Chapter Text
I let it fall, my heart.
And as it fell, you rose to claim it.
It was dark and I was over
Until you kissed my lips and you saved me.
Jimin’s entire body trembles, his limbs weak from the bone-deep shudders that unrelentingly course through him. His brain is foggy from the painful, gnawing feeling that wrenches deep in the pit of his stomach and wrecks through his lithe frame.
He’s not sure if it’s fear, cold or something else but he recklessly ignores it all.
Jeongguk’s chest offers a safe hideout to him, warm and firm and familiar just like only family itself can be.
The subtle note of something earthy in his brother’s scent has Jimin smiling in his sleep and moving imperceptibly closer. It's comforting and faint enough for him to never get enough. Maybe, once he presents, everything will change. Maybe it will become stronger and drive him away. This is something Jimin's always dreaded thinking about and he's quick to push the thought away, hoping that moment would never come. For now, Jeongguk’s scent is all he needs to ignore the pain and discomfort that threatens to slowly take him over.
His brother smells like the nearby forest after a downpour. Wet, rich and beautiful; vibrating with life. If Jimin were to focus enough, he knew he’d be able to tell the scent of each individual tree apart, of each small thing making up Jeongguk’s scent.
Another shiver makes him tremble and, this time, it doesn't go unnoticed.
“Are you cold?”
Jimin shakes his head no, unable to pull away from his safe haven just yet. His body is embraced by thick blankets and furs, he shouldn't be cold, not when high flames dance in the hearth, not when Jeongguk's warm body is pressed so close to his own.
Still, Jimin can’t help the way his body feels.
Jeongguk’s arms around him subtly tighten, pulling them both even closer , bodies pressing flush against one another.
Silence easily falls between them all over again, allowing for the outside world to enter their small, safe haven. The sound of the war is loud and terrifying, so different from Jeongguk’s steady heartbeat. If he focuses enough, Jimin can tell apart all the clashing of swords, heavy metal hitting heavy metal. More than that, though, the screams fill in the silence. They carry anger and pain, an unstoppable and morbid song that’s been haunting him for days now.
The siege had started barely a week ago and Jimin wishes it all could be over already. His fists tighten around the fabric of Jeongguk’s tunic, eyes clenching as a particularly loud thud reverberates through the room, closer than any other sound before.
Jeongguk presses a feather-like kiss on the crown of his head and Jimin relishes in it, body instinctively going lax.
A silent moment goes by, then a pained whimper escapers his lips, pain shooting through him, coiling in his lower belly. Jimin instinctively curls in on himself, clenching his jaw and holding his breath through it.
Once the pain simmers down he shifts, reluctantly pulling away just enough to look up at Jeongguk. He finds worry swimming in his brother’s eyes and hates the sight of it.
His hand moves up without him even noticing, cold fingers reaching the crease between the alpha’s eyebrows, rubbing circular caresses over it. This is something he’s always seen their mother do with her mate whenever that same crease formed on his face. It comes to him instinctively and neither questions the subtle intimacy of it.
Jeongguk says nothing, silently staring back at him as his arms slightly loosen their hold around his brother. His gaze is so intense that, for a moment, Jimin has to fight off the urge to squirm and escape from it. He feels as if Jeongguk were able to stare deep in his soul and reveal all of his darkest secrets.
Jimin’s got far too many of those and can’t bear the thought of his brother coming to know any.
“Stop it.”
A smile pulls on Jeongguk’s lips as his eyes refuse to move away. Jimin tries his best to shy away from it, his hand pulling away and gaze instinctively averting.
Moments later, another cramp surges, unexpected like the previous ones and strong enough to make him whimper, stealing his breath away as it reaches its peak. Jimin feels his eyes water, nose scrunching up in a weak attempt to hold them back. This is no time to cry, to act this weak. Still, as Jeongguk’s so close to him, Jimin can’t help but keep on forgetting about the war raging outside the castle walls.
It’s unfairly easy to reduce his whole world to the reassuring embrace keeping him close, and Jimin hates himself for that. He feels guilt churn in his guts and eat him from the inside, but can't help himself.
“Hey,” Jeongguk whispers as yet another strangled whimper leaves him, a pout forming on Jimin’s lips.
He looks up at his brother and finds the same concern from before, the deep frown still shaping those beautiful features.
Instinctively, Jimin reaches back up, but Jeongguk’s faster, hand closing against the other man’s wrist.
Wordlessly, breath caught in his throat, Jimin watches as his brother presses a kiss against the tender skin of his wrist, soft lips lingering for longer than they should.
Their eyes meet again and, this time, the low whimper leaving Jimin has little to do with pain. Something entirely different coils in his lower belly, embers that slowly grow and spread, taking the cold’s place to leave nothing but burning hot.
Jimin gulps, dreading the way his body reacts to the other but unable to fight it. Weakly, he tries to pull away, but Jeongguk’s hand tightens around his wrist, moving it so that he can nuzzle against the palm of Jimin’s hand.
Wordlessly, he watches as the alpha’s eyes flutter closed, nostrils flaring as he breathes in Jimin’s subtle scent.
The latter has yet to present, the only indication of his subgender being the subtle twinge of sweetness that always clings to him.
“Jeongguk,” he breathes, giving up on pulling away, entranced by what he sees.
The alpha’s eyes snap open and, for a moment, Jimin could swear he sees crimson flash in them. He should be afraid, fear what it means, but the man can hardly find the strength to fight against the heat that courses through his body.
Gulping, he lets his hand mold over the alpha’s cheek, relishing in the deep and content purr that lifts in the air. It has yet another shiver roll down his spine, and a lazy smile draws on his lips.
This feels nice, despite everything, this feels undeniably right.
Something in Jimin stirs, awakens and demands attention. It happens slowly in the course of the night, small changes in him that, all of sudden, become overwhelming.
He shifts on the bed and scoots closer to Jeongguk, no longer just seeking warmth but sheer contact. The closeness to his brother, to what the wickedest part of him considers as his alpha, is somehow all Jimin needs in this moment.
Jeongguk’s arms circle his body and let him do as he pleases.
Jimin can hear the steady song of his brother’s heartbeat as he presses closer to his chest and, soon enough, it becomes his lullaby.
In the air, subtly, a saccharine scent rises. It mixes with the thick and rich petrichor, smoldering it’s edges and brewing the perfect combination.
Jimin can barely catch it, senses still too numb, but even the little that reaches him is enough to have that something in his core demand for more.
As a hazy fog takes over him, he nuzzles against Jeongguk’s chest and smiles to himself. Despite everything, Jimin can’t help but think everything will be alright. This is not the first war, not his pack’s first siege.
They’ll go through it and come out unscathed just like they always do.
In the meanwhile, Jimin’s content with the way Jeongguk’s hold tightens around him whenever another cramp sharply cuts through his body.
-
Jimin wakes up to a burning in his gut.
His eyes snap open as he registers the feeling, his skin feeling like scorched raw and his lungs unable to take in enough oxygen.
For a moment, he fears a fire might’ve broken out.
His first instinct is to turn to the side, hands searching for Jeongguk’s body in the surrounding darkness, needing to shake him awake.
Two things occur to Jimin then: the fire is nowhere to be found, no smoke nor flames licking at the room’s insides; his brother is not by his side.
“Jeongguk?” he chokes, voice hoarse with sleep and something else, something he can’t quite name just yet.
When nothing comes, Jimin’s eyes frantically move around the room, mind too panicked to notice the signals his body is sending him.
The room is dark, the heavy curtains had been long since pulled shut, not even the slightest sliver of light able to come through.
Jeongguk is not by his side.
“Jeongguk?” he calls again, voice broken by surging fear as he leaves the bed and takes a tentative step from its edge.
Nothing comes still and Jimin feels everything in him turn into a frantic and overwhelming storm. Sheer fears forming a lump in his throat as it heavily sets on his chest.
Taking another step, Jimin feels his knees go weak, legs bending under his weight as if they were made of paper.
A loud yelp escapes his lips as he hits the floor, eyes welling with tears and making even the darkness around him unfairly blurry.
Jimin’s not sure what’s bringing him to the verge of crying, the deep fear rooting in him or the faint yet growing desperation at being left alone. Everything feels impossibly too much, and Jimin doubts he’ll be able to make it alive through it.
A pair of hands close around his forearms and easily pull him up. Jimin holds back a desperate whimper at the cold touch against his feverish skin. Instinctively, on unsteady legs, he sags against Jeongguk’s chest and lets out a relieved sigh.
The hands holding him up twitch, briefly tightening before loosening again.
Jeongguk pulls him away and Jimin’s forced to look up, called by his brother’s eyes on him.
Neither says a word for a long moment, each lost in the other’s gaze as a cloud of petrichor grows thicker in the air.
Jimin’s brain takes far too long to register it, nose twitching as a pungent note taints the scent.
“Jeongguk.”
His voice is laced with alarm and he sees a red flash in his brother’s eyes. Shivers roll down Jimin’s spine, breath catching in his throat as his eyes grow wide.
He gulps and, despite the rational bits of him telling the man to get away, everything else dreads the mere thought.
“Jeongguk.”
This time, Jimin’s call is louder, his desperation pushing forward, enough to be heard in the sound of his voice. It somehow manages to pull the alpha out of his temporary trance, nostrils flaring and a deep crease forming between his eyebrows. Jimin can’t help but mirror it as his brother pulls away, pushing at him with enough force to make the man fall back on the mattress.
A surprised yelp rises in the air, but it goes ignored.
Jimin watches helplessly, with wide eyes, as his brother turns and walks further away from him.
Jeongguk sits down, his back resting against the door, legs bent and knees pulled up to his chest. His arms fall to rest on them, head hanging low between them as his whole body stills.
Jimin watches him, unable to utter a word for long moments, eyes taking in the tenseness of his brother’s muscles and hating whatever is making him act like that.
The burning feeling in him grows slowly but steadily until Jimin can no longer ignore it. The heat coils in his lower belly, mixing up with the cramps that still plague him. Each steals his breath away, making it impossible to even breathe. Soon enough, Jimin’s curled up on the bed, sweat covering his skin as both cold and heat play with his body, making him feel sick and his mind fuzzy.
Pained whimpers escape his weak hold but it’s all useless. Something in Jimin knows that this pain will only increase, that it’ll only get worse, and there’s no escaping it.
Peeling his shut eyelids open, clenching his jaw as a wave of pain washes over him, Jimin glances at his brother.
Jeongguk still sits by the door. His body is unmoving, but Jimin knows he’s vigilant.
Gulping, he shifts on the bed, willing his body to cooperate. It’s harder than he’d thought, limbs feeling heavy and achy, head pounding with a dull headache that’s long since settled in him. Fighting against it, Jimin sits up, back resting against the headboard and knees pulled to his chest.
“Jeongguk.”
His brother’s name feels like the only words able to leave him, each time with a different inflection.
Jeongguk’s whole body twitches, hands closing in tight fists, but he doesn’t look up at him.
Jimin feels raw desperation bloom in him, but it's a completely different kind than earlier. He needs Jeongguk to look at him, he needs the alpha to get back to him, needs his scent to embrace him like it had done before.
Biting over his bottom lip, feeling a wail build up in his throat, Jimin moves on the bed. He crawls to its edge and then gets off, briefly closing his eyes and taking a fortifying breath before moving.
There’s nothing but sheer instinct leading him, any kind of reasoning long since abandoned and forgotten.
He needs Jeongguk.
In the corner of his mind, something mewls contently and Jimin’s determination feeds off of it.
He takes the first step, eyes fixated on Jeongguk, knowing the alpha will try to stop him the moment he notices. Still, it doesn’t do anything to hold Jimin back. After the first step, he takes more and more until he’s standing before his brother, barely a foot dividing them.
It’s impossible for Jeongguk not to have noticed him, but the alpha stays stoic, stubborningly ignoring their closeness.
Jimin is having none of it, and crouches down, senses drowning in the thick petrichor that fills him. His nostrils take in all of the rich scent, lungs filling with it but yet feeling like it’s not enough. Jimin yearns for more and, although it’s terrorizing to realize, he can’t fight the feeling off.
“Jeongguk?”
The tentative whisper, so close, finally pulls a reaction from his brother.
The alpha’s head snaps up, crimson eyes piercing right through Jimin and stealing his breath away.
He gulps, frozen as he stares back.
“Get back to the bed, Jimin.”
Jeongguk’s voice is firm, harsh enough to make him flinch. Still, it's not enough to push Jimin away.
“No.”
If there’s something both have in common, it is being stubborn.
Jeongguk glares at him, but says nothing, the muscles of his face twitching as his jaws clenches.
“I don’t know what’s going on.” Jimin doesn't miss the way his voice wavers but can’t help it, countless feelings build up in his chest and they move further up to his throat, nestling in his voice. “I’m scared, Jeongguk.”
The alpha’s features soften, it’s a flash, but Jimin doesn't miss it.
“I’m just asking for you to let me stay.” He licks at his dry lips, eyes averting from his brothers as he feels shame add up to the storm of feelings in him.
It doesn’t matter why or to whom, Jimin’s always hated showing himself to be weak. Still, he can’t seem to help it now.
“Please.”
Jeongguk’s eyelids fall shut and Jimin hears him heavily exhale through his nose.
“We shouldn’t,” he says, but shifts.
The change is subtle, but Jimin takes it as a sign and scrambles to move to his brother’s side.
He presses himself close to Jeongguk, their sides flush one against the other.
A relieved sound leaves him as his head leans down, resting against the alpha’s shoulder.
Jeongguk goes tense by his side, but eventually relaxes, arm moving until it’s hugging Jimin’s shoulders and pulling him closer.
Like this, it’s easier to ignore the pain and everything going on within him.
Like this, Jimin can ignore everything that’s not the steady rhythm of his brother’s breaths and the comfort coming from his closeness.
“It’ll be alright,” he hears Jeongguk say.
His brother has never lied to him, always the one to keep his promises and face the consequences that come with truth. Now, though, Jimin knows Jeongguk’s lying.
Nothing in what’s happening promises good. He can feel it deep in himself, knows what all of this means despite stubborningly trying to ignore it.
-
When Jimin wakes up next, the first thing he notices is that he’s no longer on the floor but lying back on the bed.
For a moment, he fears that his memories from earlier are nothing but a dream and pulls himself up. It takes him hardly a moment to regret it, a pained groan pushing up his throat before nausea swirls in him, churning in his stomach.
“Lay down.”
His head snaps to the side, finding Jeongguk sitting on the floor, by the bed.
He frowns down at his brother, but is unable to form a coherent question so keeps silent.
“Jimin,” the alpha reprimates, voice lowering an octave and carrying a vain threat.
He doesn’t listen and shifts some more, ignoring the complaints of his body and the heat spreading like wildfire in him.
At this point, it’s only a matter of hours before it’ll hit at full force. Jimin cannot ignore it any longer, not when he can feel his own scent taking on a saccharine note and an uncomfortable wetness between his asscheeks.
New tears well in his eyes as he feels helpless like never before.
“How long,” he tries, but has to stop, words refusing to move forward. His mouth feels dry and his throat closes up.
Jeongguk’s eyes are on him, shining red, something restless and dangerous swimming in them. Jimin knows this is his fault. He knows his brother has caught up on the changes way before him, endured through it all because there’s no way Jeongguk would leave him alone. He feels awful for it, but it’s also unfairly comforting to know the alpha is there for him.
It doesn’t matter, to the newly awakened part of him, that said alpha is his brother. It doesn’t matter because everything in Jimin knows the truth about himself.
“How long do you think it’ll take?” he asks then, ignoring his own thoughts and focusing back on Jeongguk.
It’s not the smartest idea, but he’s got no one else there with him and knows his brother won’t let anyone else come. Whether it’s an omega, a beta or another alpha, Jeongguk won’t let them.
A shiver rolls down his spine, spreading through his whole body and leaving Jimin trembling. It’s enough of an answer and he can’t help but look away.
Jeongguk’s scent spikes up and his body’s reaction has Jimin drowning in shame and arousal. The wetness between his legs increases and something tight and hot coils in his lower belly.
A whimper slips past his lips, breaking the tense silence that's long since fallen over them.
Jimin's hand slaps over his own mouth but it’s useless. Jeongguk's missed not even one of the small changes going on in him, he certainly didn’t miss this one either.
A guttural grumble reverberates through the alpha’s chest, low and deep. Jimin hates and dreads how much he loves it.
Jeongguk's eyes, red like drops of blood, glint with matching arousal before the alpha is turning away from him.
“I should leave.”
Jimin knows he’s right, knows he should let his brother go and deal with everything that’ll come on his own. He knows that, if Jeongguk stays even just a little longer, both will regret it later, but he can’t bring himself to do anything of what he should.
“I know.”
Jeongguk’s shoulders rise and fall and Jimin watches it happen, gnawing at his lower lip, feeling helpless like never before.
He should say something, should be the one to guard himself and send his brother away, but even just the thought of doing so makes him want to throw up.
The newly presenting side of him, that primal and instinctual part, has already imprinted on Jeongguk, designing the alpha as their rightful mate.
Jimin’s sure he can feel it too, knows Jeongguk must feel the pull the same way he does. It’s an invisible force that tugs at their souls and binds them together. With time, with the approaching of his heat, the tug will only grow stronger, until neither will be able to hold back.
For the first time in his life, Jimin understands what his mother once told him. The first heat is different from others, an omega is far weaker, far more vulnerable and susceptible to what surrounds it.
With a shaky breath, he kneels on the bed and reaches out, hand tentatively carding through his brother’s hair. He hates how far away Jeongguk feels right now, how distant from him.
The alpha turns with a snarl pushing up his throat, a low rumble reverberating through his chest. Crimson eyes quickly set on Jimin, teeth bared in a clear threat as the omega's breath catches in his throat.
He knows his brother won’t hurt him, knows that won’t happen no matter what, but Jimin can’t ignore the way Jeongguk’s wolf is fighting to come to the surface. It visibly pushes at the confines of his soul, wanting to take over.
If that ever happens, there won’t be any chance for them to get out of this situation unscathed.
Jimin gulps, body frozen under his brother’s pinning gaze.
“I’m-” he tries, but his mouth is dry and the words seem to refuse leaving him.
Jeongguk watches him with attentive eyes, something feral hiding behind them. It should scare Jimin, but he’s long since stopped feeling what he should.
“Rest,” he hears Jeongguk say what feels like an eternity later.
His brother’s gaze seems clearer now, but Jimin knows it means little. Both are teetering on the edge of losing themselves. It’ll only take one step, one reckless and daring step to make both fall.
“You will need it.”
-
Jimin’s eyes snap open the moment he feels it, surging forward until it becomes too much, his shut lips are unable to keep in the moan that soon fills in the silence of the dark room.
His skin is covered by a sheen of sweat, whole body burning up, feverish and yearning for something he’s too scared to ask for.
Clenching his jaw until it nearly hurts, Jimin searches for his brother’s figure, eyes frantically roaming the room until they find him.
Jeongguk sits by the window, eyes on him already.
“It’s time,” he says once their gazes meet.
There’s something final to his words, they sound like a cruel sentece.
Jimin shudders.
He tries to think about all the possible alternativities they have. He could let Jeongguk go, could fight against his own instincts and let his brother leave. But the mere thought brings burning tears to his eyes, desperation growing bigger in him.
The alpha leaves the windowsill and walks closer, sitting on the bed without saying a word.
Jimin watches him with wide eyes, trying his best to ignore the pull and the way Jeongguk’s sole presence calls to him, makes his wolf howl and cry.
He ignores it all, because his brother is here for him, the least he can do is endure through his heat and not cave in to it.
Jeongguk leans closer to him, one hand brushing away sweaty locks from Jimin’s forehead as he moves to press a kiss over it.
The omega’s eyes flutter close at the touch of soft, cool lips against his skin. They gift him a fleeting break from the burning and overwhelming heat and, despite any logic, Jimin wishes they could stay like this forever.
The moment Jeongguk pulls away, he nearly reaches back to him, wanting to drag alpha closer once again.
Jimin doesn’t though, silently sitting still, clenching his jaw in the weak attempt to ignore his body’s heat, the way it wants more that he can give.
“I’ll be right outside.”
Those words feel like a bucket of cold water thrown at him. They pull all the air out of Jimin’s lungs, body freezing with sheer dread. He gapes at his brother, eyes brimming with even more tears as something in him breaks.
Jeongguk doesn’t wait for him to reply and gets up from the bed, walking to the door.
To no avail Jimin calls for him, pleading his brother to stay - unreasonable and unconsolable. Everything else loses meaning as he quickly falls into a vortex of desperation and want.
Jeongguk doesn’t stop, he opens the door and, before Jimin can even call for him one last time, he’s disappearing from his sight.
A sob breaks through the omega, leaving him shattered and trembling.
He’s alone.
And it’s terrifying to realize he’ll have to face his heat without the alpha he’s unwittingly imprinted on. The whole room is drenched in Jeongguk’s scent, so perfectly entwined with his own, but the alpha is not present. What surrounds Jimin is nothing but an inconsistent illusion that will only make everything all the more painful.
Feeling pain shoot through his body, piercing and hot, Jimin curls in on himself, whimpering as the tears roll down his face. All his mind can process is that Jeongguk’s not here, that his alpha has rejected him. It hurts even more than the heat, even more than the part of him awakening and driving him insane.
To his demise, Jimin feels the heat in him turn into arousal, into the irresistible need for relief. It grows intolerable, until the omega’s no longer able to ignore what his body demands, until closing his legs tight and humping against his own thigh is no longer enough.
Biting down his lower lip, desperately trying to not make a sound, the omega reaches down to his crotch. His hand moves past the band of his sleep pants, burning shame making something in his chest clench and more tears stream down his cheeks.
Jimin’s still lucid enough to hate himself for this, for the way his mind keeps on going back to Jeongguk, to the way the alpha felt against him just a few hours ago. The heat is quickly taking him over, and nothing makes sense, nothing feels important besides the growing need in him.
Tentatively, his fingers curl around his half hard cock, feeling it wet and throbbing at the mere touch.
Biting harder, drawing blood, the omega starts to move, shallow strokes bringing him to full hardness.
Somehow, it’s still not enough. Holding back a whimper, Jimin feels his hole leak slick and knows what his body needs but refuses to give in just yet.
Eventually, not even his fingers will feel enough, nothing will, leaving Jimin at the mercy of his own desperation.
It doesn’t take him long to come, Jeongguk’s name spilling past his lips in a weak cry as white stripes of cum paint his shirt.
-
Jimin's short fingers thrust in him with an erratic pace. Frustrated sounds mix with his whimpers and moans, filling the otherwise empty room.
He'd woken up hardly an hour ago, still alone in the room and exhausted by his crying. The heat had fully caught up on him all at once, barely giving the man any time to think.
All Jimin could process was the permanent ache in his lower belly and the wetness of his hole.
Another moan breaks through him as his back arches, desperately trying to find the right angle to make everything less painful.
New tears stream down his face, mixing up with the dried ones as his orgasm keeps on evading him.
Jeongguk's scent surrounds the omega, a cruel reminder that the alpha is just a few steps from him, yet he’s unreachable.
Jimin’s other hand is curled around his leaking cock, stroking to match his finger’s pace.
His lower belly feels tight and he knows his next orgasm is steadily getting closer, but it's still not fast enough. A frustrated groan escapes his lips, hanging in the room for a long moment.
Jimin bites on his lower lip as another wave of heat mixed with pleasure washes over him. His toes curl, back arches as the movements of his hands quickens.
Obscene and squelching sounds fill the makeshift den, only interrupted by his moans. Jimin chokes around them, feeling everpresent shame coil in his chest, making it hard to even breathe around the lump in his throat. The most rational part of him, the human side, loathes what’s going on, that all he can think about while thrusting back in himself is his brother, but he can't help it.
He thinks about how good it’d feel to have Jeongguk on him, arms caging his body as their hips move in a tandem, seeking relief. He tries to imagine, but pitifully fails, the way it’d feel to have Jeongguk’s thick cock thrusting into him, how full he’d feel and how good it’d be to clench around the alpha’s thick girth instead of his shorter fingers.
When he comes, brought on the verge of orgasm by the very thought of his brother fucking him through it, Jimin cries and sobs, white cum painting his abdomens as his hole clenches unforgivingly around his fingers.
Jimin cries, mourning the absence of his alpha, mourning the lack of a swelling knot in him, of something that’d ease the pain even if just for a little while.
His orgasm brings little comfort to him, leaving the omega gasping for air and choking on the sobs that wrack through his body.
It won’t be long before his fingers will reach back down, each time taking less and less as his wolf is desperate to be bred, to fulfill that raw and primal need blooming in him.
Leaving, Jeongguk’s condemned him to this pain and he can’t do anything but live through it.
Foolishly, Jimin prays he’ll be able to close his eyes and rest, drained by the past hours of pain and empty pleasure that had only left him more desperate.
A loud thump startles him, his eyes quickly open. He’s too tired to move, but can feel the fear and panic swell in his chest, forming a growing lump in his throat.
Jimin might be in heat, but he hasn’t forgotten about the dangers lurking outside yet. His wolf perks up with alarm. It won’t accept any other than Jeongguk.
Jimin knows that if the enemy pack has entered the castle they won’t care about his imprint.
Gnawing at his lower lip, making himself smaller on the bed, he waits. There’s nothing else he can do. Jeongguk’s still at the door, still guarding him.
If anyone enters the room, it will mean his brother is dead.
Jimin chokes around the growing panic, the realization making his blood run cold.
Sounds of growls and crashing filter into the room, someone wails and then there’s a loud crack.
Jimin winces, wishing he could hide and evade the sounds as well, fearing what he might hear.
A deep growl reverberates through the room’s walls and then it’s silent all over.
Jimin’s wolf knows it before he can realize and another wave of hot pleasure curls in his lower belly. Warm slick gushes from his hole and his cock throbs.
Jimin clenches his eyes shut, the hand on his belly scratching at the sensitive skin with anger. He knows soon everything else will lose meaning, that he’ll only be able to seek relief, but, right now, he can’t help but think about what’s just happened beyond the locked door.
Gulping, hoping his lucidity will last long enough, Jimin shifts on the bed.
He’s crawling to its edge when the door’s pushed open. It bangs against the wall but Jimin hardly even notices. His whole focus is set on Jeongguk.
The alpha stands at the entrance, crimson eyes set on him, matching the blood that drips from his hands and that paints the lower half of his face.
Behind him, Jimin notices limp bodies on the floor and shivers. It’s not fear that he feels, but raw and wrecking excitement, something that mixes with his arousal and leaves him high.
Jeongguk strides into the room, roughly pushing the door back close before walking up to Jimin.
The omega kneels on the bed and waits, suddenly once again lost in his heat, in the feral light that dangerously glints in his brother’s eyes.
The moment Jeongguk stands before him, Jimin lets go of every hesitation and takes a hold of his brother’s hand.
It’s nothing but raw instinct, his eyes never averting from the alpha’s as he brings the hand to his lips.
One at time, reveling in the way Jeongguk hungrily watches him, Jimin lets the fingers slip into his mouth.
The strong tang of blood lights a fire in him like no other and he’s drunk on the taste of it. Pride and excitement awakens at the realization that the alpha has killed for him, that he’s been challenged and has come out of it unscathed.
It’s Jeongguk’s right, now, to take what’s his.
Jimin eagerly sucks on the fingers, licks away the drying blood until there’s nothing left but clean, slick skin.
His eyes never leave Jeongguk’s, reveling under the alpha’s attention, knowing he must be pleased with him.
A shiver rolls down his spine and he knows the goosebumps on his skin don't go unnoticed.
Once he’s done, lips reluctantly letting go of Joengguk’s long index finger, Jimin gets up.
His legs are weak, unsteady as they hold his weight up, but the alpha’s hands are quick to find him, holding him up. They wrap around Jimin’s waist and keep him still as the omega moves closer ever so slightly. His own hands fall on Jeongguk’s shoulders, seeking support as he rises on his tip toes.
Daringly, Jimin lets his nose run over the line of his brother’s neck, taking in more and more of the addicting scent. His tongue laps there where the alpha’s glands are and he feels the hold on him tighten, fingers digging in his flesh with enough strength to leave blooming bruises behind.
A content moan slips past Jimin’s lips as he takes in one last lungful of the spicier scent, the petrichor still as soothing as ever.
Jeongguk’s chest vibrates beautifully as he lets out a low growl, prompting the other to keep going, growing impatient the longer Jimin takes.
Instinctively, the omega presses his naked body closer to him, feeling slick stream down his thighs and his brother’s hard cock prod at his hip.
Jimin’s mouth waters in anticipation and a new heated wave spreads through his whole body, leaving him whimpering and trembling.
This time, differently from the others, he welcomes it all.
Focusing back on his task, Jimin’s mouth moves up along Jeongguk’s neck, feeling the scent of blood get stronger and stronger, his sensitive nose scrunching up.
Letting his instincts lead him, Jimin licks at it, lapping over Jeongguk’s chin to clean him from the blood.
His work is meticulous and excruciatingly slow, carefully ignoring the alpha’s lips until there’s no spot left but there.
All the while, Jeongguk keeps still, waiting for the omega to be done, unconsciously respecting old traditions of their kind.
Jimin’s first lick over his brother’s lips sends shivers rolling down his spine, his cock starting to harden once again.
Jeongguk’s grip on him twitches then tightens painfully, pulling him even closer to himself. His hips roll subtly, rutting against the omega almost unconsciously.
Teasingly, Jimin nibbles on his brother’s lips, lingering some more before having to pull away. Somehow, that’s what it takes to break Jeongguk’s straining composure.
The alpha's hands slide down from Jimin's waist, fingers digging in the supple flesh of his thighs and pulling him up.
Jumping up, letting his legs wrap around Jeongguk’s middle, Jimin moans against his brother’s skin, unable to hold back as his cock rubs against the alpha’s abdomen.
The omega lets himself be manhandled with ease, pliant under his brother’s touch as his mouth moves down to suck red bruises on the alpha’s neck, as if to drink in his scent through skin and flesh.
The sounds that leave him are loud and lewd, but Jimin can’t find it in himself to be ashamed, not when he feels Jeongguk's cock throb against him. It fills him with even more want and lust, so much so he’s drowning in it.
The friction of his bare cock against Jeongguk's shirt is rough and borderline painful, but he takes all he can get, far too lost in his heat to care about finesse.
He doesn’t notice they’ve been moving until his back hits the mattress, the impact sudden enough to push all the air from his lungs.
Jeongguk hovers over him but doesn’t move, standing by the bed’s edge as his crimson eyes hungrily roam all over Jimin’s naked body.
“Jeongguk,” he tries, a sliver of lucidity making it through the hazy and heated fog that’s taken over him.
Something wild storms in his brother’s eyes, something Jimin’s never seen before. He’s wary of it, but not in the way he’d be when facing danger. The omega can’t help but fear Jeongguk will disappear once again and leave him for good.
He knows that, if that happens now, he won't be able to recover.
The longer they spend together the stronger his imprint on Jeongguk becomes, and there won’t be anything able to change it. It doesn’t matter what they know to be right or wrong.
The alpha moves closer to the bed and all the fears that had been storming in him up until this moment vanish like dust in the wind. Soon, Jeongguk’s muscled legs cage him on the bed, their bodies hardly inches apart but still not nearly close enough.
The alpha keeps silent as his eyes set into Jimin’s and the omega knows there’s no use for words right now. He doesn’t care for them, not when Jeongguk’s hands start roaming over his whole body, leaving burning paths behind.
He writhes and arches under his brother’s hands, coming alive at the touch.
His bottom lip is bitten raw, the taste of his own blood mixing with the one he’s licked off of Jeongguk, driving him insane, making the hunger in him grow endlessly.
The alpha’s hands reach down to his thighs, pulling them apart under Jimin’s unblinking eyes.
The omega whimpers, knowing what’s to come, feeling heat and arousal pool in his lower belly, his hole leaking slick in anticipation.
Jeongguk minds none of that, nor the way his hips start to roll, desperately trying to prompt him into action. The alpha, despite everything, seems resolute to take his time, to savor each and every second of what’s happening
Tears well in Jimin’s eyes and he tries his best to blink them away, sight blurring as he watches Jeongguk slide down his body and lean down.
His body arches instinctively while the alpha sucks at the sensitive and flushed skin, leaving burning marks behind.
Jeongguk slowly moves down along his body, eventually reaching his crotch but ignoring it.
Jimin whines pitifully even when knowing it won’t bring him anything.
The hold of Jeongguk’s hands on him tightens, successfully making his body fall limp on the bed. The omega knows he can’t be greedy, that he’ll only get what the alpha will concede him. That is, at least for now.
Both men are following old rules, old traditions, that belong to them like the blood both share. They’re deeply rooted in their wolves, rites that are nearly impossible to ignore. Even when his mind is hazy with the cloud of lust, Jimin knows exactly what’s going on and can’t help but revel in it all.
Jeongguk’s lips are on his inner thighs hardly a moment later, teeth grazing the sensitive skin, nibbling at it before soothingly licking over the offended spot.
Jimin gulps, feeling his mouth going dry, and can’t help the way his hips buck up when the alpha moves further down, one hand leaving his thigh to pull the omega’s asscheeks apart. Slick drenches his skin and the sheets under him, making shivers spread through his whole body as Jeongguk’s breath fans over it.
Jimin’s hands hurt by how tightly he's fisting the sheets, eyes clenching as his body moves on its own.
He’s fully exposed to his brother, moaning and writhing, asking for him to give more, and yet he’s unashamed. More than anything, Jimin revels under Jeongguk’s hungry gaze, at the unspoken promise of what’ll come.
The alpha leaves one last bite on the supple flesh of his thigh and moves away, down to the fluttering ring of muscles, slick and gaping at him.
Jimin’s eyes close shut, breath held hostage as his heart drums in his chest.
The first touch of Jeongguk’s tongue against his hole has him gasping for air. His breath gushes out of him with unexpected force. His eyes snap open and his back arches instinctively, pushing against the alpha’s mouth, seeking more.
The alpha’s free hand, though, promptly moves back to his waist, holding him in place, reminding Jimin that he’s at his brother’s mercy.
Jeongguk’s tongue runs a long, wet stripe over the crease of Jimin’s ass, up to his crotch, to his aching balls. He licks at them, uncaring of the thrashing and whimpering omega under him.
Jimin feels him suck gently over them, his own cock throbbing in anticipation the moment the alpha moves away. He never reaches up, though, never to where he most needs him. Instead, Jeongguk lets his tongue slide back down.
Jimin wails, feeling betrayed and on the verge of losing his mind. The omega feels his hole clench around nothing, the heat in him growing unbearable as he can't help but need more than what his brother's giving him.
Jimin's body trembles the moment he feels Jeongguk’s tongue prod at his hole, never merciful enough to push forward, never granting him a taste of what he most yearns for. It’s maddening, and the omega can’t help but squirm as he feels Jeongguk suck and lick at his most sensitive spot, over and over again, as if never satisfied.
The alpha drinks in the slick like a man that’s just crossed the desert, insatiable.
Jimin feels his cock throb and leak precum from where it rests on his abdomen, painfully neglected by the alpha. His thighs are still drenched with cooling slick, as is his ass, no matter how much Jeongguk stays there, it keeps flowing past his rim.
“Jeongguk, please,” Jimin whines, unable to keep still.
Arousal and pleasure have long since coiled in his lower belly, growing and growing as Jeongguk keeps going, unrelenting.
Occasionally, low rumbles and growls leave him, each sending shivers down Jimin’s spine. His brother’s hold on him is burningly painful, but the omega revels in its possessivity.
At a particularly hard suck, feeling Jeongguk’s tongue prod at his entrance once again, Jimin clenches his eyes shut and fists the sheets even tighter, barely keeping himself from reaching down and pushing the alpha away.
He knows he’d not be allowed to, that Jeongguk wouldn’t let him.
Jimin holds back a frustrated groan and bites down his lower lip, that tight feeling in him straining until it nearly snaps, shivers spreading through his body.
He’s so close, and it hurts so much, too much.
Jimin’s hips weakly try to buck up, trying to push closer to Jeongguk’s tongue, anticipating an orgasm that never comes.
“Jeongguk.”
He nearly screams, voice laced with desperation and frustration as his brother pulls away from him.
Crimson eyes stare down at the omega, making Jimin choke around nothing, his heart drumming restlessly in its bone cage.
“Why-” he cries, voice trembling. The last part of the sentence, though, is forever stuck in his throat as the alpha moves up and then down, kissing him.
Both are hungry for it, teeth nibbling at each other’s lips, hands finding support on the other, tongues prodding and licking.
Jimin claws at Jeongguk’s back, hips bucking up in the vain search of relief. The alpha’s hand’s still firm on him, pinning him down on the mattress, and he’s rendered helpless under his brother.
A whine pushes up Jimin’s throat, interrupting their kiss for a brief moment. He doubts he’ll be able to keep going for much longer. Everything hurts so much, burns so intensely. The need devours him from inside and the thought of having to wait drives Jimin insane, nearly feral.
Jeongguk ignores him, far too focused and set on having his way with him, his other hand moves back down to Jimin’s hole, fingers gathering the slick that’s been pooling there before moving back up.
Jimin watches it all, gaping and unable to breath as Jeongguk’s crimson eyes are bottomless pools that call him in.
Hardly a moment later, the alpha’s hand moves back up between them.
Jimin’s gaze instinctively falls to it, entranced by the slick fingers that reeks of his own saccharine scent.
He feels Jeongguk’s intense gaze set on himself, but can’t bring his own eyes to stray from the alpha’s fingers.
Jimin watches, with morbid fascination and devouring pleasure, as Jeongguk presses his fingers to his neck, rubbing the slick into his scent glands. It marks the alpha as Jimin’s, scenting him like nothing else ever could.
The omega whimpers, gulps as his nails dig deeper in the alpha’s back, scratching and tearing the skin. His eyes eventually move up, finding the alpha’s hungry gaze already staring at him.
Tears fall from his eyes and he can’t hold them back. If he doesn’t get what he so desperately needs, Jimin feels like he might just die.
“Please,” he cries, pulling the alpha closer to himself.
Mercifully, Jeongguk doesn’t let him wait for long, letting their lips meet again in a rough kiss. It lasts for a long moment, hungry and passionate and lacking finesse just like everything else they’ve shared so far.
Jimin can’t bring himself to care about it, he lifts his hips and lets them roll against Jeongguk’s still covered crotch. His leaking cock throbs at the contact and he can’t hold back the breathy moans that rise in the air.
Jeongguk bites over his lower lips, dragging a wail from him, but he caves into the omega’s needs.
His hand moves back down, to the omega’s hole once again.
For a moment, Jimin fears he might just tease him like before, a pleading cry already forming on the tip of his tongue.
Jeongguk, though, lets his fingers slip past the slick ring of muscles with maddening ease.
Jimin chokes around a moan, feeling the drag against his clenching walls, wanting more and more of it, needing all Jeongguk is able to give.
The alpha doesn’t make him wait for long, a third finger pushing in, fingering the omega open with jarringly calculated movements.
Jimin’s hips roll in the desperate attempt to match Jeongguk’s thrusts, chasing a release that keeps evading him.
A chant of pleas slips past his lips, words that soon lose all their meaning, lost in the air thick with the scent of arousal.
Jeongguk leans back down to him, mouth finding the sensitive skin of Jimin’s neck, teeth biting and tongue lapping at it. He leaves burning bruises behind, a trail of them that goes down the omega’s neck to his shoulder.
Jimin feels shivers roll down his spine, all sounds stuck in his throat as Jeongguk’s fingers press against a particularly sensitive spot. His toes curl and eyes close shut.
Far too soon the alpha’s fingers are pulling out, leaving Jimin’s hole gaping.
The sudden loss makes him wail, scent souring with distress.
Jeongguk doesn’t seem to even notice, too busy sucking a new mark on his skin. He licks at it, scent spiking up with something raw and possessive.
Jimin’s back arches, hips rolling in the vain attempt to bring the alpha’s attention to where he most needs it.
Jeongguk’s hand tightens around his waist, a low growl reverberating through his chest.
The omega wails, but stills.
His legs part wider, silently inviting the alpha to take what’s his.
Jeongguk growls again, biting at the crook of his neck, strong enough to hurt but not enough to break skin.
A part of Jimin, the one so lost in his heat already, feels mournful at that. It yearns for a bite that’d bind them for life, that’d give him a mate and somewhere to truly belong.
He feels Jeongguk’s other hand move down, but doesn’t understand what’s going on until he hears shuffling and feels the alpha’s cock prodding at his hole.
The sudden contact makes him flinch, teeth biting down on his lower lip to keep any louder sound in.
Jeongguk’s head is still hidden in the crook of the omega’s neck, nose nuzzling against it, their scents mixing and sticking one to the other’s.
Jimin’s hips move subtly, unable to wait any longer, hating the way all of this is taking far too long.
Both of Jeongguk’s hands close around his waist, pulling it up ever so slightly before he’s pushing in with one, deep thrust.
Jimin chokes out a scream, instinctively clenching around Jeongguk and clawing at him.
The alpha lets out a low rumble, his fingers digging painfully in the omega’s waist before he’s pulling out, excruciatingly slow.
Jimin’s forced to feel the drag of Jeongguk’s cock against his walls and not to move or seek more.
He’s rendered immobile by the other’s hold on him, swallowing down a fit of moans as it pushes up his throat.
Jeongguk pulls away then, crimson eyes staring into his own, so deep Jimin easily drowns in them. For a moment, he’s able to forget about everything, caught and lost in that sea of blood.
When the alpha thrusts back in, Jimin’s pushed back in himself and can no longer hold back. Loud moans, nearly screams, lift in the thick air.
Jeongguk’s quick to devour them all, diving down, kissing the omega with hunger and urgency as his hips pick up a steady pace.
It’s rough but thorough, aiming straight to Jimin’s most sensitive spot, making his toes curl and whole body writhe.
Pleasure tightly coils in his lower belly, small and leaking cock jumping with the force of Jeongguk’s every thrust, hitting his abdomen with that same pace.
Jimin clenches his eyes shut, overwhelmed by everything going on in him.
Jeongguk’s mouth is on his jaw, nibbling at it, pressing heated kisses on the skin before sucking at it.
Jimin doubts the alpha will leave any spot unmarred and, with little surprise, he realizes he doesn't mind. The omega wants all of him to belong to the alpha, no limitations, no restrictions. All of him.
Jimin’s cock pitifully throbs on his wet abdomen, crying for attention that won’t be given to him. His hole clenches around Jeongguk, as if already trying to keep him in.
It’s too early though, despite him being dangerously close to his own orgasm, Jimin knows the alpha will keep going and going.
Tears stream down his face, he doesn’t even try understanding what’s brought them there, whether it’s pain, frustration or something else.
When it gets too much, the tight pleasure in his lower belly impossible to endure, Jimin reaches down, trying to take a hold of his neglected and throbbing cock.
Jeongguk notices with a moment of delay but, when he does, a threatening growl leaves him, one hand taking a hold of Jimin’s wrists and pulling it away.
It keeps the omega still, caged and helpless as his thrusts quicken, purposefully hitting his prostate each and every time.
Jimin feels the embers of pleasure in his lower belly flare up, curl and spread.
It only takes a few more thrusts for him to come.
His orgasm wrecks through him, leaving the omega shuddering and trembling. White streaks of come paint his chest, sticky and warm as they land on his skin.
Jeongguk doesn’t stop, not even for a moment, as the pace of his thrusts keeps steady. The alpha’s seeking his own release, little matters how Jimin’s instinctively trying to push him away.
He barely notices, fucking the omega into oversensitivity.
His hands pull Jimin’s body back with each thrust, making him nothing but a tool to use.
The thought has a shiver rolling down his spine. It’s as humiliating as it is arousing. Jimin knows the alpha won’t let anything come between him and his own release, nothing but sheer instincts driving him.
With every purposeful thrust, the alpha’s cock brings new tears to his eyes, as it’s simply too much for him to endure, pain mixing with newly blooming pleasure.
Jimin’s not surprised when soon the pain subsides and he’s moaning again, back arching despite Jeongguk’s firm grip on him. Pleasure quickly builds up in him, hole clenching with each thrust, milking the alpha and yearning for his knot.
Jimin's body won’t be satisfied until he gets it, until he feels his brother's come fill him up, his knot locking both in place. The wait has been excruciating, making everything in him ache with want. Now that he’s so close, that Jeongguk’s thrusts quicken even more and steal his breath away, Jimin feels anticipation grow in him, so much so it nearly drives him insane.
Instinctively, he pulls Jeongguk down to him, feeling his own cock bounce with each thrust and his hole produce more and more slick. He needs a distraction from it all and from the squelching sounds that fill the air, mixing with his own moans. They make up something wonderfully obscene, something Jimin’s lust eagerly feeds on.
The alpha lets himself be pulled down with surprising ease, head tilting to the side and neck baring. It gives him free access to Jeongguk’s most vulnerable part and Jimin revels in the show of trust. Despite everything, despite the way both are too high on pleasure, Jeongguk’s still there.
The omega doesn’t need more, he dives into his brother’s neck and takes in deep lungfuls of his scent. Petrichor fills him up, making him dizzy and drunk.
He never gets enough of it and, for a moment, it feels like there’s nothing but the addicting cloud surrounding him.
Jeongguk’s thrusts are relentless, low growls and grunts reverberating through the alpha’s whole body, making something primal curl in Jimin.
He breathes Jeongguk’s scent in, tearing it apart and registering each small shade there is to it. There’s possessivity and arousal spiking up more and more, mixed with underlayers of something Jimin can’t quite name.
It makes him feel high, the overwhelming fire that runs wildly in his veins only becoming hotter, devouring . Like this, so high and lost, Jimin can feign all of this is as right as it feels to him, he can lie to himself and say that, the moment he feels Jeongguk’s knot start to swell at the base, it won’t have any consequences.
But it’s just a lie, and the drowning part of him that’s still conscious knows it all too well.
It’s easy, though, to ignore as Jimin feels the growing knot catch at his rim with each thrust. He bites down on his brother’s neck, trying to keep a scream in, to ground himself because the feeling is simply too much.
He doesn’t bite strong enough to break skin, but it’s still enough for Jeongguk’s movements to lose their rhythm, becoming more and more erratic as both get closer and closer to their orgasms.
Jimin feels his own build, tug at him and then burst like fire.
It’s overwhelming, so much all at once he can’t keep still, his back arching as his nails dig into Jeongguk’s back and tear at his skin, drawing blood. Neither even notices.
For Jimin, there’s nothing but his own feelings and sensations, nothing but the raw instincts that pull at him, that take over and leave nothing else.
He easily loses himself to his wolf, to the most primal part of him that only wants one thing. He doesn’t even think, doesn’t wait to ponder, doesn't let any reason filter through the overbearing fog in him.
His teeth sink in Jeongguk’s neck and there’s nothing but the taste of his brother’s blood in his mouth.
A part of him breaks into countless pieces, molding back into something entirely different, welcoming the alpha as a part of himself.
Jimin can’t breathe, he can’t think nor move, everything suddenly becomes too much and he’s drowning.
When he reaches back up to the surface, Jimin feels Jeongguk’s neck still pressed to his mouth, teeth still sinking in the flesh. He lets go, fighting against the foreign force that tells him to never let go.
He laps at the wound, feeling the wave of pleasure in him slowly simmering down.
With a moment of delay, he realizes Jeongguk’s knot has fully grown in him, locking them both together as the alpha keeps coming in him.
Jimin’s eyes roll, the realization bringing a new wave of pleasure to him, his cock throbbing weakly and hole clenching.
He tries to shift under the alpha’s weight, lips pressing wet kisses over the wound as his arms slide down, circling Jeongguk’s waist and uselessly keeping him close.
The alpha growls weakly and Jimin smiles, lazily letting his lips curve up.
He feels tired and impossibly drained, but oh so content, finally satisfied after hours of pain. His hole clenches again around Jeongguk’s knot, dragging a weak whimper from both, the oversensitivity making it borderline painful. The alpha shifts slightly, but gives up as his knots tugs at Jimin’s rim, making both hiss.
Jimin still can’t brush the smile off of his face, his eyes closing as he sinks in the mattress.
The alpha’s scent surrounds him and he knows this is where he belongs, in Jeongguk’s arms and nowhere else.
The alpha eventually shifts the both of them on the bed, rolling so that Jimin’s whole weight is on him. Both wince as the knot tugs at his rim, but, like this, it’s much easier for the omega to breathe, and he can let himself sink on the other.
His head rests over Jeongguk’s chest, ear pressed right over his heart and it quickly becomes the most beautiful lullaby he’s ever heard.
The taste of blood still lingers on his mouth, the bond a warm and vivid presence in him as it slowly grows strong even if it's just partial.
Jimin lets all those new feelings swell in him, relishing in their warmth as the petrichor takes on a much gentler note. It lulls him to sleep and it’s surprisingly easy to let his eyes close.
Jeongguk’s chest reverberates with soothing rumbles. His alpha is purring for him, and Jimin can’t help but smile at that, feeling safe like never before in his brother’s embrace. Everything else has long since lost importance.
Right now, there's nothing but them.
-
Jimin wakes up to an angered growl filtering through the thick fog of his sleep.
It shakes him awake, fear and alarm swelling in his chest before he can even take in what’s going on.
Wincing, he sits up on the bed, eyelids still heavy with sleep barely cooperating. It doesn't take long, though, for him to feel much more awake and alert.
Jeongguk’s giving him his back, standing at the edge of the bed, muscles tense and whole body ready to pounce on the threat.
A frown falls on Jimin’s face as he manages to shift, feeling his whole body ache and the embers of his heat quickly come to life. It won’t take long before he’ll be crying for Jeongguk to be back in him, for his mate’s knot to swell and satiate his needs.
Jimin blinks, once, twice, needing far too long to recall what he’s done.
When he does, panic quickly overwhelms any other feeling in him. Shame and guilt and something unspeakably wrong fill him up right after.
A sob escapes his lips, loud yet broken, uncontrollable.
Jeongguk turns to him, eyes of the same deep red but far more lucid than before.
Jimin’s kneeling on the bed, wide eyes watching in horror as his brother comes closer, reaching out to him. Both his hands are pushed against his mouth, trying to keep in any sound as tears keep streaming down his face.
When Jeongguk’s hand reaches for him, Jimin recoils, suppressing the gnawing urge to lean into his mate's touch.
A lump’s swelled in his throat, making it impossible to breathe.
Jimin gasps for air but it’s all useless and he feels nausea swirl in his guts. He’s choking on his own sobs.
Jimin wishes he could speak, tell Jeongguk that he’s sorry, that this is all wrong and he didn’t mean to go this far but the imprint on his brother is still strong and something in him still can’t regret what’s happened. It’s the same part that has claimed Jeongguk as his own, that’s bitten down on his neck and bound them together.
His eyes are wide, brimmed with tears, sight blurry, but Jimin sees clearly the way Jeongguk’s features shift. Confusion and then barely veiled anger flash over it.
Another sob wrecks through him, Jimin’s whole body shakes as he can’t stop. His whole mind is a storm of self-loath and guilt, shame and so much more it leaves him drained and weak.
Jeongguk moves on the bed, crimson eyes fixated on him the whole time.
Jimin tries to pull away, as if that would be enough to fix everything he’s done.
The alpha, though, doesn’t let him. His hand reaches out and closes around the other’s wrist, pulling him closer.
Jimin’s helpless and lets the alpha lead him, eyes closing shut in the weak attempt to hold back the incoming tears.
He hates what he’s done just as much as he hates what’s going on right now. This is not right. This should have never happened, and it’s all his fault.
Weakly, he tries one last time to pull away, to explain himself and explain to Jeongguk they have to stop this before it’s too late, as if it’s not already too late.
The alpha doesn’t let him though, a warning growl leaving him as he pulls Jimin closer. Their bodies are pressed flush and the omega’s head instinctively hides in the crook of Jeongguk’s neck.
He breathes in the comforting petrichor, all the notes of hostility momentarily gone.
A rumbling sound lifts in the air and, with a moment of delay, Jimin realizes it’s purring.
Jeongguk’s purring and, despite everything he’s thought up until a moment ago, he melts in his brother’s embrace.
The tears don’t stop though, nor do the sobs.
“Hey.”
Jeongguk’s voice is hoarse but gentle. It feels like ages since he’s last heard it and a shiver runs down the omega’s spine at that.
Jimin shakes his head no and refuses to move from the crook of his brother’s neck. The hideout feels safer than moving and facing him. He nuzzles closer, instinctively and unconsciously scenting his brother, seeking comfort even when he shouldn't.
A loud bang startles him.
Someone screams, other voices add up to it, calling for him and for Jeongguk alike.
Jimin shudders with fear and forces himself to move away and look at his brother.
Jeongguk tightly smiles at him, head snapping back to the door as a loud clang comes through it.
Jimin can’t help the way he jumps at that, feeling his brother’s feelings as if they were his own.
There’s anger and alertness and determination swimming in him, everything laced with an overbearing sense of possesivity and protectivity.
Jimin shivers again, realizing Jeongguk’s ready to kill anyone beyond the door.
“Jeongguk,” he manages to say, trying his best not to let his voice break.
The alpha turns to him, eyes flaring with something terrifying.
Jimin gulps but, a moment later, there’s only deep black staring at him.
“What’s going on?”
Jeongguk doesn’t answer right away. His eyes flicker down to Jimin’s neck, trailing along the line of his shoulder and then down still.
The omega gulps but doesn't move to cover himself. He feels like blooming under Jeongguk’s gaze, knows the alpha owns every bit of him and there’s no shame in the way he relishes the attention.
Jimin knows this is wrong, that he should hate it, but all those feelings vanished the moment Jeongguk had pulled him closer.
“They’re here to take you away.”
Jimin’s lower lip quivers, feeling new tears gather at the corners of his eyes.
“They can’t,” he breathes, not waiting to think about who that is, if their pack or the enemy one.
Jimin doesn’t care, it won’t change the reality of things.
No matter what, Jeongguk’s his mate now, no one but them can change that.
The alpha’s eyes darken, a wicked curve shaping his lips.
Jimin feels a peculiar kind of thirst add up to the bundle of feelings already in him.
The door trembles with the force of another hit, the wolves behind keep calling for them.
Jimin hears their parents call their names.
He trembles with fear, knowing they'll be first to try take Jeongguk away from him, to force them apart.
The need to stay by his mate’s side is stronger than any other feeling, than the guilt and shame for what he’d done. He needs Jeongguk and no one’s got the right to take the alpha away from him.
“Jimin,” his brother calls, claiming his attention back to himself, voice laced with urgency. “Look at me.”
He does, blinking up at the alpha, tuning everything else out.
Jeongguk reaches out to him, slowly as if expecting him to recoil again. Jimin doesn’t. He waits, trusting his brother more than anyone else in this world.
Jeongguk’s hand moves to the side of his neck, unmarred skin sensitive under the surprisingly cold touch against his feverish skin.
Jimin startles, but still doesn't pull away. He gulps soundly and blinks up at his brother.
He feels Jeongguk’s thumb move up, brushing against his lips and resting there for a moment before slipping past them. Jimin takes it in, tongue lapping at the alpha’s thumb.
He swallows the saliva that’s gathered in his mouth, unconsciously sucking around Jeongguk’s thumb before letting go of it.
The alpha’s eyes are still black, but hold something as dangerous as they do when fleshing with the deepest of reds.
Jimin shivers, but doesn’t dare avert his gaze from Jeongguk's.
“Do you want this?”
It takes him a long moment to take in those words, time stretches out forever as Jeongguk’s question rings in his head, playing on repeat, over and over again until it lose all meaning.
Does he want this?
No, he should say.
Jimin should pull away and open the door, tell everyone this is his fault and that Jeongguk’s got nothing to do with it. He'd lie and cry and plead, they will have to believe him.
This is Jimin’s chance to fix everything, but he finds himself hesitating.
Another loud thud fills the air and the door’s pushed open.
Jimin’s eyes meet his mother’s.
Fear and panic steal his breath away.
His gaze moves away, frantically searching for Jeongguk’s. His eyes are already brimming with tears, making everything blurry as countless words form in his mind. None of them, though, makes it past the seal of his tightly shut lips.
Jimin wants to say something, he needs Jeongguk to understand, to forgive him for all he's done.
But burning pain pierces through him the moment he tries to speak.
Jimin hears someone scream, several loud noises adding up to it, but none of that makes sense. It all loses meaning as he feels Jeongguk’s teeth sink deeper in his neck, completing their bond.
Jimin’s whole body goes limp against the alpha’s and his eyelids fall shut.
This is all so wrong, but feels too right for Jimin to ever reject it.
Foreign hands are on him the next moment.
They tug, harshly pull.
Someone screams.
Loud growls and snarls rise in the air, it reeks with hostility, bitter and acrid, making Jimin want to throw up.
Jeongguk’s being pulled away from him.
He sees the alpha thrash, his jaws snapping at the intruders.
But it’s all so distant from him. It’s like Jimin’s not there, like he doesn’t belong to this room, to his own body.
His mind is drowning in the aftermath of the bonding, too lost in feelings that aren’t his own, too overwhelmed by them to react.
Jeongguk growls again, he calls for him, their bond tugging at the omega.
Jimin blinks and snaps from his trance.
He recoils from the foreign touch, hissing at whoever’s touching him.
The omega scrambles on the bed, desperately trying to reach his mate, but someone’s holding him back, fingers painfully digging in his skin. His head snaps in their direction and he snarls at them, feeling his eyes flash golden. They don’t let go of him, their faces blurred with his tears, voices distorted under the raging growls.
Jimin’s fight slowly gets weaker, desperation and helplessness coiling in him like poison.
Jeongguk calls for him again, his voice nothing but a distorted sound that pierces right through the omega.
Jimin turns back to him, eyes wide and mouth gaping as he watches the alpha being dragged away.
He pulls again against the restraining hold, feeding on new found force and managing to escape them.
He runs to Jeongguk, dodging the wolves trying to take a hold of him.
The alpha’s jaws snap at them, chin painted by Jimin’s blood and eyes just as crimson.
The omega throws himself at him, arms latching around his waist and face hiding in his brother’s neck.
Tears wet their skin, but neither even notices.
Someone dares reach for him and Jimin feels Jeongguk’s body thrash against his own. His chest rumbles with a clear threat and then everything stills.
Jimin breathes in his brother’s scent, trying his best to imprint the petrichor in his mind, knowing what’ll happen from now on.
His whole body aches and burns, the heat surging forward, uncaring of what’s going on around them. Jimin feels his limbs go weak and knows Jeongguk can feel it too.
The alpha’s body goes even tenser before he tugs and pulls against the hands holding him still.
“Jimin, get away from him.”
The voice thunders in the room and something in the omega whimpers and wails.
Their father is here.
Not for the first time in his life, Jimin doesn’t listen to him.
Jeongguk’s next growl is vicious, shaking the omega to the core even when it’s not addressed to him.
“Jimin.”
Their mother’s voice is gentler, smoother around the edges, but just as firm and commanding.
Jimin shakes his head in the crook of Jeongguk’s neck and refuses to leave.
He feels warm and safe and knows nothing else will ever feel the same.
A loud sigh resounds in the air before everything pulls into action once again.
Jimin feels calloused hands close around his waist, making him shudder. They pull at him with overbearing force, uncaring of the way Jeongguk snarls and thrashes.
Jimin fights against it, but he’s too weak and feels the alpha’s body slip from his hold.
The hands throw him harshly to the ground, his head hitting the floor, a sharp pain piercing through it.
His sight dots with black, eyelids suddenly becoming heavy.
Someone screams again, their mother.
She calls for him, voice laced with fear, but it quickly subsides.
Jimin’s eyes are still on Jeongguk. He forces them open, dreading the moment he’ll lose sight of his mate.
The tang of blood fills his mouth and, this time, it’s nauseating.
Jimin watches helplessly as his father moves in front of Jeongguk. A weak protest forms on the tip of his tongue as he sees him move, but it’s too late.
The older alpha’s hit is strong and well aimed. Jimin shudders as he hears the sick sound of a crack.
Jeongguk’s body slumps in the hold keeping him still, eyes blinking and finding Jimin’s.
It’s the last thing the omega sees, traces of red subduing to black as his own eyes close.
-
Jimin’s not sure how long it has been, time has long since lost meaning to him. All he can feel is the bond straining and tugging at him. The wound hasn’t healed yet and it burns, nothing but another reminder that all of this is wrong.
Jimin’s got blurred memories from his heat, can barely make anything out of it, but he remembers the way he’d clawed at his neck, wanting the pain to disappear to the point of almost ripping the bite off. He’d not been able to for the sole reason that, at some point, he’d been bound to the bed, immobilized like he were nothing but a feral animal.
Truth to be told, Jimin’d felt like one. He still does.
But no one would understand, they've taken his mate from him at his weakest, torn them apart when he most needed him. No one in the pack understands, no one is willing to.
To them, Jimin doesn’t know what he wants, he’s a victim to be pitied but not listened to.
The omega’s heard the guard at the door talk about it little after waking up from his heat. He’d wanted to jump at them, tear their throat and paint his body with their blood, see how pitiful they’d consider him then.
His body had still been bound though, the restrictions biting at his skin, prickling and burning tears collecting at the corners of his eyes, the deepest despair coiling in his chest.
Right now, the omega’s unbound, sitting on the cold floor, arms hugging his legs close to him as his gaze is fixated on the door.
They’d taken him to another room for his heat, a foreign one that smelt painfully void. Jimin had woken up there, crying as his whole body burned with his heat and ached in a way words could never describe.
Jeongguk’s absence had been the first thing his mind noticed and, from then on, he’d spiraled in a vortex of pain and desperation.
Jimin's not sure how much has gone by since then, but it must’ve been days because, at some point, he’s woken up feeling nothing but emptiness in himself.
The burn had vanished, leaving him filled with sorrow and pain. His mating bite had hurt, flaring with pain at the slightest movement, not healed but scratched raw and still bleeding.
Jimin had whimpered, tears brimming his eyes. He hadn’t let them past the weak dam he’d built up though, stubbornly refusing to let any stream down his cheeks.
Eventually, the door to the room is pushed open, just like it always is at least once a day.
A weak growl leaves him, eyes narrowing as they take in his mother’s figure.
She walks in with cautious steps, but the growls never stop. Jimin loathes her, blames her for the pain that’ll never leave him until he’s back into his mate’s arms.
Namsuk doesn’t let it discourage her and steps deeper into the room.
“I’ve brought you food,” she says. Jimin’s growls turn into hisses, the sound making her wince. This is not what he needs. “And clothes,” the woman adds, but the omega can’t bring himself to care, they’ll never be warm enough to chase away the gelid emptiness in him.
She dares take a step closer and Jimin’s growl grows nastier, haavy with clear hostility. Her scent is laced with fruity notes and he hates it, hates how different it is from Joengguk’s rich and comforting petrichor.
She steps even closer to him and Jimin recoils against the wall, eyes closing into narrow slits.
“Jimin, please.”
He glares at her, lips sealed.
Namsuk sighs and lets her body fall heavily on the mattress.
Jimin watches her, feeling like a caged beast and not like her son.
“You-” she stops. Jimin watches her gulp and ponders his possibilities.
He could run out, search the whole castle if needed until he finds Jeongguk. The omega ignores the wicked voice in him suggesting what he most dreads.
“You know we had to,” she says, as if noticing where his thoughts had gone, or maybe just needing to let it out, to ease the gnawing guilt in her.
He hisses at her, sound sharp and threatening.
Jimin doesn’t want to hear it, he doesn’t want her excuses.
He gulps, swallowing down around nothing but sorrow. Her words hurt him, for some reason he doesn't want to think about.
Jimin can’t afford to believe it, he can’t let himself believe in their lies. There’s no way they’d done it, doesn’t matter what their straining and dulling bond tries to tell him.
Jeongguk is their child just as much as Jimin is, they cannot have done it to their firstborn, to their alpha, to the pack’s pride.
He lowers his head, hiding the salt streaming down his face from her sight, desperately trying to breathe around the knot in his throat, around the devouring pain coming from his torn soul.
Jimin feels her gaze on himself, knows she’d want to come closer and comfort him, act as if she understands.
“We had no other choice,” she says, voice trembling, sounding as pitiful as Jimin himself feels.
His head snaps up, eyes flashing gold and teeth bared in a snarl.
She recoils, standing up and taking a step back.
Namsuk’s one of the strongest warrior of their pack, yet she’s rendered to such a pitiful sight before him, before her sons’ despair, her own guilt and pain.
“You know I’m right, what he’s done is unforgivable.”
This time, Jimin’s unable to hold back.
He stands up and growls at her.
“That was me who did this, not him. That should’ve been me.”
Namsuk gapes at him before gathering her composure back. She shakes her head lightly, like she used to do when they were kids.
“You weren’t in your right state of mind,” she explains, as if that’d make sense, and maybe it does, but not to Jimin.
“You can’t-” he tries, but the words are stuck in his throat, overpowered by an incoming sob.
“You know that's the truth. He bit you, that was his choice, we all saw it.”
But they didn’t, if they had, they’d have understood, would have seen it in Jimin’s eyes that he wanted it.
Those people, though, they know nothing.
“Fuck you,” he spits, knowing she won’t listen to him no matter what.
As he is, Jimin’s not even sure he’d be able to explain himself.
Namsuk looks at him, her eyes fall to his neck and the dry blood that sticks to the skin. She looks at the marks that still paint his skin, the imprints of Jeongguk’s mouth and fingers all over Jimin’s naked body, and can’t help the way her insides churn unpleasantly.
This should have never happened and she can’t help but blame herself for it, for being selfish enough to keep both her sons from the battle. Maybe this was their gods’ punishment for selfishly wanting to protect both her sons. Now, Namsuk feels as if she’s lost both at fate’s cruel hands.
Jimin watches the woman turn away defeatedly and leave without saying a word, he watches as tears gather in her eyes but can’t feel guilty for it. He knows he’s the cause behind them, but is just as aware that what she feels is nothing compared to the hell they’ve crafted for him.
Her words ring in his head long after she’s gone.
Namsuk hadn’t been able to say it out loud, Jimin hadn’t been willing to hear it, but he can't ignore anymore what must've happened while he was locked away.
The price for forcing a mating used to be death, but more often than not both halves of the bond succumbed to the sentence.
The pack hasn’t been that merciful with them, Jimin'd prefer being dead to this. What they’ve done feels much worse and he knows that’s the reason why his bond is straining.
They’ve banned Jeongguk from the pack’s territories, giving both enough time for the bond to break on its own before the alpha will die from either cold or starvation, hopefully.
Jimin clenches his jaw as he falls to the ground, his knees bruising at the impact, pain shooting up his body. For a moment, fleeting and cruel, that’s enough to take his mind off of everything else.
Another sob pushes up his throat, tears falling down with no restraint as Jimin can’t hold himself up any longer. He feels like crumbling, shattering to the ground, helpless like he’s never been before.
And Jeongguk’s not there to hold him, to comfort him and tell him everything will be alright.
They’ve taken him away, banned his best friend, his brother, his mate from him.
Swallowing down the next sob, Jimin wills his tears to stop, a dull rage slowly growing in him.
His gaze goes unfocused, mind going to when both were just kids and a wicked smile creeps on his lips. There’s one thing, among many, Jimin and Jeongguk have always shared: they’re stubborn.
That thought become his only comfort as night falls on the castle.
As it does, Jimin promises himself he won’t ever let go, will never let the bond break, knowing Jeongguk won’t let himself die.
His brother will be back, he just has to wait.
-
Months later, Jimin wakes up to fire spreading through his body.
He writhes and thrashes on the bed, unable to breathe as the pain takes over him. A silent scream pushes up his throat, never quite making it out of him.
His mating bite feels like it’s being ripped off of him, it burns, a piercing feeling that reaches down in him, leaving nothing behind.
Like lava, the pain floods his whole body and Jimin thinks, he’s sure, he won’t survive the night.
The omega’s not sure how long it lasts but once it ends, the burning fading to a dull ache, he’s drenched in cold sweat - his heart pounding in his head and breath ragged.
A sob escapes his lips, wrecking through his shaken up body.
It takes him a long moment to realize something is undeniably wrong.
The warm feeling of the bond, the straining but everlasting link he shares with his brother, feels wrong, weaker than it’s ever been.
Jimin curls in on himself, not strong enough to hold back the tears that fall down his face, nor to fight the sobs that course through his body, leaving him trembling in the cold night.
It’s been months since Jeongguk’s been banned, months since they’d been forced apart, and not even once something like this has happened.
Jimin tries to find solace in the realization that, despite being weaker and somehow damaged, the bond’s still there. He clings to the thought and lets his resolve to never give up on it grow stronger, no matter how much it hurts him.
-
They come at night, like only the worst nightmares do.
Jimin hears someone loudly bang at his door, the sudden noise startles him awake. His first instinct is to growl at whoever’s come to him in the middle of the night, senses on high alert and heart hammering in his chest. A part of him’s always feared this moment might come, that someone would eventually get tired of him. With the passing of years, though, he’s willed himself to let go of those fears. Apparently not completely.
It takes Jimin a moment too long to sense it, for his mind to register how something’s clearly off, that something far worse is going on. Piercing screams filled with dread and the biting tang of blood permeate his room.
The omega frowns, shaking off the last remaining traces of sleep as he tries to grasp what’s going on, his mind suddenly much more awake than it was a moment ago.
The banging hasn't stopped, quickening by the second, becoming louder and louder, so obviously desperate he can no longer ignore it.
Jimin gets up on unsteady legs, walking to the door and pulling it open as a weird kind of fear creeps in him. Before him, a young beta stands, streaks of blood on her left cheek and something panicked shining wildly in her eyes.
Jimin recognizes her, but can’t recall the girl’s name. He’s seen her with the healers more than once, knows she’s learning from them and that she’s the one brewing his suppressant teas. Like this, though, with trembling hands and panicked eyes, he barely recognizes the calm and kind beta.
Instinctively, he reaches inside himself, making sure the warm well in him is still there even if damaged. The bond is just like it has always been for the past five years, dull and dormant and painful.
Despite it, Jimin can’t help but find comfort in its weak warmth.
“C’mon, we have to get away,” her voice is laced with clear desperation, a high pitched and pleading note filtering through it, loud enough to catch his whole attention.
The beta tugs at the loose sleeve of his robe, eyes brimming with tears as he doesn't budge.
“What’s going on?”
Jimin has to bodily fight the compelling urge to pull from the touch as he looks down to her.
A scream pierces through the cold air and the blood in his veins runs cold, the hair on his nape rising in alarm. Both their heads snap in the sound's direction, the beta’s hold on his robe tightening. She tugs at him again.
“There’s no time, we have to-”
A loud growl cuts her off. It’s deep and laced with threat, reverberating through the corridor powerfully enough to shake both wolves.
The corridor, though, is empty all around them.
The moment he hears it, Jimin knows she’s right, that they have no time to waste as the threat is closer than he thought.
Pushing down his questions, he lets himself be led by the beta.
They run down the service stairs, across the narrow corridors once used by the servants, and pray to the gods no one will cross their path.
Eventually, the two reach the underground floors and Jimin realizes they’re headed to the storage rooms. It’s as if they’re mice, running from wild cats just to corner themselves into a trap but, just like mice, there’s no other way.
The beta drags him inside, still holding onto the sleeve of his robe as if her life depends on it.
Jimin can’t bring himself to shake free from the hold, mind too busy with trying to understand what’s going on.
It just doesn’t make sense to him, that anyone’s been able to pierce through the castle’s defenses without them noticing. Something must’ve gone terribly wrong and he can’t stop thinking about what it is.
The storage room, badly lit by a lonely torch, is filled with wolves, omegas and kids souring the air with their distress and fear. As they enter, everyone turns to look at them, eyes brimmed with tears and fear. To Jimin’s bitter amusement, some have enough guts to look at him with badly concealed disgust.
He snorts and stops on his path.
The beta stops too and turns to him, eyes wide and alarmed.
“What’s going on?” he asks again, hoping she’ll give him some sort of response, feeling all his questions devour him from inside.
She gapes at him, eyes moving around in the room as if hoping the others will help her. No one dares to, everyone averting their gazes from them.
Jimin sighs, soon realizing she’s just as clueless as he is about everything. He resigns himself to the idea that, as things are, there’s nothing to do but wait.
The omega turns around in the room, taking in who’s in there, mentally counting them just to keep himself distracted.
All around, heavy silence rules, murmurs and badly concealed sobs occasionally breaking it. The few kids are huddled up in their mothers’ arms, hiding in their chests as if that’s enough to shield themselves from the horrors happening outside the room.
Jimin fights the urge to scoff at them, feeling a familiar bitterness coil in him. As a kid, his parents had never been that to him, never the safe shelter he’d needed. In the end, Jimin’s only ever had Jeongguk by his side and. That too, though, they’d taken from him.
His gaze moves around the room until it falls on a kid sitting by himself.
The omega watches him, taking in the way he’s alone, knees held close to his chest as his body trembles in the chilly room. No one minds him, everyone far too busy with their own fear, and the omega can’t help but resent them. What a pack they are.
Without thinking much of it, Jimin walks to the kid, feeling the beta follow right after.
He crouches before him and tentatively touches his bare arms.
The kid startles, head snapping up at the unexpected contact. His eyes are swollen and red, filled with tears that stream uncontrollably down his face.
Jimin feels his chest constrict at the sight, but he’s unable to say anything, knowing there’s no way to console the other.
Instinctively, he lets the back of his hand gently run down the kid’s cheek, brushing away the fat drops that wet it. The kid sniffles but doesn’t pull away. He gulps and does his best to hold back the incoming sobs, stubbornly holding it all inside as Jimin watches him.
He tentatively smiles at the kid, knowing better than anyone else in the room how it feels to be alone during a siege. Surprising him, the young boy mirrors his smile, lower lip quivering but curving up nonetheless.
Once Jimin’s sure no tear will fall down the other’s face, he asks again that same question, urgency dripping heavily from each word he says. His eyes never stray from the kid though.
“We’re under attack,” someone says, voice vaguely familiar but not enough for him to associate a face to it.
Jimin doesn’t bother to turn and see who's spoken, it doesn’t matter.
“Who?”
Someone, maybe the same person or maybe someone else, scoffs.
No one says anything for a long moment.
Jimin rises to his feet then, feeling frustration grow restless in him. Without saying a word, he prompts the kid to do the same, offering him his hand to take.
As his fingers close around smaller ones, Jimin turns to the one who’s spoken.
It’s with little surprise that he realizes it’s an old omega, one of the eldest healers in their pack. Jimin's sharp gaze fixates on her, not even trying to hide his hostility toward the elder. She knows he doesn’t like her and that's more than mutual.
“Who's attacking the pack?” he prompts, feeling the kid push closer to his side as they walk to the healer.
The latter openly glares at him, hatred and disgust filling her dull eyes.
“Your mate,” she spits with as much disgust as she can fit in that sole word.
All eyes in the room fall on Jimin, and the omega can’t help the way he feels his throat close, chest clench and the bite ache with sorrow and longing.
It can’t be, he would’ve felt it if that were the case.
“You’re lying.”
The healer lets out a dry and bitter laugh, weak body shaking from its force.
“I saw him with my own eyes, the mutt. Saw as he ripped your mother’s throat open.”
Jimin stands frozen.
The torch’s flame dances weakly, throwing shadows all around him, distorting the shapes and making everything look so surreal he’s keen on believing this is just another nightmare.
The old healer, though, glares at him with something weirdly challenging and Jimin can’t help but doubt, can't help but think she’s telling the truth.
He mulls those words over, searching in himself for an appropriate reaction but feeling nothing if not numbness and cruel hope that nestles in him. The omega should be devastated, should cry and scream, should be mourning his mother, but he’s numb to the prospect of her death .
The woman’s long since stopped being a mother to him. That’s something both had long since accepted. She’d hurt him and he’s always too stubborn to submit to her.
He ignores everyone in the room, ignores the way they all seem to have cowered from him, and turns back to the little kid.
The latter looks up at him, swollen eyes filled with confusion as he blinks curiously.
Jimin forces a tense smile on his lips and walks away, to one of the walls, silently leading him along.
They both sit there, the surrounding silence even tenser than a moment ago.
The kid doesn’t seem to mind, or maybe he misses the way everyone’s glaring at him and the omega.
Jimin hardly notices too, mind solely focused on the old healer’s words.
There’s no way they’re true, but countless what if’s assault his mind and he’s unable to ignore them. Soon, Jimin loses himself in his own mind.
He’s not sure how long goes by after that, not sure if it’s hours or just a handful of moments later but, at some point, the silence is broken.
Loud voices filter through the walls, foreign and threatening.
Everyone in the room goes tense, someone starts crying again, loud sobs hanging in the air like a death sentence. Someone else tries to shush them, their own voice trembling and broken.
Jimin doesn’t bother looking at them, knowing it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be found.
Somehow, the realization isn’t as scary as it should be.
Without even realizing, Jimin’s quickly grown accustomed to the idea of dying tonight. He should feel bad for it, for giving up so easily, for doing this to Jeongguk, but can’t feel any of it.
It’s been five years since that night and he’s tired, more than words could ever describe. The feeling has steadily grown in him, reaching down to his bones and settling there. It’s grown side by side to his pain and Jimin knows he can’t do this any longer, not when his hopes are waning and there’s nothing left in him but hurt and emptiness.
If another pack succeeds in taking over his own, Jimin knows his future won’t be any kinder than his past. He might as well be killed right now and put an end to this suffering, wait for his mate by the gates of whatever place they’re doomed to.
Jimin bangs his head against the wall, clenching his eyes shut as he fights against the burning tears he feels collecting there, ready to fall down.
By his side, the kid pushes closer to him and suddenly Jimin’s able to let go of his thoughts, eyes snapping open and moving to the side.
He smiles tensely at the other, one hand gently brushing the soft hair.
“It’ll be alright,” he tells him, lying because that’s all he can do to even just partially soothe the kid’s fear.
Jimin watches as new tears collect at the corners of his eyes, his throat closing on reflex.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he says, and this time he’s not lying.
Jimin knows the kid’s lost his parents years back, knows no one else will look after him and can’t help the raw instinct that grows in his core, telling him to take care of the kid however he can.
The voices become louder and louder until it’s clear they’re just moments away. Jimin stands up. Instinctively, he pushes the young boy behind himself.
It’s then that the door’s pushed open and a small group of wolves pours in the room.
Someone lets out a scream, screeching and piercing.
One of the wolves smirks, a wicked grin shaping his thin lips as he walks closer to them. Everyone in the room cowers, scrambling to get as far from the man as possible.
Jimin’s hands reach behind himself, pushing the kid away as he stands still.
The subtle motion doesn’t go unnoticed. The man’s eyes flashbwith twisted interest as he fixes the direction of his steps to Jimin.
The omega stands frozen, pushing down the fear as he holds the man’s gaze, ignoring the subtle note in the alpha’s scent, ignoring the way it promises danger.
The other wolves stand behind and watch.
Jimin briefly lets his gaze move to them, noticing some smaller ones that look just as wicked as the alpha walking to him. Blood streaks their faces, but none seem to care.
“What do we have here?” the alpha asks once he’s only a few steps from Jimin.
The omega’s grip on the kid’s arms instinctively tightens and he pushes at him again, but the latter doesn’t budge, doesn’t dare move away.
“What is it, pretty? Can’t speak?”
Jimin doesn’t dare to, gaze hard as it stares back at the alpha, lips pulled into a thin line to keep any retort in.
He’s never been good at keeping his mouth shut, but this time Jimin can’t let anything slip out, not when he’s not the only one on the line.
The kid’s hands grip the fabric of his robe, tight enough to pull at him, making it impossible for Jimin to forget about his presence. He wills himself to keep still, not to do anything that’d lead the alpha’s attention from him to the young boy.
It doesn’t work that way though, because it only takes one more moment of silence before the alpha’s head tilts to the side, eyes searching for the kid.
“What are you hiding there?” he asks, that same wicked note still heavy in his voice.
Instinctively, Jimin shifts, trying to hide the younger from the alpha’s gaze.
The latter doesn’t let him, though, one calloused hand closing around the omega’s forearm, strong enough to nearly drag a pained whimper from him.
Jimin bites on his tongue and forces his body not to bend and twist under the hold.
“What is it? Why are you trying to hide him from me?”
The alpha quirks an eyebrow, face moving closer until they’re barely an inch apart.
Jimin tries his best to fight it, bites on his tongue and clenches his jaw, but the alpha’s too close and his touch is starting to make him feel nauseous just as much as his scent. Jimin tries to fight it, he really does, but a growl pushes its way up his throat.
For a moment, the alpha’s too surprised to react, taken aback by the omega openly challenging him even when it’s clear he’ll lose.
“Look at you, aren’t you a feisty one?”
Another growl pushes up Jimin’s throat, all restraints crumbled like dust. The sound never makes it out of him, though.
The alpha’s faster, his hand landing on Jimin's cheek, the impact strong enough to make his head snap to the side.
It burns, everything going numb for a second before the pain explodes under his skin. Jimin feels his eyes brim with burning tears, feels the tang of blood on his tongue and hates how familiar it feels.
Behind him, he hears the kid wail and that, somehow, pains him far more than the slap.
Jimin doesn’t try to push him away anymore but holds him closer instead.
There's no use in trying to avoid what'll unavoidably happen anyway. Still, Jimin's a stubborn one and refuses to submit to the alpha.
He turns and openly glares at him, challenging the alpha to try again.
Despite what most might think, despite him being an omega, Jimin's not helpless. Jeongguk had made sure of it a long time ago.
The alpha's eyes turn into twin slits and his hand rises again in the air while the one holding Jimin tightens. The omega doesn't falter, he feels the blood pooling in his mouth and hardly thinks twice about the consequences. He knows it's stupid and reckless but the temptation is too strong to fight and burning anger floods his veins.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
The voice is deep and angered as it breaks the tense silence, cold enough to make Jimin shiver.
He dares look away from the alpha, called in by the newcomer. His gaze falls to a tall man who’s unceremoniously elbowing his way through the small crowd.
Jimin watches as he walks to the and stands still, wary of this man just like he’s been of everyone else.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip your throat open, you dickhead,” the man snarls once he’s closer to them.
Jimin has to fight against the urge to take a step back, unable to ignore the way this wolf is different from the others. It's clear, in the way everyone’s tensed up, that he holds much more power than any of them.
No one dares utter a word and the newcomer scoffs, addressing one last glare at the alpha before averting his gaze. When his eyes move to Jimin they become impossibly gentler, the angered and menacing flames quickly simmering down.
“I’m so sorry for him,” he says, voice husky and comforting, wavy locks beautifully framing his face.
The man, a beta, doesn’t look like he belongs with the others, not with his gentler ways and just as gentle smile.
“Are you seriously-” the alpha starts, but he’s quickly interrupted. The beta turns to glare at him, doesn’t even need to say anything for the man to avert his gaze and take a step back.
Jimin fights against the victorious smile that tugs at the corners of his lips, accepting what’s just happened as a small revenge.
For a moment, everything is silent and tense. The wolves all around them have long since stopped letting out any sound, so silent that Jimin almost forgets about them.
“Is he yours?” the beta asks at some point, head tilting to the side, gaze easily finding what’s hiding behind Jimin.
For a moment, the omega’s not sure what to say. All he knows is that lying won’t change whatever's going to happen to them.
“No,” he says curtly.
A confused furrow falls on the man’s face, but he nods.
“Alright. Would you please follow me? You and everyone else,” he says, letting his eyes move to the other wolves still cowering behind Jimin.
“Why?”
The beta smiles at him, but doesn’t say anything.
A deep crease forms between Jimin’s eyebrows. He feels the kid shift behind himself, but doesn’t try to keep him hidden anymore.
The beta’s eyes move back to him and he blinks, a confused light flashing in his eyes, so quick Jimin almost misses it.
“We’re gonna merge,” the beta says easily.
The omega blinks at him, once, twice, unable to wrap his head around what’s just been said.
“Merge?”
He feels the kid tug at his robe and move to his side, but he doesn’t look down at him, eyes never leaving the beta as he still doesn’t trust him enough for that.
“Yeah,” he says absent-mindedly, gaze falling down to the younger wolf once again.
Jimin feels the kid go tense by his side and instinctively takes his smaller hand in his own.
He’s ready to growl and challenge the beta, knows his instincts will soon kick in if he feels threatened even in the slightest by the other. To his surprise, though, the beta playfully winks at the kid before looking back up at him.
With a moment of delay, Jimin notices the other's attention has now fallen to his mating bite. He fights against the urge to shift and hide from the inquiring gaze and stands still, tensely waiting for whatever will come. His hold on the kid’s hand tightens without him even noticing.
For a long while, the beta keeps silent.
“Seems like we didn’t kill your mate,” he chirps then, voice jarringly lighthearted for the words he’s just spoken.
Jimin tries his best to ignore the pang of hurt at the mention of his brother, but knows his face contorts into a grimace, even if a light one. He gulps around the sudden lump in his throat and wills himself not to dwell on the old healer’s words. There’s no way they’re true, he’d know.
“You couldn’t have.”
“And why is that?”
The question holds a clear challenge, but no threat. More than anything, the beta sounds amused by Jimin’s reaction, curious about it.
“He’s not here,” the omega says curtly, regretting having brought it up.
The beta stares at him, studies Jimin as if searching for the truth. Eventually, though, he nods, seemingly satisfied with whatever he’s found in the other’s gaze.
“Taehyung,” someone from the crowd calls, urgency lacing their voice.
The beta doesn’t turn to look at whoever’s spoken but nods.
“We should go,” he says under his breath, more to himself than anyone else.
Jimin curiously watches as he takes a step back and turns to the wolves at the door.
“Go,” he orders them.
None of them dares hesitate.
They push into the room and walk closer to the wolves still cowering by the walls.
Jimin hears them complain and wail, someone sobs, but he doesn’t turn.
Soon, everyone’s leaving the room and he’s left alone with the beta.
“I didn’t get to introduce myself,” he says, voice still too light for what’s going on.
Jimin stares at him, but keeps silent, jaw clenched as he wonders why they’re still here.
“I’m Taehyung,” the man says, extending one hand in the omega’s direction before quickly letting it fall by his side. There’s a sheepish smile forming on his lips and Jimin’s not sure what to do with that.
When it becomes clear he won’t say anything, the beta lets out a heavy sigh.
“Let’s go, I’m sure they’re all ready by now.”
He doesn’t wait before turning, not even checking if Jimin’s following him.
“Hyung.”
The omega looks down, feeling a heavy weight fall on his chest. From now on, nothing will be the same, and he can’t help the fear that crawls up to him at the realization.
“It’ll be alright,” he reassures, lying because that’s all he can do.
-
The thick scent of blood and sweat mixes with fear and distress, making up a nauseating smell that fills the whole hall. It’s strong enough to make Jimin’s insides churn, his throat close and every fiber in him want to run away.
If only he could.
As soon as he and Taehyung entered the hall, the beta told him to join his pack, a hardly encouraging smile curving on his lips.
Jimin’d gulped down his complaints and pushed the kid in the beta’s direction, eyes saying more than his words could.
If by the end of the night anything happens to the younger wolf, Jimin will find a way to make Taehyung pay.
Despite what it might look like and what he himself wants to believe, Jimin’s still his parents’ son, still shares his brother’s blood. There’s a fire burning in it, one that hardly dies down.
The beta had only nodded at him, leaving Jimin no choice but to trust a complete stranger.
Now, after what feels like an eternity of just waiting , the omega’s starting to regret his past choices.
Around him, what’s left of the pack squirms like a dying beast, wailing and writhing in its captor’s hold. The other pack surrounds them, leaving them no way to escape. It’s pitiful, but Jimin’s forced to stand among them and feel as helpless as they do.
By his side, he hears someone murmur an old chant, a prayer he’s long since forgotten. The omega scowls and glances at the other, skeptical of those words’ effect in their situation.
But he supposes it doesn't matter, if they’re able to grant the man hope they must be powerful enough.
Jimin doesn’t blame the wolf for putting his life in the god’s hands, not when he reminds Jimin of himself. As a kid, his brother’s name had easily become his own prayer, the alpha his only god.
He’s not sure how much longer it takes before everything around him falls silent. It happens suddenly, one moment he can hear the wolves around him loudly fill in the silence and then, the next, everything’s impossibly quiet.
A shiver runs down Jimin’s spine, spreading through his whole body and leaving him trembling. The wolves around him are just as tense as he feels, a sick kind of anticipation growing in their core.
Before him, over the rows of wolves, Jimin notices a small group of men coming from the entrance right behind the throne.
Ahead of them, a broad alpha seems to be leading the way.
It only takes Jimin a glance at him to realize it must be the head alpha. It’s clear in the way he carries himself, proud and arrogant enough to be one. He reminds the omega of his father, of the way he used to carry himself among the crowd before everything crumbled down.
After that night five years ago, none of them had ever been the same.
Behind the alpha, four other wolves follow.
Among them, Jimin notices Taehyung, and doesn’t miss the way the beta moves to stand at the alpha’s left once they come to a halt. By his side, there’s a tall alpha. Jimin can’t help but notice how something in him strongly contrasts with the others.
A faintly amused smile lingers on his plump lips, one that doesn’t leave even when a loud growl reverberates through the whole hall.
Jimin’s blood runs cold, a shudder wrecking through his body as the sound calls to the most primal part of him.
A moment later, the five men by the throne part.
His father’s being roughly pushed forward by someone, his figure emerging from the shadows as it stumbles over the marble floor.
A loud gasp rises in the air, but Jimin barely hears it. His own breath is stuck in his throat, held hostage as his heart runs thousands of miles in hardly a second.
Behind his father, a tall alpha walks forward.
The old healer’s words come back to his mind and Jimin, despite what his own eyes are seeing, refuses believing this is real.
There’s no way to ignore it, though, when Jeongguk walks closer to the crowd. He leaves the concealing shadows and only stops once he’s standing by the other wolves’ side.
Jimin feels his throat close, heart hammering in his chest as he can’t breathe.
Jeongguk, his brother, his mate is standing only a few meters from him yet he can’t feel him.
Jimin’s wolf stays dormant, unable to recognize its mate.
Tears well in his eyes, a sob pushing its way up his throat. He clenches his jaw until it hurts, fighting against the urge to run into Jeongguk’s arms and let go of all he’s been keeping bottled up for the past years.
Instinctively, he searches for the bond, for the warm well in him.
It’s still there, still as weak, and for the first time in five years, Jimin realizes something must’ve been irredeemably broken between them. The realization is no longer an ignored fear in the back of his mind, but becomes more and more concrete as his wolf keeps silent within him.
The noises keep growing in the hall, louder and louder until it feels like his head might just explode. The wolves howl, some scream, some cry, everything mixes up into a song that pierces right through him.
And yet, Jimin’s numb.
He looks up at Jeongguk and unconsciously pushes his way through the crowd, not stopping until he’s standing in the first row.
He stands there, foolishly expectant, but the alpha's gaze never finds his own. He doesn’t seem to even notice Jimin's there. His eyes are on the back of their father’s head, a wicked smirk curling on his blood stained lips. The omega gapes as he stares at him and struggles to see his brother in the alpha.
The tears keep collecting in his eyes as Jeongguk feels more and more distant with each passing second.
Their father, on the other hand, notices Jimin the moment he pushes past the last row, stopping right there, only a few steps dividing them.
A low growl forms in his chest, reverberating through the air and hanging there for a long moment during which every other sound dies down.
Jimin gapes, his eyes wide as the older alpha pulls against Jeongguk’s hold, snarling and thrashing.
Instinctively, Jimin takes a step back, irrationally fearing his father might get to him. Jeongguk's hold, thiugh, is firm and hardly budges. He pulls the man back to himself roughly, one hand closing around the other's throat with a silent threat.
Slowly, Jeongguk lets his clawed fingers graze the skin, the touch so light it doesn't draw blood.
Jimin watches, raptured as his brother leans down to whisper something to their father's ear.
He watches as panic flashes in the other's eyes before Jeongguk pushes him forward, down the steps.
The man stumbles over his feet, falling to the ground with a loud thud, the sound loud enough to silence the whole hall.
Jimin gulps and lets his eyes move back up, searching for his brother’s.
Jeongguk, though, doesn’t look at the crowd, not even once.
He walks down the steps until he’s standing behind his own father. He reaches down, fist closing in the older alpha’s hair and pulling the man’s head back.
He leans down, mouth dangerously close to the other’s throat. For a moment, Jimin thinks he might just bite and kill their father.
The realization leaves something bitter in his mouth, but there’s no sorrow to be found in him.
“Jeongguk.”
Jimin gulps, trying his best to ignore the pain that surges through his whole body, his chest clenching as burning tears threaten to fall. He hasn’t heard his mate’s name in so long, far too long , and that alone breaks him further. He feels helpless as he stands, unable to pull away from the scene nor to do what he so desperately yearns for.
There’s no need for his brother to look at him, no need for them to speak. Jimin knows the man standing before him is not his mate, not the man he bound himself to so long ago.
Jeongguk pulls back, hand still closed over the older alpha’s hair as he turns to look at the one who’s spoken.
Instinctively, Jimin does too, eyes moving to the head alpha.
He’s walking down the few steps dividing them, stopping once he’s standing by Jeongguk’s side. The latter doesn't move, eyes on the other, one eyebrow quirked up as if to challenge the man.
“Let’s get this over with,” he says, voice low and clearly only meant for Jeongguk to hear. Still it resounds clearly in the hall, feeling like a death sentence to the whole pack and not only it’s leader.
Jeongguk curtly nods, gaze falling back down to his kneeling father.
Jimin shivers, watching as nothing but determination and badly concealed anger shows on his brother’s face.
They’re just about to watch their father die and yet neither of them is truly fazed by it, not in the way they should.
The realization makes Jimin sick to the core. He knows something’s undeniably wrong with him, but knows just as well that there’s no fixing it.
All he can think about as the head alpha moves before his father is that Jeongguk doesn’t look for him - not even once - among the crowd.
Jimin’s eyes, though, are on him the whole time. They don’t leave him as he pulls away, taking a step back and standing there. A black fur clads his broad body, big enough to resemble a mantle made of the night’s darkest shadows. It leaves his chest bare though, marred skin telling countless tales Jimin’s unable to read.
The omega sees the head alpha move, a blur of gray fur flashing before his eyes, but he can’t look away. His gaze is set on Jeongguk, taking in as much as he can because the sight still feels surreal, still too far from the truth.
Maybe, he tells himself, this is nothing but a nightmare. To his demise, Jimin’s not surprised by the realization that he dreads waking up from it as much as he dreads the thought of being stuck here forever. Either way, hell awaits him.
A loud, piercing scream takes his attention from his own turmoil. He blinks and looks away.
His father lays limp on the marble floor. Blood floods from his torn throat, eyes wide and empty, mouth opened into a silent scream.
Jimin looks at him, blinks down at the scene, but can’t bring himself to mourn the loss.
Averting his gaze, nose curling as the strong tang of blood reaches him, the omega finds his gaze instinctively moving back to his brother.
Jeongguk’s still not looking at the crowd, as if it wasn't even there, eyes set on the dead body that lays at his feet. A snarl soundly builds in his throat, eyes flashing crimson for barely a second before turning the darkest black.
Jimin stares at him and knows he must be feeling the same he is.
Their father’s only gift to them in this life has been pain. The tyrant's brutal defeat and death brings a sense of comfort to both of his children.
Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Jimin foolishly wishes his brother would look at him now that everything is over. Whatever will happen next, the omega doesn’t care. All he needs is his mate to at least acknowledge him.
Jimin needs to feel like everything will be alright, even if just for a second, even if it’s just a lie.
What he sees, instead, is his brother turning his back to the crowd with a sharp movement. The fur slides down his shoulders and he lets it fall to the ground with a soft thud. Jimin’s eyes follow it before moving back up.
Around him noises are increasing again, the wolves growling at one another even when it’s so obviously futile.
Jimin tunes it all out as his eyes trail up Jeongguk’s bare back, familiar scars and new ones form a wicked tangled web of history marring his skin. He gulps, wishing he'd been there to tend to each one of them.
He lets his eyes move further up, instinctively searching for the bonding bite he’d left five years ago on his brother’s neck.
What Jimin finds, instead, has the first lonely tear fall down his face.
He takes a step back, unable to contain the sob that pushes its way up his throat. No one notices when Jimin's whole world crumbles in on him.
On Jeongguk’s neck, where his bite should’ve been, a large scar mars the skin, and it’s the wrong one.
Jimin blinks away the tears, fighting against them as he struggles to believe what he’s seeing.
The scar covers the whole side of Jeongguk’s neck, ragged and sharp as if the flesh has been clawed away.
When the two wolves reach the others and turn, standing tall and fierce above them all, Jimin knows he won’t be able to endure whatever will come, not when the dreadful realization dawns on him.
For the first time in his life, he feels truly and utterly alone.
The weak warmth coming from their damaged bond is no longer a comforting presence to him, not when he knows it’ll never be healed. It does nothing but remind him that everything has gone irretrievably wrong.