Chapter Text
Seokjin and Namjoon burst through the portal, finally able to run to their coven members after what seemed like hours of fighting.
It was all a setup.
One of the higher ups, the one who knew everything about the current situation regarding human blood trafficking, one who everyone reported to in the high vampire court, was supporting the illegal business, supporting people like Dongha, from the shadows.
God, he wishes he could that bitch’s throat out again – because once was nowhere near enough.
The coven leader realized quickly after their home was attacked that they needed help. While his coven could have disposed of the supernatural creatures with a lot of time and effort, trying to protect the humans and prevent them from being targeting, from being taken, was too much even for their admittedly powerful group.
So, they called in for reinforcements from the high courts.
Only for it to be answered by the vampire who wanted them to fail and instead of getting highly trained guards courtesy of the city’s most powerful vampires, they were ambushed by a group of supernaturals hellbent on making sure that they couldn’t reach their youngest members.
The same supernatural group had an extremely powerful witch, one strong enough to form a temporary contract with a hellhound. She immediately sent it after Hoseok, knowing that if the vampire-fae was a target, it was likely to preoccupy his mates as well, making it easier for them to get Taehyung alone.
It was only moments after realizing help wasn’t coming that Namjoon was able to send a distress signal to all the neighboring clans that they trusted – which admittedly wasn’t many. Even with access to portals, the clans needed time to gather themselves and run to Bangtan’s aide.
Enough time for a massacre to happen.
The sight that greats them is awful. Bodies littered every empty space, blood pooling under their shoes as they take in the scene. Most of them appear to be vampires but dread pools at the pit of Seokjin’s stomach at the realization that the humans lying motionless on the ground are likely Taehyung’s covenmates.
The last place they sensed their youngests was in this building, but looking around, they don’t find anyone upright, no doe-eyes or wide smiles to greet them, only unmoving bodies.
Seokjin feels his eyes watering as he makes out the smell of the blood of his loved ones, can easily pick out the distinct smell of Jimin and Jungkook at the doorway. The smell of blood from the bodies overwhelms the entire space, but the eldest finds he can only focus on the familiar citrus and vanilla of his coven members.
Seokjin closes his eyes, taking a deep breath to steady himself. They must have been so scared, fighting so many people alone, wondering when their hyungs would find them.
The older members have always come to the youngers’ aide, always immediately by their side if so much as a paper cut occurred. Anger and guilt flares up in his chest at the thought of failing their nestlings when they needed them most.
“No.”, Namjoon whispers, voice breaking halfway through the word. He’s staring unseeingly in the middle of the hallway. Seokjin follows his gaze to find their youngest vampire curled on the ground, deathly still in the blood surrounding his body.
Seokjin speeds to Jungkook, eyes burning and pleads spilling from his lips. He can’t be dead, fuck, please say we aren’t too late. He quickly scoops up the youngest, biting his own wrist before pressing it to the younger’s open mouth. Namjoon quickly takes up Jungkook’s other side, hand pressing to his chest as his magic flares up bright and fearful.
For a moment, nothing happens. Jungkook’s skin remains ashen, body slack in the eldest’s arms. The mates don’t move, don’t breathe, as they wait for something – anything – to happen.
Jungkook’s throat moves then, just a twitch, before he starts drinking, throat bobbing slowly. Seokjin and Namjoon let out the breath they were holding, shoulders sagging as the young vampire in their arms starts drinking with more purpose, hand moving up to hold Seokjin’s wrist.
“There you go, Jungkookie.”, the coven leader croons, relief evident in his voice. He runs his fingers through the youngest’s hair, eyes jumping from his face to his body, taking note of the wounds around his stomach and neck. Namjoon takes a large breath before looking back up at his mate. “I’m going to look for the others.”
Seokjin nods, planting a kiss on Jungkook’s forehead before cradling him against his chest. How much longer did he have? Minutes? An hour? It was too close, way too close. Seokjin tries to avoid thinking of what would have happened, avoids the squeezing sensation in his chest when thinking about them being too late, because Jungkook is here in his arms now, alive.
But what of the others?
He isn’t sure if he wants Jimin and Taehyung to be here. On the one hand, he wants them next to him, wants to hold them and tell them it’ll be okay. Wrap them up in fucking bubble wrap for the next century to shield them from the horrors of the world.
On the other hand, the apartment was silent when they walked in. There was no movement, no sounds of air entering and leaving lungs, the entire floor lacking the distinct sound of a heartbeat. If they are here, they are likely in just as bad or worse condition as Jungkook.
He wouldn’t be able to deal with a death in the coven. His breath stutters at the thought of being the one to go up to Yoongi and Hoseok, the younger lying injured in their shared bed while Yoongi hovers over him, and tell them both that their mate was gone.
And Jungkook, he hasn’t known Taehyung that long but it’s obvious they are meant to be, drawn together by some unseen force, unknowingly already bonded despite no mating or coven bite. It would break him to have to look the boy in the eyes and tell him that he couldn’t have a future with the human, his life taken away before their love could fully blossom.
Jungkook stirs now, eyebrows scrunching and eyes fluttering as his drinking slows. Seokjin notes that his heart has recovered, now beating strong where it was previously too quiet to hear. He slows to a stop and weakly pushes away his covenmate’s hand, looking around in confusion. It takes one look at Seokjin’s concerned features before the younger is bursting into tears.
“Hyung.”, he cries, clawing into Seokjin’s shirt to get closer. “They’re gone.”
Seokjin holds him tighter, rocking them back and forth in some semblance of comfort. Jungkook is a beautifully emotional person, always wears his heart on his sleeve, isn’t afraid to be sad or angry or loving but Seokjin hasn’t seen him break down like this since they turned him about a century ago, when he realized his life had changed so drastically without having a choice.
Namjoon appears in front of them and starts rubbing the boy’s back, giving Seokjin a quick shake of his head. He didn’t find them. And since he’s currently with them instead of healing, he can only assume that Taehyung’s coven…didn’t make it.
“He took ‘em. He took Tae n’ ‘min-hyung.”, Jungkook sobs, slurring his words. “Hyung, ‘m sorry…’m sorry. I tried but I-I couldn’t…”
Seokjin shushes him, squeezing him tighter despite there being no distance between the two. His glances up to his mate before closing his eyes, already so overwhelmed with the feeling of the younger vampire’s grief that he’s unsure he can handle the broken expression Namjoon currently wears.
Jungkook sobs lessen for a moment before he turns his head, looking at something behind the eldest’s mate. He wiggles weakly until Seokjin lets him go, rolling over and attempting to stand, stumbling over towards the end of the hallway.
Jungkook collapses in front of a body, his two nestmates close behind. He clumsily brings the person closer, lifting their head to rest on his elbow before bringing his other wrist to his mouth. Namjoon appears next to him and stops him from piercing his skin, confusion written on his face as he gazes into the glossy eyes of the younger vampire.
“Baby?”, Namjoon asks, rubbing the inside of his wrist.
“Blood.”, Jungkook murmurs, staring down at the unmoving girl, body swaying lightly like he doesn’t have the strength to hold himself up anymore. “Told Tae we would…we’d protect ‘er.”
Namjoon looks down, finding Z laying in his covenmate’s arms. She’s pale and bloody, wounds most evident on her stomach, but otherwise she looks peaceful. If Namjoon didn’t know better, he would assume she was just sleeping. But he does know better, knows he doesn’t hear her heart beating, doesn’t hear her body attempting to expand her lungs.
“Hyung, please.”, Jungkook’s eyes flutter, body leaning to the side before snapping his eyes back open and righting himself. “Z…‘s turned.”
Namjoon looks up at Jungkook again, watching him fight back the blood loss and exhaustion and willing his coven leader to understand. The older doesn’t understand – not really – but finds himself nodding regardless, taking the limp girl from his hold just as the youngest falls back into Seokjin’s arms.
They need to get him back to the house and get him fed. He had barely taken enough from his mate to stay conscious and would likely require multiple bags of blood before he is even able to get out of bed.
But Jungkook asked him to help her, and he’d be damned if he didn’t do everything possible to do so. Namjoon rests one of his hands over her stomach, pushing as much magic as he can into healing the wounds but finds that it does nothing. He then leans in towards the girl, taking careful sniffs around her neck.
She smells of vampire blood, of Jungkook from where he was holding onto her, but she lacks the distinct sweetness of fledging. Leaning closer though he can admit she doesn’t really smell human anymore either. Willing to try anything, he brings his own wrist to his mouth and bites, deep enough that blood flows freely in one neat stream. The coven leader tilts her head back and hovers his wrist over her mouth, allowing the blood to hit her lips and roll onto her tongue.
They sit there for a good few minutes, waiting for any changes. Jungkook had lost the last of his energy quickly after Namjoon had pierced his wrist and currently lay slumped against the eldest, eyes closed and breathing steadily.
Nothing happens.
Namjoon waits a few more moments but ultimately pulls back, licking the wound to seal it before trying to heal her wounds once more. It doesn’t make a difference, the girl’s body doesn’t move, still ice cold to the touch. If Z really was a fledgling suffering from bloodloss, she should have shown signs of improvement with how much he has given her.
The vampire-witch can heal practically any wound, clear almost any toxin, and bring many back from the brink of death, but his abilities do nothing to those who are already gone.
“You did what you could, love.”, Seokjin says softly, a lone tear falling down his face, moving Jungkook across his body to stand. The older’s voice breaks as he continues. “We’ll take the humans and when we find Taehyung and Jimin, we can give them a proper burial.”
Namjoon’s heart clenches, eyes closing in defeat. They were victims of awful circumstances, forced to do terrible things for the pleasure of fucked up supernatural beings. Perhaps he should look at the bright side. At least now, they are at peace, finally resting after years of torment.
But Taehyung loved them and if Z’s actions toward the other human are in any way a representation of their other covenmates, then they loved Taehyung as well. He’s going to be devastated.
A soft sound brings him out of his thoughts. He looks up towards his mate, expecting the man to be moving away but he remains still, looking at Namjoon in confusion. Did he hear it as well?
It sounds again, a soft distant thump that has both the vampire’s eyes widening. He looks down at the girl to see that her condition hasn’t changed but leans down and rests an ear over her chest regardless. A moment passes, then another.
Thump.
Namjoon sucks in a breath, head lifting and hand moving to heal the girl. It’s slow but he feels her body responding, light and unsure. Another thump sounds from her chest as another starts up behind Seokjin. The older turns, eyes searching to find the source.
Another starts, and then another, all seemingly beating in sync with one another.
“Oh my.”, Seokjin whispers.
Taehyung listens to his parents talk in hushed voices in the living room.
“He doesn’t show any signs.”, his mother whispered. “And I…I don’t know whether to be grateful or not.”
His mother sounds stressed, calm and soothing like she normally does but with a hint of tenseness that Taehyung has rarely heard.
“Love…”, his father starts, reaching up to cup one hand over her cheek. “You can feel any way you need to feel but…he has at least some affinity. I can feel it. When we’re outside, he…”
Taehyung’s father trials off, searching his mother’s face for a reaction, for any clue as to how she may feel about that news.
The scene changes.
“Mom, it looks gross.” Little seven-year-old Taehyung scrunches his nose at the glass in front of him. The dark liquid still clings to the side of the cup from when his mother had jostled it when setting it on the table. He’s had juices – loves them in fact, his favorite being the apple juice made fresh from their orchard – but this lacks the distinctly sweet smell that fruit juices seem to carry.
“I know, Tae-baby.”, his mother sits across the table from him, trying to maintain her smile despite the worry evident in her eyes. “Just take a little sip and see if you like it.”
Taehyung wants to be good, wants the concern to bleed out of his mother’s expression and her real smile to return, so he reaches to pick up the cup, closing both hands around the glass. He tries not to look at the drink as he brings it to his lips but is unable to stop the gag he lets out when the thick metallic scent hits his nose.
The glass quickly leaves his hands, and he’s wrapped up in a warm embrace. “Okay, little moon, okay. You did so good.”
Pain breaks through the darkness, starting from his neck and making its way down his arm.
“Nature is all around us.”, his father explains. “Near the top of the tallest of buildings and underneath cities, even in our breaths—”
“In our breaths? There is nature in our lungs?!”, Taehyung cuts off, eyes wide in amazement. His father laughs at his expression, reaching a hand to ruffle his hair playfully.
“You would be surprised. Plant spores and even some seeds are small enough to float in the air, its actually quite common for people and animals to breath them in, even in places such as the city.”
Taehyung’s mouth turns into a little ‘o’ at his father’s words, thinking about how crazy it was that people breath in little baby plants without knowing. In his excitement, he becomes lost in thought and his father wonders a few steps ahead.
“Tae-ah.”, his father calls, beckoning him near an old oak tree. They’ve visited the same oak countless times in the past, always stopping by on their many adventures to say hello. Taehyung quickly runs over, stumbling on a branch before plopping down beside his father.
“What are they saying today?”, Taehyung says, looking wide-eyed at his father’s hand resting on the bark. His father hums before grabbing Taehyung’s hand and placing it next to his own on the oak. Taehyung knows the drill by now, knows that his father will ask him to feel the tree, ask him to connect with it and hear its words.
The small boy closes his eyes, focuses on the grooves of the tree’s rough outer layer, the dryness of the wood mixing with the slight stickiness of sap.
“Send them some of your emotions, your energy, and they will send you some of theirs in return.” The words are the same that his father utters every time they visit the tree and every time, he squeezes his eyes shut, pushes his hand a little harder into the base of the tree and wills it to feel him.
And just like every other time, he feels nothing. Not a whisper or a pulse of…anything. Taehyung lets his arm fall from the tree, shoulders sagging in defeat. He knows his father won’t be upset, always gives him a soft smile and a ‘we’ll try again next time’, but he can’t help but feel like he’s failing.
“You did good.” His father rubs up and down his back softly, smile evident in his words. “Perhaps, we should call you something else. Like sprout or maybe little bug.”
Taehyung opens his eyes to give his dad an unimpressed look, causing his father to let out a brilliant laugh.
“Alright, little moon. We won’t change it.” Ducking his head back down, the boy can’t help but grin at the name.
Unbeknownst to him, his father had seen the plants turned toward the boy to listen, felt the ground soften under his son’s legs, the oak tree shifting ever so slightly to shield the boy from the sun’s afternoon rays. His father had witnessed Taehyung’s tentative stream of hope flow into the tree only to receive tenfold more energy from the forest around them.
The pain is moving back up, curling up behind his ear and filling the back of his head. The pressure builds and builds as he is thrown into another memory.
“We can’t ask them to help.”, his mother states frantically, trying to keep her voice barely over a whisper as her and his father speak in their bedroom.
“Love, it wouldn’t hurt to ask…”
“No.” His mother’s voice is firm, quickly cutting his father off. “They have children, Daehyun. Shinah and Yeri already had to go back to hiding and the fae families just welcomed a little boy, we can’t…they can’t…”
His mother’s voice breaks, quiet sobs reaching Taehyung easily in the otherwise silent house. He hates listening in on his parents, but they’ve been different, staying up late instead of heading to bed, avoiding going outside more than absolutely needed.
And his mom…she looks so exhausted, body sluggish and circles more apparent under her already pale skin.
“If it comes down to us, to only our family, and them.”, his father states with conviction. “We fight with everything we have.”
Taehyung sees flashes of images. Feeding a chipmunk a peanut from his trail mix, sending his father a smile when a bunny comes up to him next. A shy girl with red-tinted eyes, hiding behind her mother. A baby with beautiful tiny fae wings sprouting from his back.
They are running. Taehyung’s body barely keeps up with his mothers as they make their way through the forest. His mother had woken him up in the middle of the night, telling him to quickly pack a bag before throwing him into the car. Despite the car never giving them any troubles in the past, the engine did nothing but turn over as his mother turned the key, refusing to start. Taehyung was just as quickly pulled out of the car and down a moonlight lit path near their house.
Taehyung knew they were running towards his father and away from…something. The forest was eerily silent besides their footsteps and heavy breathing.
They run and run until he feels sore, his 12-year-old body athletic but still human, unable to run infinitely. A gasp pulls his focus away from his aching body and to his mother, a look of horror written on her face as she stops.
Looking in the same direction as her gaze, he finds his father, fighting with everything he has against multiple figures. Hands immediately grasp his shoulders as his mother’s face blocks his view.
“Taehyung, listen to me.”, his mother pleads. “Your father and I just wanted what’s best for you. We just wanted to keep you safe. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I wish we had more time, but you need to go, okay?”
Tears run down his mother’s face, her beautiful brown eyes tinting red. “Whatever happens, just know we love you with everything we have.”
Her lips keep moving but he can’t make out what she’s saying, only knows that she stands up and runs
right into the fight beside his father.
Taehyung thinks the exhaustion must be catching up with him. He doesn’t understand the way the trees seem to move along with his father, how the ground shifts to stumble the unknown people, seemingly aiding him in his defense and attacks. Branches of the biggest trees are moving down, swiping and grasping, while the plants on the ground surge up to hold unsuspecting feet.
He’s never seen his mother hurt anyone and perhaps that’s the reason he can’t make sense of the inhuman way his mother moves, the way she tears through her opponents like she’s done so countless times before. The women who refused to even look at a drop of blood now stands covered in the substance, face set in determination and body poised to fight.
“You can’t have them!”, his father’s voice rings out in the distance between them.
It’s then he finally hears what his mother was saying.
“Taehyung, run!”
And then…nothing.
He sees his family’s orchard in winter, completely void of fruit. The same baby fae now grown enough to toddle around, blue hair shimmering in the sunlight. Saying goodbye to the girl he called his friend, knowing she doesn’t have a choice but to go back into hiding. His mother laying in a hospital bed.
“Who are you?”, Taehyung accuses, eyeing the unfamiliar man in his mother’s hospital room. He had been coming here for months and his mother never had any visitors, the people who were once her friends never bothered to show up after the accident.
But they wanted to, right? They wanted to but they couldn’t. There was something they were running from, something that they couldn’t risk putting their family in danger for.
“She had been starving herself.”, the man says regarding his mother on the bed, shaking his head slowly. His eyes are full of concern, eyebrows furrowed as he ignores Taehyung.
“Hey, I asked you a question.”, Taehyung states again louder – sue him he’s angry – as he moves closer to the unfamiliar man. He’s been alone since the accident, his mom the only real family he has left. Her and his father protected him and now it was his turn to protect her.
“You’re Taehyung.”, the man states, giving the boy a quick glance. Taehyung scrunches his nose in annoyance at the man’s words, realizing yet again that he disregarded his question. The boy is about to speak up again when the man continues. “I’m a friend of your mothers.”
“I’ve never met you.”, Taehyung accuses, throwing a glare his direction.
“You are a bit feisty, aren’t you?”, the man asks, a large sigh leaving his lips. “I never meant for this to happen. I hadn’t expected her to be so weak. She wasn’t supposed to fight so hard for you.”
The boy is lost, unable to follow the other’s words.
“She always had a bit of a…picky diet.”, the man states, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “I imagine it was hard for her to find food.”
Taehyung is about to snap at the man for touching her but a moment later, the man appears crouched in front of him.
“The only thing you’ll remember from this is that your parents were in a bad car accident. Your father died right away, and your mother died shortly after in the hospital.”
He thinks he remembers the sound of his mother’s heart stopping on the machine shortly after.
Taehyung’s head throbs as he opens his eyes, dim lights almost blinding above him. He groans out in pain as he moves his aching limbs, body feeling heavy and uncoordinated as he maneuvers into a sitting position. He’s alone in a mostly empty room, entirely made of metal. Metal floors, metal walls, a thick metal door across from him. The only thing in the room is a chair and small table pushed to the corner, seeming so out of place.
Black spots dot his vision, and the rooms spins as he changes position. He closes his eyes and takes deep steadying breaths.
His vision soon returns to him and his focus is brought back to the throbbing in his neck. He reaches up and gingerly touches the spot, hissing in pain at the contact. Things come back to him slowly, in pieces at first before stringing together into coherent thoughts.
Bangtan was attacked and he was herded to the Letters apartment where Dongha proceeded to force feed him blood and drink until he passed out. He can’t even be concerned about his own health when he remembers how hurt the others were.
Fuck, Hoseok was bitten by a hellhound and then there’s Jimin and Jungkook – he can’t even bare to think of the blonde’s condition, pale and bloody and so close to death.
And the images he seen. Were they memories?
The sound of metal scrapping against metal sounds throughout the room, something sliding in – or out – of place outside the door. The door then swings open, revealing the last person he wants to see.
“I imagine you seen some…interesting things while you were unconscious.” Dongha says, head tilted as he maintains eye contact. He’s used to the emotionless expression the vampire wears, but this is different, chilling him from the inside. “Tell me, V, what did you see?”
Taehyung doesn’t want to answer, would rather tell the other to kindly fuck off, but he knows Dongha knows more and he plans on getting answers.
“My parents, they…they weren’t human.”, Taehyung whispers, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “But…I am?”
“You never did share either of their abilities.” Dongha hums. “At least not enough to matter. I suppose your mother may have been happy about that. What else?”
“T-they were running from something.”
Dongha looks him over, face impassive as he waits for more. After another moment of silence, he speaks. “What were they running from?”
Taehyung shakes his head, curling into himself. He doesn’t know. The images are fuzzy at best, completely unreadable at worst and no matter how many times he runs through the memories he can’t see the danger.
“Come on, V. Think.” His voice is darker now, more irritated and Taehyung is trying to remember but nothing is making sense. He combs through the flashes of the past, unable to put together anything. Dongha growls fill the room, getting louder every second Taehyung doesn’t answer. The boy shakes his head again.
“V, you need to remember. What the fuck where they running from?”, he snarls out, boots clanging loudly against the metal floor. Taehyung tries to remember and wills himself to dive further, focusing on his parent’s fear, on his mother’s distress.
What was she so afraid of? Why couldn’t they go outside anymore?
“Answer me!”, Dongha roars, flashing his sharp canines before grabbing the chair and throwing it against the wall next to Taehyung. The crack of metal-on-metal deafening in the otherwise empty room, causing Taehyung to flinch and cover his head.
“I don’t know!”, he shouts, causing the vampire to let out a snarl before appearing in front of Taehyung a moment later. The human is roughly grabbed and thrown back against the wall, held there by Dongha’s firm hand.
He’s pissed, eyes flashing dangerously as he bares his teeth.
Taehyung closes his eyes, so wrapped in fear yet again that he doesn’t know if he can focus on anything but the painful press of a hand against his chest. He sees shadows around every corner, sinister smiles hiding in the dark. His mom didn’t mention a name but was always so alert when walking the street, only getting more paranoid leading up to their deaths.
“You’re Taehyung.”, the man had said.
Who was it? He had never seen him before so who…?
Then, it clicks.
It all becomes clearer now. The face haunting his mother’s dreams, the person he thought wasn’t real following him home from school. The same person who visited his mother at the hospital just before she died.
“You.”, Taehyung whispers, tears clouding his vision. “They were running from you.”
Dongha releases his hold, and Taehyung slides down the hall to the floor once again.
“I met your mother when she first started learning at the art institute.”, Dongha starts, moving to pick up the chair from where it laid toppled over. “Needless to say, I was quickly infatuated with her. She was beautiful and strong. She smelled so sweet and I knew that she was meant to be mine.”
Dongha drops into the chair, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.
“It was supposed to be her and I against the world. I had showed her all of me, but she started changing, became more and more distant, telling me she didn’t understand why I did what I did, why I would hurt people.” Dongha gave a weak chuckle. “She told me she loved me only to leave at the first sign of something unpleasant.”
Dongha leans forward in his chair, resting his arms on his knees.
“That’s when that fucking forest spirit showed up.”, Dongha scoffed, shaking his head at the memory. “She fell for him and him for her. They were always around, flaunting their relationship. Baekhyun was mine and he took her, ran away like a coward. It took me years to find them, hidden away in some small town. Imagine my surprise when I saw her carrying around a little boy who looked suspiciously like the man I hated most.”
“I was hurt. I loved her and yet she ran away with someone else, had a child with someone else.” Dongha’s hands clasp together so tightly that his knuckles turn white.
“You didn’t love her.”, Taehyung whispers, afraid to speak but needing to say something. “That wasn’t love. It was obsession.”
Dongha raises his eyes from the floor, meeting Taehyung’s gaze head-on. The human expected anger but instead he got a small smirk.
“And you would know what love is, right?”, Dongha teases. “A fucked up kid that falls for the first person to show him the time of day? Tell me. Do you think it’s real affection or just pity on his part?”
Taehyung refuses to believe him, defiant in the way he doesn’t drop his gaze.
“Oh? Someone has gotten bold in their time away from me.”, Dongha’s lips curl up in a smirk before dropping once again. “I planned on taking you from the moment I learned of your existence. If Daehyun took the thing that I cared about most, then it was only fair I returned the favor. They would have to live with the knowledge that you were taken because of their own selfishness. It’s your parents fault they got in the way.”
Taehyung’s breath catches, eyes squeezing shut in attempt to stop the tears from flowing. It was him. It was always Dongha working in the background, pulling the strings. He’s the reason his parents were so afraid, why years were wasted on worry instead of happiness. Dongha was the reason they were gone.
“You may look like your father but…you are just like your mother. It made me want to break you like I wanted to break her; hurt you like she hurt me. It was easy bribing your alcoholic uncle to take you, easy to let you keep most of your memories in hopes that all the death and despair would eventually bring you down but…” Dongha smiles then, tilting his head and raking his eyes over the boy. “It didn’t. In fact, it only made you more resilient it seems, always trying to protect the ones around you. It reminded me yet again of your mother. So, I thought, if I couldn’t have her, then maybe I can have you instead.”
“I can’t be a replacement for my mom.”, Taehyung snaps, hot tears trailing down his face. He doesn’t know if they’re coming from sadness or fear, but he finds himself unable to stop once the first one falls.
“Oh, doll, but you’re not. Not anymore.”, Dongha croons, crouching down next to Taehyung to gently wipe his tears. “Initially it was all about Baekhyun but then you were…different, so much more than she was. You were stronger, tasted sweeter than she ever did. Loyal. I’ve grown alliances, gained power in the years since your mother and by the end of this all…you will be mine in a way she never was.”
“I’ll never be yours.” Anger pulses through Taehyung at the absurdity of the situation. He hurt so many people, killed hundreds – maybe even more in the years prior to his birth – all for some fucked up obsession that he mistakes for love. And for that obsession to turn to anger and revenge only to turn right back to obsession when he had seen that Taehyung doesn’t break easily.
What a fucking joke.
Taehyung’s fear melts away at the ridiculousness of it all, a laugh bubbling up in his throat. Dongha really believes that he’s somehow going to agree to be owned by him. After everything Dongha ruined, after everything he put the human through, no fucking way he was going to give him the satisfaction.
“Last chance, V.”, Dongha says lowly, only serving to increase the human’s laughter.
“Torture me, kill me, fuck, you can even turn me.” Taehyung tilts his head back against the metal wall, body still seated on the floor. He looks unwaveringly into Dongha’s eyes, uncaring about the pain he may be subjected to after running his mouth. “But nothing will make me yours. I belong to myself and if I have to belong to anyone…it’s the vampire you tried fucking over by making him choose between people he loves.”
Dongha doesn’t speak. He doesn’t move from his spot in the middle of the room, searching Taehyung for anything other than the laid-back expression he sports from his place on the floor. After another moment, he turns, heading toward the door and opening it.
Dongha disappears through the doorway, returning with another person. They stumble through the doorway and land harshly on the floor when Dongha pushes them. Their clothes are covered in blood, hands and feet chained to each other with thick iron cuffs. A bag covers their head, making it hard to identify them from their body alone. Somehow, he can feel it though, knows that he’ll recognize the person underneath.
That has him scrambling forward, quickly reaching the person and pulling off the hood. His heart sinks, dread pooling in his gut as he takes in the person’s features. Their blond hair is matted in spots with blood, eyes closed, and face twisted in pain as their breaths come in short pants.
Taehyung looks up and sees Dongha’s smirking face before the door is slammed shut, a lock sliding into place, leaving him and Jimin in the room alone.
He turns back to Jimin, quickly gathering him in his lap and leaning against one of the walls.
-----
It’s been hours since Dongha left and Jimin still hasn’t woken up. The vampire makes small movements but ultimately keeps his eyes shut, unresponsive to anything Taehyung says or does.
How is he even here? Taehyung knew that Dongha would eventually succeed in dragging him from Bangtan, but he never expected any of the others to be taken as well. He had assumed that Jungkook and Jimin would stay at the apartment, safe and alive when the hyungs inevitably showed up.
The last he remembers is Jungkook feeding Jimin. The younger must have given enough for him to live – based on Jimin’s not-good but very much not-dead condition – but not enough for his wounds to heal. Did Jungkook pass out before he was able to give him more or was Jimin taken away from the youngest when he became too weak?
Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Jimin was here and that complicated things.
When it was just him in Dongha’s grasp, he threw caution to the wind and practically told him to fuck off in a few sentences. Now that Jimin is here…
He kind of wishes he kept his mouth shut.
The vampire’s still bleeding sluggishly from the wounds on his neck and abdomen, leaving Taehyung’s hands and shirt sticky from the new blood. It worries Taehyung that all the blood Jungkook gave him is now slowly leaking back out.
Taehyung isn’t super familiar with the specifics of vampire anatomy, just knows that significant blood loss completely disables them and bleeding out was a foolproof way of making sure they never wake up. Based on Jungkook’s reaction in the apartment, he assumes Dongha was correct in saying that Jimin was only moments from death.
But Taehyung doesn’t have that sixth sense. He can’t hear Jimin’s heartbeat or the specifics of his breathing and determine how much blood he’s lost. The human doesn’t have super strength to break down the door or take down enemies.
Really, Taehyung can’t do much of anything. Here he is in a locked metal room, someone he loves bleeding out because of him. Maybe if he avoided Jungkook better, left Epiphany the moment he realized who worked there, never agreed to meet up with Namjoon, then Bangtan would never have been in danger. Jimin wouldn’t have been moment away from death just to be brought back and stuck in a stupid metal box.
The younger breathes out harshly, trying to stop his spiraling thoughts. For the most part, he’s useless. If Jimin was awake, maybe he could contact the coven or find a way through the door or something.
Wait. If Jimin was awake…
Taehyung looks at Jimin’s pale face, to the wounds dripping blood onto his sweats. Maybe Taehyung can do something. Without thinking much else about it, he brings his wrist to Jimin’s mouth, hoping the vampire will follow his instincts and take over. Jimin doesn’t and Taehyung realizes that his sharp canines are nowhere to be found, blunt human teeth in their place.
The human moves back his wrist before searching Jimin’s shackles, trying to find a sharp corner. The cuffs are smooth, chains straight and unbroken. He looks around the room, immediately spotting the chair that Dongha had thrown. Setting the blonde down, he quickly shuffles over to the object, shifting and turning it until he finds a metal shard on the ground next to it, likely broken off upon impact with the wall.
He takes it and returns to his position against the wall, Jimin in his lap once again. Closing his eyes and stealing himself, he makes a quick swipe over his wrist with the metal shard, taking care to not make the cut too deep. Blood wells to the surface quickly, almost spilling over by the time he places the oozing limb over Jimin’s mouth.
The result is almost instant, the vampire sealing his lips over the laceration and sucking, swallowing quickly. Taehyung releases the breath he’s holding, relief overcoming any fear he might have had. As the vampire continues to get the small amount of blood, Taehyung realizes that he wasn’t afraid – at least not like he usually is regarding bites – the only fear was of Jimin not drinking.
Instinct must kick in because Taehyung feels the pinprick of fangs only a moment before they are slicing into his arm. He jolts but realizes quickly that it was less because of pain and more due to being startled. In fact, he doesn’t feel much of anything, a slight tingling that resembles numbness but otherwise, it’s almost…pleasant.
He finds himself relaxing against the wall, curling Jimin as close as he can without jostling his arm. The vampire comes easily, face lacking any indication of pain as he slowly continues to drink.
Taehyung becomes lightheaded much too quickly for his liking. He realizes that Dongha took a lot the last time he was conscious and it’s likely been less than a day since the apartment incident, but he still finds himself irritated at not being able to give the vampire more.
The human plans to try regardless and maneuvers them so Taehyung is laying down next to the blonde, temporarily ridding his vision of black spots only for them to return a few seconds later. The dark-haired boy’s eyes flutter. He can go a little longer, Jimin needs it…
“Tae?”, a voice rings out, stopping him from being pulled fully into darkness. His head throbs as he tries to open his eyes, but his body feels too heavy to move.
“Fuck, Tae, wake up.”, the voice is more urgent now, sounding very familiar and all too worried. He feels his body being shaken, causing him to take a large inhale of breath. A cold hand cradles his cheek, bringing him further and further from sleep.
He squeezes his eyes shut before peeling them open with difficulty. When his vision clears, he sees Jimin awake, eyes wide as he regards Taehyung.
“Jimin-hyung.”, he whispers, eyes burning as he takes the vampire in. He still looks sickly but he’s awake and talking and it takes everything Taehyung has to actively hold back tears. “You’re okay.”
Jimin throws his arms over the human’s head, allowing his arms to wrap around his neck as the chains rattle loudly, pulling the younger to his chest.
“You idiot why would you feed me?”, Jimin whispers, tightening his grip on the other. For a moment, Taehyung basks in the comfort of being wrapped snuggly in an embrace, his head now tucked under Jimin’s jaw.
“Couldn’t watch you die.”, he mutters. Jimin tenses for a beat before moving his hand so he can run his fingers through the other’s hair. Taehyung’s nose touches the vampire’s neck, and he swears under the scent of blood and dirt, he can smell something sweet, something fruity. Taehyung moves a little closer and can make out the faint scent of lemons.
It’s calming, much like Jungkook’s scent is, and seems to wrap around him the longer he stays tucked to the other’s side.
“Smell good, hyung.”, he murmurs, eyes closing once again as he basks the pleasant smell. Jimin hums, chuckling under his breath.
“I can’t imagine I smell very good right now.”
“Lemons. ‘s nice.” Jimin tenses again before loosening his hold and scooting down, making them eye level.
“You can smell that?”, Jimin asks, seemingly in awe. Taehyung nods through half-closed eyes, wanting to bury himself back where the smell is most potent. “It’s my scent but…I’m surprised you picked that up.”
Taehyung hums, moving his heavy limbs and tugging Jimin back in. The vampire lets him, restarting the movement of his fingers through his hair. Taehyung buries his face back in the older’s neck, quickly finding the place with the lemoniest smell.
“Yoongi-hyung smells like tangerines.”, Jimin whispers, reluctant to break the silence but needing to fill the space with something other than despair and uncertainty. Taehyung chuckles to himself.
“I would expect him to smell like something a little less sweet, like brimstone or black coffee or something.” Jimin giggles at that, nodding his head along with the human.
“Actually Jin-hyung smells kind of like that. Based off what he does, people expect him to smell sugary and sweet but really his scent is more warm and smoky, like sitting next to a fire in winter, or the smell of wood after it burns.” Taehyung hums, letting Jimin know he’s listening.
“Namjoon-hyung smells like the forest, like moss and trees or the smell of earth after it rains. We’ve joked that he spent so much time around plants that he probably started to turn into one.” Taehyung smiles at that, a longing starting in his chest to be able to pick up the member’s scent. Maybe one day he’ll be able to.
“Hoseokie-hyung smells like the sun. He always says that the sun doesn’t have a smell but…I honestly can’t think of anything better to explain. He smells like warmth and summer, like how I imagine it would feel laying in the sun after swimming. And Jungkookie –”
“Smells like vanilla.” Taehyung finished for him. “Like melted sugar and glaze, like cookies as you bake them, sometimes a little spicy like chai but he…” Taehyung tries to think of anything else, tries to relieve the squeezing in his chest because, fuck, he misses Jungkook. “He smells like home.”
Jimin nods along with his words, giving him a small squeeze. The human focuses again on the fresh scent coming from the other, wanting to forget the world just for a moment.
That is when the door unlocks and vampires file into the room. Jimin is quick to pull them both up, Taehyung leaning heavily on the other. He lashes out at the first two, their bodies hitting the floor not long after.
But more pour into the small space and Jimin is still weak from blood loss, unable to stop the group from dragging him to the corner of the room, grabbing his cuffs and hooking them to metal loops protruding from the wall. Taehyung has slumped to the floor, head throbbing and dizzy as he tries to stay conscious.
Dongha strides in, clearing the room with a flick of his hand until only the three of them remain. He glances at Taehyung’s weakened form and scoffs.
“A fucking waste of blood.”, he spits out, crouching next to Jimin’s struggling form.
“Don’t.” Taehyung says, trying to get his numb body to cooperate. Despite being unable to move more than an inch, he continues. “Don’t touch him.”
“It’s too late for all that.”, Dongha states, face remaining impassive as he moves his hand over the blonde vampire’s body. “Maybe if you watch him die, you’ll finally fucking listen.”
Dongha extends his claws and digs them into Jimin’s stomach, slowly dragging them down the vampire’s body. Jimin hisses out and squirms, but the cuffs are tight around his wrists, tight where they meet the wall, and he’s forced to bear the full weight of the lacerations.
“Please.”, Taehyung sobs out, frustrated with his bodies lack of cooperation, unable to stop himself from breaking down. “Please Dongha, stop. You don’t need to do this.”
“But don’t I?”, Dongha questions, tilting his head to regard the boy before him. “I’ve given you so many chances, even practically killed that Hunter in front of you, and it wasn’t enough.”
The coven leader wraps his hand around Jimin’s thigh and presses until a snap is heard. Jimin cries out, head thrown back and face scrunched in pain. Jimin’s breathing is hard now, eyes fluttering in an attempt to stay awake. Blood oozes from the wounds at his stomach, pooling on the floor around him.
Taehyung drops his chin to his chest, unable to watch anymore. Jimin’s going to die. The beautiful soul that befriended him without any knowledge of who he was. The vampire who smiles so hard that his cheeks bunch up and eyes scrunch.
He could never look into Hoseok’s eyes, wouldn’t be able to face Yoongi if Jimin died. Another snap resonates through the room and Taehyung sobs, body shaking with the force of it.
“I’ll do anything! I’m yours!” Taehyung yells, voice cutting out with the effort. “I’m yours!”
Dongha is in front of him then, reaching out his hands to cup Taehyung’s cheeks. A sinister smile covers his face, fangs elongating as he speaks. “Finally, you’re mine, Taehyung.”
The vampire digs his fangs into the human’s neck hard.
Taehyung screams.
Z wakes up, body aching and mind repeating the same memories she’s been plagued with since she arrived at the apartment.
“Dad, I don’t wanna do this.”, she had said at barely six years old.
“I know.”, her father had said in a sigh, a grimace set on his otherwise smooth features. He bends down to her height, runs his hand through her hair. “I don’t want you to do this either, love, but you have to.”
The girl nods her head, wanting to be good but…
She can’t help the tears that pool in her eyes. Her father’s expression breaks, and she finds herself enveloped in a warm hug.
“I’m sorry.”, her father whispers, squeezing the girl a little tighter. “I wish it was different. I wish there weren’t bad people after us.”
“But there are, sweetheart.”, he mutters, pulling away to meet her gaze. Her father’s red eyes always invoked fear in others, but to her, it was home. “And you need to be able to protect you and your mom.”
The girl nods, wanting to be strong enough to protect her human mother. She picks up her twin daggers and readies herself.
She feels a difference in her body, familiar power curling through her veins. It’s excited in the way it spreads throughout her body though still tentative in its movements as if afraid it’ll be ripped away once more.
It’s…overwhelming, to say the least.
What was once a normal buzz of energy has turned to more, the tingles of power caught underneath skin borderline painful now after the extended time apart.
“Meet Taehyung.”, her mother had said, smiling ever so gently. The girl peaks an eye past her mom’s legs, not releasing her grip on her silk pants. She sees a boy with a big boxy smile, eyes wide in excitement.
Nope, dad said to stay away from boys. She hides back behind a leg, causing a giggle to escape her mom and the unknown woman in front of her.
“No need to be shy, baby. Taehyung wants to be your friend.”
That gains the little girl’s attention, and she peeks out once again, looking at the boy in front of her. A friend? She was never allowed to make friends under her father’s rules, always warned of the dangers of getting close to anyone.
Her father’s status made it hard to have fun.
“I’m Yeri.”, she says, causing the boy to smile once more.
She met Taehyung when she was only a child, knew him for years before her father had to go back, before her and her mother went into hiding. Those memories were ripped away from her along with her abilities.
Yeri sits up, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. The room is familiar, the white tile floors still cool under her feet. When she was here before, being carefully cared for by the eldests of the Bangtan coven, there were only two beds closest to the door, medical equipment filling the remainder of the room. The room is arranged the same, though now holds a dozen beds comfortably, as if the room expanded another twenty feet.
Perhaps it has. With the energy buzzing throughout her body, she can make out the distinct life that flows through the house, lining every wall and filling the air. It’s possible one of the Bangtan members created parts of this house with their own essence, essentially pushing sentience into the structure and allowing the house to grow as it deems necessary.
“Yeri!”, her mom screamed as smoke filled their little house. The smoke burned more than just her lungs, causing large patches of redness on her skin. What the hell was this stuff? The girl stumbled around, trying and failing to locate her mom before feeling a sharp sting on her neck.
Swinging around, she quickly brought her attacker to his knees, plunging one of her beloved blades into his neck. The man drops an empty syringe as his body falls to the floor, the fire starting to spread through her body at whatever was injected.
“Mom!”, she yelled, fumbling through the smoke-filled haze, feeling her body slowly weaken, a numbness spreading through her chest.
Yeri clutches her chest as heaviness weighs her down.
The girl lost feeling in her legs minutes ago, arms feeling like lead where they’re held behind her back. She doesn’t recognize the men, nor does she smell the sulfur that most demons typically carry. Her father, despite being a quite powerful demon, never smelled like sulfur, always smelled more of brimstone than anything.
And her mother, the beautiful woman currently bleeding out on the floor, always smelled of rain, of the fresh scent of mist in a greenhouse.
A tear rolls down her face. Even if she’s now reliving the memory, it was still years ago, her mother’s death too far in the past to start the grieving process all over again. But that doesn’t stop the anger that comes at the realization that Dongha was the one who delivered the final blow, standing in the corner as her mom took her last breaths.
Tilting her head up from the floor, she notices that most of the beds are filled, her coven members occupying all but three. Yeri gets up, breath hitching at the bone-deep ache that covers every inch of her body and goes to the closest member. They’re breathing well, face relaxed and free of pain as they rest, no visible signs of injuries.
The rest of her search is much of the same, finding the rest of the members seemingly healed and resting comfortably, all sporting an aura of something distinctly inhuman.
Upon walking into the living area and closing the door behind her, a blur of blue crashes into her, long lanky arms circling her neck.
“Z!”, D all but yells, clawing at her shirt to get closer despite already completely engulfing the shorter. The girl wraps him up quickly, spluttering at the set of wings attached to the boy’s back.
“A fairy?”, she breaths out, unable to look away from the fluttering masses of shimmery blue. Of all the supernatural things for D to be, a fae makes so much sense – the mischievousness, the need to latch himself on the closest coven member, the boy always found sitting in the sun to soak up its rays.
D pulls back, showing off his now-dark-blue eyes, new freckles littering his otherwise clear skin. A chuckle is ripped from Yeri, the girl reaching her arms up to cup the boy’s face.
“Suits you.” D’s smile is blinding, closing his eyes for a moment to nuzzle into one of her hands.
“Hueningkai.”, he whispers. “My mom called me Hueningie. And I’m only half-fae.”
“I’m Kim Yerim.”, she whispers right back. “My nickname was Yeri.”
“Yeri-ah.”, comes a voice, the girl turning to find L standing a few feet away, smiling softly at the display in front of her. “Ahn Hyejin, third generation witch, but my friends had called me Hwasa.”
For the first time in years, Yeri finds herself sporting a large, genuine smile. They are probably all smiling like idiots at each other, basking in the regained memories. After years of fighting for their lives alongside each other, they finally share their names. It’s something so simple, but so meaningful that she feels the familiar sting of tears in her eyes.
But someone is missing.
Her face falls as she looks around the room, not seeing the dark-haired boy anywhere. The members of Bangtan are in the room as well, staying a little further away. Namjoon and his mate are giving them all soft smiles, the others trying to do the same though their smiles aren’t as convincing.
Jungkook stands alone, arms wrapped around his middle. Hoseok and Yoongi are sitting on one of the couches, the younger appearing pale and leaning heavily on his mate.
Taehyung and Jimin are nowhere to be seen.
“Dongha took them both.”, Jungkook says, voice wobbly and eyes red from tears. Yeri’s eyes widen. She passed out before she could see the result of the fight at the apartments, knowing that Minjun and Hyunwu were killed shortly before the world turned black. Maybe if she hadn’t been so overwhelmed at the memories, so overcome with her reawakened blood, she could have done more.
“Don’t.”, Hwasa states firmly. “There wasn’t anything you could do.”
Maybe, maybe not. But the past is the past and the only thing she can do is move forward.
“Do we know where they are? How long have I been out?”, she questions quickly.
“It’s been about 12 hours since they were taken.”, Namjoon jumps in. “We haven’t been able to locate them.”
It’s only been half a day, but 12 hours is a long time to be with Dongha, especially with how downright pissed he’s going to be at the turn of events.
“We’re assuming they are together, but no one from the courts or neighboring clans have seen them, and my magic has been extremely unbalanced since awakening so I can’t even attempt to track them.”, Hwasa states lowly, receiving a nod from the younger girl. “Namjoon-ssi tried as well and…nothing. He likely put a block on tracking magic.”
A few ideas flood Yeri’s mind as she tries to find a way to find them as quickly as possible. But she’s been without her natural abilities as well, likely in the same situation as Hwasa.
The faint smell of sulfur reaches her nose, causing the younger girl to look toward the two vampires on the couch.
Why not test it out?
Within a few moments, she’s crouched in front of the vampire-fae, the smell of sulfur increasing the closer she gets to the man. Yeri looks over Hoseok’s form, eventually finding a bandage peeking out from under his oversized shirt.
“Hellhound might have gotten me.”, Hoseok states, voice cracking as he musters up the most sincere smile he can despite the pain. “That poison is potent stuff.”
Yeri nods her head, remembering the numerous times she ingested the stuff herself, trying to build up a similar tolerance to that of a full-blood demon. She places a knee at Hoseok’s side, bending down just enough to move his shirt out of the way, seeing the blood-soaked bandages underneath.
“Can I see?”, the girl asks, looking between both vampires. Yoongi appears wary but concedes quickly after looking once again at his mate’s ashy complexion. His shirt is discarded within a few moments, bandage being cut away to reveal a festering wound, blood and black sludge steadily leaking out. The skin around it is inflamed, black veins spidering out where the poison reached the bloodstream.
It’s without thought that she reaches up, curling her hand gently over the wound. Hoseok hisses in pain at the touch but doesn’t move. She can feel the poison spreading, likely will reach his heart in a matter of days. An older, relatively powerful vampire like Hoseok would survive but it would be days, maybe weeks of torture. Yeri may be out of practice but when she wills the poison to her, it moves easily.
Dark spidery veins appear on her hand, slowly traveling up her arm the longer she pulls from the wound. After only a minute or two, the poison slows, turning to a slow trickle up her arm until nothing remains. The girl stays for a moment more, feeling out the wound to be sure there isn’t any residual demonic essence.
Pulling her hand away, she finds the wound already knitting itself together, Hoseok’s regeneration working overtime after being inhibited for so long. The vampire’s previous paleness has melted away to his usual sun-kissed skin, a dopey smile spread out across his lips, finally pain-free.
“What about you?”, Yoongi questions, softly grabbing her arm to see the lightly pulsing black trails.
“I’m immune.”, she states, giving them a smile. “Perks of being a half-demon.”
Surprise paints their features.
“Thank you.”, Yoongi whispers, causing the girl’s smile to widen. Her father’s blood pulses more comfortably now, the ache becoming less and less as it settles. With how easily she was able to call on her abilities, she has no doubts she can find Jimin and Taehyung.
“I need something of Jimin’s, preferably something he always has with him.”
Yoongi is gone in a blur of movement. Yeri stands up only to have black spots cloud her vision, feet staggering at the unexpected dizziness. Warm hands steady her and after a few deep breaths, she smiles at Jungkook beside her.
The girl straightens up with a small ‘thank you’ and makes work of rearranging the living room, pushing the couches to the edge of the room – except the one the vampire-fae currently resides on – and throws the rug to the corner. Requesting something sharp, a small blade is placed in her hand by Jungkook. Yeri regards the blade for a moment before looking back at the youngest vampire.
“What happened after Hyunwu died?”, she questions lowly. Jungkook shifts on his feet, face scrunched in a grimace.
“Jimin-hyung was hurt. He was…he was dying and Dongha had Tae and he…”, Jungkook takes a stuttering breath. “He told me to choose and I couldn’t and...”
“Tae chose for you.” Yeri states, now remembering glimpses of the words Taehyung pleaded to Jungkook, when her body seemed to shut down. Jungkook nods his head, looking away to avoid the betrayed look he knows he’ll find on Yeri’s face.
“Thank you.” Yeri whispers, reaching over to lightly grasp the vampire’s hand. Jungkook’s eyes shoot up questioningly. Instead of anger, he finds a small smile on the girl’s face. “I know you feel like you somehow failed Tae by choosing Jimin, but Taehyung hasn’t had any control over his life in years. He’s always just been told what to do, always made to obey. You honored his decision. So, thank you for allowing him to finally have a choice. Thank you for allowing him to do something on his terms.”
“Let’s get our boys back, yeah?”, Yeri states with a smile. Jungkook nods and squeezes her hand in thanks just as Yoongi returns.
“It was a gift from Hoseok and I.”, he says simply, placing a necklace in Yeri’s outstretched hand.
The whole thing is pure gold, clearly embedded with magic with the slight hum she feels against her palm. In the center is a small red stone, likely a gem created from both Yoongi and Hoseok’s blood, meant to show their commitment to the younger.
“It’s beautiful.”
Yeri kneels, quickly slicing a small cut on her wrist, before drawing symbols on the ground using the blood gathered at her skin.
For years, she’s been weak. Despite the training as a child, she couldn’t protect the one person she promised her father she would. She was unable to stop herself from being taken, couldn’t stop the memories from being ripped from her mind. Even with the additional training as a human, she had to watch as her coven members died one after another.
A muttered chant falls from her lips as she finishes the symbols – search, protect, energy being a few of the many at her feet. She clasps the necklace between both of her hands, room heating up until the air becomes stuffy.
Yeri watched her mom die right in front of her, all at the hands of a vampire psychopath hellbent on control. If there is anything that the girl believes, it’s that there’s no fucking way he was taking Taehyung from her too.
Dongha may have found a way to completely block tracking with magic, but Yeri would bet he has no way of stopping a hellhound from finding them.
When Taehyung wakes up, his head throbs.
Attempting to open his eyes is difficult, seemingly glued shut in his sleepy daze. He takes a few deep breaths, trying to regain enough strength to open them, to move, to do anything. His body is cold. So cold but he feels there is something covering him.
A blanket maybe? It feels soft, he thinks. He peels his eyes open only to slam them shut again, the brightness of the light causing a groan to escape his lips.
“You’re okay.”, a voice soothes from his left. “Take your time.”
That voice is so familiar, thinks he’s heard it many times, but he can’t remember where. He takes the advice and slows down, trying to give his body time to fully wake up. Everything feels numb and weak, like he’s been sitting in a bath for too long or was caught out in a snowstorm. Taehyung’s able to twitch a finger, and then his hand and arm until the numbness dissipates and he can slowly move every part of his body.
He cracks his eyes open to find the light much dimmer than it was, likely thanks to the person next to him. The boy turns his head, finding a dark-haired man sitting in a chair next to the bed he’s currently laying in. The man’s face is flawless with high cheekbones and sharp jawline. His hair is dark, maybe even black, and partially combed back, like he had gelled it back at one point only for it to come loose.
The most prominent feature was the eyes, a deep maroon color. He’s seen these eyes; knows he has when a shiver runs through his body. A name pops up.
“Dongha?”, he questions, tongue feeling too big for his mouth. The man smiles, a perfect set of white teeth showing through his lips, slightly longer-than-average canines visible. Taehyung’s breath stutters a beat before regaining its normal rhythm.
This is Dongha. He knows him, he thinks, has at least seen him before but his mind is too fuzzy to think clearly. He’s obviously a vampire. Taehyung has known vampires before, but he can’t remember who or why that matters.
“Hi, Taehyung. How are you feeling?”, Dongha questions, reaching up to run his fingers through the human’s hair. It feels…good. A small bit of warmth radiates from the vampire’s hand, causing Taehyung to unconsciously tilt his head up in search of more. A chuckle sounds from the man beside him, making him open his eyes from where they involuntarily closed.
“Are you hurting anywhere? You must be cold.” The man sounds so genuine in his concern that Taehyung can’t help but want to soothe him.
“’m okay.”, he slurs, eyes fluttering again when Dongha resumes his petting. “Just a little cold.”
The man hums, low and soothing, and the human can’t help but melt a little at the comfort the voice provides. He can’t remember but he must have known this man before if his body reacts so pleasantly with him around.
“Let’s get you warm and fed.”, Dongha proposes, removing his hand and standing to help Taehyung. It’s a slow process but eventually Taehyung gets to his feet, finding himself only in a thin shirt and pants, body starting to shiver outside of the warmth of the fluffy blanket. The human feels his body ache, feels the bone-deep chill that’s constantly present, and he wonders if maybe he’s sick.
The vampire takes a step and stops, waiting for the boy to follow. He tries, he really does, but that one step seems to be too much for his body, and he starts crumbling to the ground. Luckily, he’s caught before he falls completely and is offered to be carried by the bigger man beside him.
That’s how he finds himself clung to the back of the vampire; arms wrapped around his neck as they travel through the artificially lit corridors. Everything is metal and cold and so unrecognizable that Taehyung doesn’t think he’s ever been to this place. He wants to ask Dongha where they are, but he’s already caused so much trouble for him, even making the vampire carry him because he couldn’t walk around himself.
So, he stays quiet, listening to the echo of the man’s footsteps and the pulse beating at his neck. Without conscious effort, he tilts his head down and digs his nose into the space between his neck and shoulder. A burst of metallic scent hits his nose, something that isn’t inherently good but something that still immediately soothes the aches in his body, warming him up slowly from the inside.
Taehyung doesn’t remember the man other than his name, but he can’t help but think that being with the man isn’t a bad thing. He felt awful and now, after wrapping his body around him and placing his nose in the right spot, he doesn’t. As if his body knows it needs to be around him to feel okay.
A phone starts ringing and the little warmth he acquired quickly sucked out of him when he hears ‘They’re here’ on the other end. Dongha stops in the middle of the hallway, not breathing as he continues to hold the phone up to his ear.
A low ringing started, causing Taehyung to look around for the source. Only…there wasn’t one. Wherever he moved, the sound follows. It picked up until it drowns out every other sound, making him unable to hear the conversation happening in front of him.
After a moment, Dongha is moving, zipping through corridors and random rooms, seemingly familiar with the layout of the building they are in. The abrupt movements and persistent ringing made Taehyung dizzy so he finds himself burying his face in the man’s neck again, trying to find comfort in the scent that greats him.
Dongha had then stopped once more, and Taehyung felt himself being gently set down on his feet. The vampire stepped forward to undo what he believes is the locking mechanism for the door in front of them. Even with only a step between them, Taehyung felt his breath pick up, body aching again full force. His mouth started to hurt, gums feeling as if needles were stabbing through them. Body shaking and arms wrapping around himself, he can’t help but wish he was back in bed, warm blankets piled over his curled-up form.
The door is finally thrown open, bringing about a fresh whiff of outside air and…
Danger.
Taehyung quickly takes a wobbly step, plastering himself to Dongha’s back as his body thinks danger hide-hide-hide. His fists curled into the back of the vampire’s shirt, pressing his nose between the man’s shoulder blades.
“Where is he?”, a deep voice growled, causing Taehyung to grasp the shirt tighter. He can’t catch any scent other than Dongha’s but he can feel the power seemingly radiating from the person – or people – in front of him, an aura of danger-power-scary filling the small room.
“And who exactly are you looking for?”, Dongha’s voice is unwavering, calm as he speaks though Taehyung knows the tenseness in his shoulders says otherwise. A snarl echoes throughout the space in answer, coming from a person in front of him.
“Oh, I don’t know. How about the fucking human you stole?”, a different voice growls out, sarcasm tinting the anger in his voice. The vampire doesn’t seem to react to the voice, and only moves to tilt his head to the side as he regards those in front of him.
“I’m afraid there aren’t any humans here.”, Dongha says simply, reaching a hand around to gently touch Taehyung’s side, causing him to jump at the contact. The vampire turns his head, glancing behind him to speak to the human. “Perhaps you would like to greet our guests?”
Him? No, no, no. He doesn’t want anything to do with the people who growl so deeply, who have such terrifying presences that he can’t help but tremble.
But, Dongha asked him so nicely.
Taehyung gathers his strength and slowly peaks up and over Dongha’s shoulder, finding six figures in the doorway. They’re big and intimidating and red-eyed and…and angry. They all snap their gaze to Taehyung’s when he finally peaks his eyes out from behind the vampire.
If Taehyung didn’t know any better, he would say that the vampire’s expressions all seem to break collectively as they regard him. Scrunched faces and bared teeth all melting into surprise and…sadness.
Why the sudden change?
Taehyung doesn’t understand what’s happening, doesn’t recognize the people in front of him. He just wants to leave and hide away and not have to think about what’s going on. So, he does the only thing he can and hides his face into the warm back he’s pressed up against.
“You fucking turned him?”, yet another voice snarls out. Dongha doesn’t have the chance to respond before he’s being roughly ripped away from the boy behind him, causing Taehyung to stumble in attempt to keep his grip.
The immediate ache in his legs cause him to fall, landing harshly on his knees and palms. A presence is felt in front of him, and he immediately moves to scramble back. Taehyung tries to stand but finds his body much weaker than it was when he woke so he continues his backward crawl until his back hits one of the metal walls.
The ringing in his ears is back, causing him to throw his hands over them in attempt to muffle the obnoxious sound.
The action does nothing but worsen the ringing and cause his body to tremble. He feels the presence in front of him getting closer, causing him to curl up in hopes of appearing smaller. Maybe if he hides away, if he curls up tight enough, the person will take pity on him leave him alone. He just wants to feel safe, hating the constant fear he’s been feeling since…
But Dongha was safe, wasn’t he?
Being away from the vampire seemed to clear his mind a little, that constant daze lifting just enough that he feels entirely unsure if he did in fact feel safer with the man.
“Kill me and he dies.”, Dongha snarls from across the room. Taehyung lifts his head enough to peak at the vampire, finding him pinned roughly to the wall by the neck, one of the large, broad-shouldered men looming over him menacingly. “The bond is already settled.”
The man staring him down falters, seemingly taken back by Dongha’s words, sneaking a glance at Taehyung. “You’re lying.”
“Taehyung.”, Dongha croons softly, sending a smirk to the other men in the room. “Come here.”
Taehyung doesn’t want to move, feels way too sick to do much of anything.
“You don’t ever have to do anything you don’t want to.”
But the command was clear, creating an overwhelming pull towards Dongha. Taehyung tries, he tries with everything he has to crawl forward, to somehow lighten the burning need throughout his body to listen.
“Not with us, not with me.”
He only gets halfway to the man before needing to stop, breath coming out in large pants and feeling a wave of dizziness hit him.
“Come on.”, Dongha requests, voice turning almost demanding as he forces the human to crawl further despite the pain resonating throughout his body. His gums ache something fierce, throat burning every time he tries to swallow. Why would Dongha force him to do this?
“Enough.”, someone demands, cutting off the increasing need to move, causing Taehyung to slump to the floor. His head is caught in a gentle hold, and he’s slowly placed into a lap. He starts to struggle, trying to get away from the unknown body now pressed up against his, but a scent floods his system and oh.
It’s so sweet and syrupy and so good that Taehyung feels his body relax, almost forgetting entirely why he felt the need to escape their grasp. The scent is so so familiar, the vanilla surrounding him like a warm blanket. He thought Dongha had warmed his body but this…this is warmth and so much more. Like he’s snuggled up with hot cocoa and a blanket, like he’s in front of a never-ending fire.
Like he’s finally come home.
There are voices echoing off the metal walls, arguments happening only a few steps away, but he can’t find it in himself to care. He’s so tired, eyes closing involuntarily, breaths slowing down as his body falls limp. The voices get more frantic every second that ticks by until his body is slowly being lifted. A welcomed weightlessness surrounds him as the person takes a few steps and deposits him into another’s arms.
A burning rubbery scent – completely opposite of the sweet creamy vanilla – invades his nose, causing him to grimace. He must be with Dongha, though Taehyung’s fatigued mind can’t comprehend why he was so roughly taken away just to be brought right back. The man starts shifting and a rich metallic scent is filling the air around him, causing Taehyung to seek the source. The smell is delicious, and the human is so hungry, so tired of the constant pain, that he can’t think about much other than finding the scent and taking it.
“Drink.” Dongha commands, low and authoritative. Unlike Taehyung’s previous eagerness to obey the vampire, he finds himself fighting against every voice in his head to do it. Because he knows, he knows there’s more than this. Whether his body wants it or not, his mind is stuck on crescent-eye smiles, deep dimples showing through even the smallest of lip curls, tight embraces from a certain short but powerful hyung, beautiful fae dances…
Plush lips and smooth vanilla scents.
“And you are more than worth it.” The lack of dimples didn’t scare Taehyung, but the sincerity in the coven leaders voice did.
“…that fact doesn’t stop us from wanting to know you better.”, Hoseok stated, so sweetly as he curled up to Yoongi, the vampire that had held him in his arms so snugly only an hour prior.
“All I see is strength.”, Seokjin had muttered in his café.
“What do you feel now?”, the human had breathed out, hesitant to break the quiet atmosphere but wanting to know the reasoning behind the red eyes that shone back at him.
“A lot.” Jungkook’s breath fanned over Taehyung’s lips as he spoke. The vampire then closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. “Everything, Tae. You make me feel everything.”
The amount of emotion is enough to pull a sob from him, but he refrains, trying to let his instincts guide him in a different direction. Taehyung seeks out the source of this pull to Dongha, the reason behind his body’s unwavering want to please him, finding it forcing itself into a place in his chest. He feels around it, pushing and prodding, until he finds a spot where it leaves his body toward the vampire, the string thin and stretched as if it never possessed strength to begin with, like it was never meant to stay.
But something else is there, nestled at the bottom of the vampire’s chest. It’s small but seems to hold some power, the small pulse of energy familiar to Taehyung though he can’t pinpoint where he’s felt it before. His body responds before his mind can comprehend, laying a palm over Dongha’s chest and sending back some of the last traces of energy he has left.
“Taehyung, drink.”, Dongha growls out, patience thinning from his hesitance. The human snuggles into the vampire’s chest further as if seeking comfort. Dongha growls approvingly, squeezing his waist a little tighter.
Taehyung opens his eyes, finding blood oozing through a wound in the vampire’s neck, likely the source of the delicious-smelling metallic scent. He glances up, finding Jungkook’s eyes easily.
They’re beautiful, even with the deep sadness and guilt written all over his face. Brown or red, it really didn’t matter, the lights reflected off them just the same.
The small source of power has grown, turning into the familiar feeling of life under his palm. He continues to push more emotions, more sadness and fear and anger into the vampire’s chest.
“Dongha.”, he whispers, soft and pliant, just like the vampire likes. He receives a hum in return.
Even the artificial lights hanging above their heads sparkled like stars in Jungkook’s eyes, the human not taking his eyes away from the vampire crouched opposite him.
“Someday, you will touch the sky, little moon.”, his mother had whispered to him, cradling his face so gently between both of her hands. “There will come a day where you find your star, the one that guides your way.”
He feels the life grow bigger, stronger, taking up vital space within Dongha’s chest.
“Nature is all around us.”, his father explained. “Even in our breaths—”
He leans further in, brushing his lips over the bleeding vampire’s ear, earning himself another satisfied squeeze.
“Fuck you.”, he whispers, roughly grabbing the connecting string within his chest and severing it. His previous coven leader tenses before doubling over in pain with a gasp. Taehyung takes the chance and shoves Dongha away, throwing himself off the man’s lap.
Things seem to slow down as he lands on his stomach, upper body partially propped up at his elbows. Taehyung finds Jungkook’s eyes easily, so much emotion trapped in such small spaces, too many feelings gathered up in the young vampire’s heart. Confusion, surprise, fear…it all flashes through his features seemingly at once, cycling through his shining eyes as he takes in the boy’s prone form. He sees Jungkook settle on fear, leaning forward and reaching out a hand.
“And when you do find your star,”, his mother continued, lips curling in a knowing smile. “you reach for it.”
So, he does, finds himself reaching without much thought.
Dongha’s enraged screams turn to coughs and shouts of pain as the little oak seedling grows, bursting from his lungs and chest.
Taehyung doesn’t watch, knowing what will come of Dongha. He doesn’t have the energy to do anything but throw his arms around Jungkook, pressing as tight as possible, digging his nose into the space between his neck and shoulder.
Breathing in the smell of home, he thinks that he would always reach for Jungkook, knowing even in the darkest of times, he will always find his way back to the man he loves.