hyung, tears brimming in his eyes.
"I don't take orders from servants." He says, his eyes angry despite the tears.
"Kim Taehyung, I swear~"
Yoongi's words are taken from him the second Taehyung raises his hand, rendering the older silent.
"You are a liar!" The younger shouts. "I don't take orders from liars!"
Yoongi stand there as the younger storms out, speechless even though his voice has returned.
Taehyung didn't know how to handle what he was feeling, he just knew that he was no better than the monsters everyone feared.
♾🖤♾🖤♾