I first looked in the living room and then the library, not seeing anyone, but I saw that Taehyung's office door was closed so he had to be in there. I knocked and waited to see if anyone was there.
"Come in." I opened the door and saw Taehyung, Hosek, and Jimin standing around a table looking at a map. They looked up at me as I opened the door and took a step in.
"I'll come back later." I was about to close the door when Taehyung spoke up.
"It's fine. We were just figuring out where our next recon was going to be. What's up?" He had taken a couple steps towards me.
"I was wondering if we could talk." I asked nervously. Taehyung nodded and then turned towards Hosek and Jimin.
"We can continue this later." They both agreed and walked out of the office, closing the door behind them.
"Is everything ok?" Taehyung asked, then furrowed his brows as he looked closer at me. "Your hair looks different."
"Ya, I think the sun is bleaching it. Anyway, I'm confused and need some help." He gestured for me to sit down as he sat down in a chair across from me and then waited for me to continue. "I have had some weird dreams and I don't know if there is anything to them, but I thought I should at least tell someone. The first dream was before we even met. I was hiking as I usually did and found a clearing. It was pretty far from my cabin so I decided to sit down and rest my eyes a bit. I ended up falling asleep and in my dream, Selene appeared to me." I looked up to gauge his reaction and he looked surprised.
"Like the moon goddess Selene?"
"I assume so. She was beautiful and walked over to me placing her hand on my forehead. She said she was giving me a gift and that I would need to remind them."
"Remind who of what?"
"That's exactly what I asked and she said I would figure it out in time." Showing him how confused I was.
"Well, the one thing I can think of is that the gift she gave you is your ability."
"That makes sense." I nodded in agreement.
"You had another dream though?" He asked.
"Just now. She came to me again, but didn't really say anything. I was in the middle of a forest and there was this cave entrance and at first it was in rubble and then it was perfectly put together and there were these symbols..." I paused as the images ran through my mind. "Can I just show you?" I asked as I put my hands out." Without question, Taehyung reached and grabbed both my hands. I watched the dream replayed for him and he jerked back as the darkness closed in on me once again. He stood up and started pacing around.
"Protect? Protect the cave? And those symbols..." He ran his fingers through his hair and he thought about everything. "I'm not sure what all this means, but it has to be something. There is another pack that we are pretty close to and they might have some answers. I was debating whether or not we should pay them a visit, but you just confirmed for me that we should." He turned towards me and sat back down. "Thank you for telling me."
"Of course! I felt like I needed to tell someone and telling you made the most sense." I smiled as he reached out and grabbed my hand. The warmth of his touch radiated throughout my whole body as I felt how confused he was by my dreams and my ability, but it was quickly overshadowed by a simple word that I could hear in my head....
"Beautiful." It sounded like his voice, but his lips didn't move. I looked at him curiously and in my head responded, "Did you say that?" I saw his eyes go wide as his voice echoed in my head once again, "Oh my god you heard that and now I'm hearing you?"
"Well, if you can place thoughts in people's heads....why shouldn't we be able to talk to each other like this?" We both started smiling like idiots and giggled at this new connection we found. He let go of my hands and stood up.
"I should contact the other pack as well as the Council. Let them know what's been going on and see if they have any insight." He walked over to his desk.
"The Council?" I walked over to his desk as well.
"Yes, they are like the governing body for werewolves. They have an archive that can maybe answer all our questions around human mates and hopefully something or someone can help decipher your dreams." He had opened his computer and began typing. I slowly started to back away.
"Well, I'll get out of your hair." I saw the apologetic look he had on his face.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to kick you out."
"No, no! Don't worry about it. I just threw a lot more work at you. Is there any way I could maybe help?" He paused and thought for a moment. Then, he got up and walked over towards me.
"Just tell me if you have any more dreams and try to enjoy yourself. Don't let all this crap bring your mood down." He smiled as he reached out and ran his fingers through the strand of hair that was framing my face.
"If you're stressed or troubled, feel free to come talk to me too ok?" I reached up and grabbed his hand giving it a light squeeze. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.
"I promise, now go have fun with Willa or Jungkook or anyone." He smiled as he let go of my hand and then sat back at his desk. I started walking towards the door when he called out for me, causing me to stop and turn. "Are you busy tomorrow at all?" I couldn't help but to laugh.
"I haven't been busy the entire time I have been here." He chuckled as well.
"I was hoping I could steal you for the day. Is that ok?"
"Is this you officially asking me out on a date?" I wanted to tease him just a little and I did notice that his face went a little red as he nodded. "A date with the Alpha? Hmmm?" I pretended to think about it and saw him playfully roll his eyes as me. "I would love to."
"Meet me in the kitchen around 10AM and make sure you are dressed for a long hike."
"I'm looking forward to it." I smiled and left his office going to find someone to hang out with.
Next Morning
Last night, I managed to find Willa, Jimin, and Yoongi. We hung out and just talked, trying to get to know each other better. I noticed that whenever Willa is around, Yoongi tends to be just a little more outgoing as well and Jimin is a very outgoing person as well. Taehyung stayed in his office the rest of the night and I couldn't help but to feel guilty that I gave more things to try to figure out. I wish I could help!
I woke up and was really excited and actually nervous to go on our date. I didn't know what to expect, but he said to dress for a hike which did excite me. I hadn't gone on a good hike in the forest for a while. It was pretty warm this morning so I grabbed some comfortable athletic shorts and a tank top. I put my hair and grabbed a hat. It wasn't too early in the morning so I had some time to eat breakfast and relax before we left. I went to the kitchen and saw Jungkook and Namjoon sitting eating.
"Morning Alanna!" Jungkook gave me a hug smile.
"Morning Kook. What are you up to today?" I asked as I had grabbed some bread and put in the toaster.
"Not sure. Taehyung said he was going to be gone most of the day, so I'll be patrolling." He got up and put his dishes in the sink. "You look like you're going on a hike today." He leaned against the counter waiting for my answer.
"I am actually." I pulled the toast out and looked for the peanut butter.
"Well, someone has to go with you ya know that right?" He crossed his arms as I turned to face him.
"I know."
"Ok, so who is going with you?" I started to spread the peanut butter and without looking at him I gave him his answer.
"Taehyung."
"What? Does he know about this?" I let out a loud sigh.
"Yes, he's the one who invited me actually." I heard Namjoon choke a little on his coffee.
"Taehyung invited you to hang out? Just the two of you?" I looked over at Namjoon who looked very surprised.
"Yes? Is there something wrong with that?" I asked, confused. Namjoon got up and placed his plate in the sink and then stood next to Jungkook. I stood looking at them, as they both were trying to hide smiles.
"Nope, nothing at all. You two have fun." Namjoon said as he walked away. Jungkook still leaned against the counter staring at me with a huge smile.
"What?" I asked him. He just stared at me, smiling and it was starting to annoy me. I waived my peanut butter filled knife at me. "Oh why don't you go start patrolling." He giggled and skipped away. I finally had my breakfast made and I sat down and ate in peace. Not too long after, Taehyung came in and started grabbing things from the cupboards
"Morning." I said as I didn't think he saw me.
"Oh hey! How did you sleep?"
"Great! You?"
"Good. We have a long hike today so eat a good breakfast." I held up the toast I was eating.
"On it boss." He gave me a smile and then walked over to the table. He placed a small backpack on the table as I looked up at him.
"Your backpack was something we needed to leave in the forest to make the police believe you were officially gone, but I got a new one for you if you like it. I looked at the grey backpack that was on the table. It was a lot like my other one, but much nicer. It had so many pockets for any tools that I would need and big enough for a couple bottles of water, but also small enough so it wouldn't weigh me down. As I was looking through the inside I smiled up at Taehyung.
"This is perfect. Thank you!" He turned away and walked back to cupboards and the fridge pulling out items and placing them in his own bag. I was finished with my breakfast as I placed my plate in the sink and turned towards him. "What can I help with?"
He turned around and pointed to a cabinet. "There are some water bottles in there if you want to grab some and fill them up." I did exactly as he said, grabbing some ice from the freezer as well to make them extra cold. "What kind of sandwich do you like?" I looked over and saw that he had a bunch of stuff out to make a couple sandwiches.
"Ummm, honestly, I'm not picky so surprise me." I grabbed the water bottles and went on the other side of the counter, watching him make the sandwiches.
"So...you're just going to keep staring at me?" He didn't even look up as he continued.
"Yup! It's nice to see a man in the kitchen for once." I giggled as he slowly looked up at me.
"I'll cook for you anytime you want." We both made eye contact and I could feel my face getting a little red. I turned away and started walking around the table. He was putting everything away and then put all the food in another backpack as I put the water in mine. "Ready to go?"
I grabbed my backpack and put it on. "Ya, where are we going?"
"My favorite place in the whole forest." He said as he walked outside waiting for me to follow. We didn't really say anything until we were finally walking among the trees.
"So...I know you stayed in your office all night. Did you find out anything?"
"Unfortunately, not really. I read through the history of our kind over and over seeing if I could come up with anything and I guess the only thing I really found was that this all started with a goddess and a human. So, maybe, Selene picked you as my mate and to have these abilities because you're human, but that seems to leave more questions like why pick a human now? Why give you abilities? Why the dreams? I contacted the other pack and they are expecting us next week."
"Sorry for bringing all this craziness." Taehyung stopped walking which made me stop. He turned towards me looking very serious.
"How many times must I tell you this is not your fault. Please stop saying sorry." He pleaded with me.
"Sor-" I quickly shut my mouth and Taehyung smiled. We started walking again.
"Tell me about your family." I said.
"Well, my mother and father were the Alpha and Luna of the pack. I was raised to act and be an Alpha once I hit 18 years old. I am the only sibling and don't really talk much to my parents these days."
"Were both your parents werewolves?"
"Yes, from rival packs even too. Their story is a lot like Romeo and Juliet expect they didn't kill themselves obviously." We both laughed.
"Did you want to be an Alpha." I was a little hesitant in my question and I could tell he was hesitant in his answer.
"Not really. I just wanted to hang out with my friends and hated having to study and work with my father learning about the role of the Alpha and how to protect everyone."
"Well, if it's worth anything, I think you are doing a great job." He glanced in my direction as our eyes briefly met.
"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you."
"Coming from me? Why?"
"I mean you called me a monster the first day we met and ran away from me after we kissed. I never thought you would even think I was good at anything." I felt terrible that I made him feel this way and grabbed his hand, letting him know that I don't think he's a monster and while things are complicated between us, I respect him and honestly care for him. The smile on his face showed me that he truly did feel what I was feeling. "Come on, we're almost there." As we continued walking, I could hear the rush of water and noticed that the terrain became a little more rocky. I could see a break in the trees ahead and as we reached it, I saw a small lake. Then, looking towards the sound of the water, there was a beautiful waterfall emerging from the rocks. I stood in awe of how amazing this hidden waterfall was and felt how much cooler it was near the water. Taehyung grabbed my hand and led me to a flat rock that was next to the water. We sat down and he started taking out all the food he had brought.
"Taehyung, this place is beautiful!"
"I found it a couple months ago and always come here when I need to get away and think."
"Is that what you are doing now?" I asked furrowing my brows.
"Of course not. I wanted to share my secret spot with you." He smiled at me and I took a sandwich and started eating it. It was hot and I could tell we were both sweating a little so I grabbed the water bottles and handed one to him.
"What about your family?" Taehyung asked me.
"I don't have one." I said nonchalantly.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Just that. I grew up in an orphanage and left when I was 16. Been on my own ever since."
"I'm sorry to bring it up." He looked embarrassed for asking.
"Hey, it's not a problem. I'm fine with it. I loved being on my own! Plus, I have an even better family now." I looked over at him and he was smiling which made me feel so happy. We finished our lunch and sat and talked just a little bit more. He told me about the other pack we would meet and how they had always got along with their Alpha, James. They helped Taehyung's pack get settled when they first were assigned this area. I was starting to sweat even more when I took off my shoes and then I stood up. I was feeling very courageous and started taking off my shorts and tank top and then hat, throwing them on the rock we were sitting on. Taehyung looked at me with wide eyes. as I stood there is my sports bra and underware.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"It's hot so I'm going for a swim." I walked close to the edge of the small lake and stepped in. It was cold at first and as more of my body disappeared under the water, I felt so much better. I put my head under, feeling the stickiness of the sweat on my face disappear. I looked up at Taehyung who was now standing just staring at me.
"Come on! Don't be a chicken." I saw Taehyung bite his lip and think for a little bit before pulling off his shirt and then pants as well as his shoes. He then jumped into the water splashing me. We weren't that close to each other so I swam over to where he had jumped in. He wasn't coming up to the surface so I was starting to get worried. Then, I heard something pop up behind me and poke my waist. I jumped and turned to see him laughing. I splashed him to get him to stop.
"So, being a werewolf, can you guys actually swim or just doggy paddle?" I gave him a small smirk and started swimming towards the small waterfall.
"Oh it's on!" I heard him yell and follow behind me. I had just reached the waterfall when I felt arms around my waist pulling me back, I started laughing as I tried to swim away, but he was much stronger than me.
He pulled me through the water and turned me to face him as he pressed my back against the rock. I was barely touching the bottom with the water coming up to my chest. Taehyung looked at me and I could feel his desire to kiss me. It was hard to hide the fact that I wanted to be closer to him and as soon as he felt that I wanted this too he slowly came closer to me and pressed his lips against mine. The familiar feeling of melding together consumed us once again. Whenever you kiss someone, you are always thinking about whether or not they want to continue or if they want the kiss to deepen, questioning every move, but with us it was so much different. We could feel what the other felt and knew what each other wanted. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck as his body pressed against mine. I could feel his fingertips move from my waist to my low back as he pulled me closer to him. The passion ignited between us, deepening the kiss as the need for each other was evident. Taehyung lips moved from my mouth to my jawline and then down my neck. My breathing was unsteady as the knot in my stomach tightened and my fingers grabbed hold of his hair. I could feel how intensely he wanted me and for a split second I was a little scared. That second was enough for him to stop kissing me. He didn't let go of me but kept his head in the crock of my neck.
"I'm sorry." I could hear how hard he was breathing and his heartbeat was fast. He felt guilty for letting it go this far and wanting it to go further. I pulled my hands from his neck and placed them on the side of his face as I pulled him to look at me.
"There is nothing to be sorry about. I wanted this too. Just...baby steps ok?" He nodded and I leaned in to give him a gentle kiss. We got out of the water and laid on the rock to try to dry off just a little bit. Once we felt dry enough, we put our clothes back on and headed back home, hand in hand. As we walked out of the treeline, towards the house, Willa, Hosek, Jimin, and Namjoon were all sitting outside chatting. They saw us approaching and waved.
"Well, well, you two look like you had a great time." Hosek said, teasing us. I could feel that Taehyung was a little embarrassed, but I squeezed his hand and told him it was ok.
"We did. Thanks." I replied
"Alanna, I hope you don't mind, but I went shopping this morning and got some clothes, do you want to come pick some out?" Willa asked me. I turned to Taehyung, wondering if he had any more plans for today.
"Go." He said, giving me a smile. I let go of his hand as Willa and I went inside.
She took me up to her room which she shared with Yoongi and there were clothes all over their bed. She had gotten some more jeans, leggings, t-shirts, and even shoes.
"Ok, so I grabbed a bunch of stuff for all us girls so pick what you like and Dakota and I will go through everything else." She said. I looked around and saw another pair of tennis shoes and grabbed those along with a pair of jeans and a couple shirts. I thanked her and was about to leave. "Wait, I got something specifically for you." She ran to her closet and pulled out a gift bag. She was smiling and giggling as I took the bag hesitantly and looked inside. I pulled out a white lace bra and panty set as I stared back at her.
"Willa!" I shouted shoving it back in the bag.
"Oh come on!" She snickered.
"Are you expecting me to wear this anytime soon?"
"I am not implying anything at all. Sometimes, it's just nice to feel sexy." She winked at me as I let out a loud sigh. "Plus, it looks like things between you and Taehyung are getting better." She then started to giggle and I was trying not to laugh as well.
"Thank you Willa." I left her room and put all of my new clothes away. Since I was all sweaty and jumped into a lake, I decided to shower. I put on some shorts and t-shirt once down and hung out with my new family the rest of the night. Taehyung and I didn't really talk much the rest of the night, but whenever I looked at him, I found that he was already looking at me and we would both smile at each other.
I was the happiest I had ever been as I went to bed that night. I opened my window, letting the night air, cool down my room from the hot day. I feel fast asleep, but that didn't last long when I woke up to the sound of glass breaking and people shouting as I jumped out of bed. I turned to run to my door as I saw white smoke creeping underneath and into my room.
A/N: A longer chapter to make up for the shorter chapter. I really hope you are enjoying this budding romance as well as the dram I have sprinkled in.
I don't think anyone is expecting what is about to happen. Muhahahaha!!