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Chapter Text

✩˚⋆☽✧Prologue✧☾⋆˚✩

✩˚⋆☽✧A Diabolical Doctrine✧☾⋆˚✩

At the age of five… Park Jimin, the only surviving heir to the throne of Boranthe, found himself on the battlefield. He was NOT fighting, of course... he was being conditioned. His mother, in her maniacal cruelty, was getting him used to the sight of blood and gore. In doing so, she was making sure that things of this nature did not feel unnatural to the child, for like her, he would one day sit on the throne as the C’Altaeki of Boranthe.

The C’Alteaki, which was just another title like “king” or “emperor,” were above humans of any ranking. Most people cowered at the mere mention of them, as not only were those who wore the crown Omnia, but it was said their powers were amplified by the Goddess NyneChel.

All C’Altaeki to ever wear the crown were born of the Boranthe bloodline. Only Omegas and Omnia were produced in Boranthe, mating amongst themselves to keep the line pure and powerful.

Omnia, a very powerful form of Omega, were seen as gods among humans for their extreme power and control of others with merely a scent or a hiss. Some called them blessed, others called them cursed… but most called them witches.

Jimin was well aware, even at such a tender age, that everyone outside of their kingdom called them all such things. With their snow-white hair and vibrant blue eyes that sparkled like sapphires in the sunlight… they looked like angels but brought death to all who stood to oppose them.

Currently, Jimin sat upon his mother’s lap astride her NorFrost Polar Bear, which was larger even than an elephant from the Southern continent.

She was as cold as the North Wind, stealing life just as easily as the bitter frost. She cared not for the age or status of those she cut down. Old or young, if they were in her way, they would die.

Jimin would bear witness to those battles for years to come, but he would never forget that first time.

He watched, weeping as she sat atop her bear, using it to tear through human after human.

Jimin screamed, seeing all of the blood and entrails scattered around them. He had begged his mother to stop as the villagers pleaded for mercy.  

She slapped and beat him viciously for it.  “DO NOT question what I do for our people! These vermin have been stealing resources from our lands!”

Jimin sobbed, his tiny mouth hanging open in a piteous wail as she beat him over the head with her fists, screaming at him, “YOU WILL LEARN TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE IF I HAVE TO BEAT IT INTO YOU!”

No matter what he did, or how hard he begged for her to let these people leave their lands instead, she only beat him harder.

When it was over, and none of those poor, nomadic humans in the temporary village still stood, she dismounted, sliding from the back of Algotha, her war bear. Jimin, with a bloody nose, and covered in bruises, had stumbled away as she set him down to speak with one of her generals.

“You know, they were not technically on our land, C’Altaeki. This is neutral territory.”

She snarled. “You dare question me?! They were too close!”

Jimin wandered off as they spoke, looking into the cold, vacant, miserable eyes of those left for dead.

He hated this. There was no reason for it. They had done nothing… so they had taken some rabbits? Some wood? They could afford to let them have it, couldn’t they? Boranthe had so much. According to that general, they weren’t even in their territory.  It ended a mile before reaching the Dynamis River. The opposite side of that river was the territory of the Northern mountain tribes. This territory was supposed to be neutral for trade.

This was all wrong…

As he wept, taking in the senseless destruction, he found a little girl who looked to be a year or so older than him. She was bleeding, but still breathing beside the frozen river.

The tragedy of it hit him like one of his mother’s blows.  This small girl would have found freedom on the other side of the river had she just managed to run across the ice.  Neutral territory was one thing, but he knew his mother would not cross onto owned territory unless she wanted a fight with those tribes.

The girl was lovely, with long, jet black hair and doe eyes. She had two thin braids hanging from her temples. One of the braids had fallen across her face.

“M…mommy?” She cried. “Where’s mommy and my big brudder? Want my Gukkie.”

There was so much blood coming from her little chest…

Jimin cried with her, sinking to his knees in that warm red pool, pushing a braid back behind her ear so he could look into her eyes. They sparkled with tears and bore into his heart, breaking it.

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don’t die! What is your name?” He put his hands on the gaping wound in her chest to try to stop the blood with his little palms. “Maybe we can be friends. M…maybe I can hide you and take you home with me!”

The little girl smiled. “I am Lamika. You are pretty, like an angel. You are so… so pretty. Will you hold my hand? I think I will be okay with dying if I am not alone.”

He kissed her brow and swore he would always remember her name. He would… as she was his first true lesson in regret.

He was crying hard for the girl and the family that she would die without. They were likely already dead somewhere nearby. “Yes, I will stay with you, Lamika. I will do my best to ensure you do not perish.”

She smiled. “You talk weird… you don’t sound like a lil kid. You don’t sound like me. You talk like an elder.”

He did not speak like a child. He was far from a child in experience. He had witnessed the disgusting truth of both the living and the dead in his short life filled with duty and abuse. He was different, after all.  Much rested on his shoulders.

He would beg the Goddess to forgive these people for being different and take them into her arms, even if, according to the teachings, they were unworthy.  The girl was just like them, after all… wasn’t she? She maybe didn’t look like them, but she had sought comfort and loved her family.

He pulled a small training knife from his belt and cut off one of her braids. He coiled it into the pouch hanging around his neck with the totem of the Goddess they worshipped within. He laid a hand upon her chest, wishing with all of his pure little heart that the Goddess would spare her. “A part of you is touching the Goddess now! You will not die. After she saves you, I will take your braid to the temple to pray for you and your family.”

He closed his eyes tight, and began to pray.

It was nothing fancy. Not one of the prayers the Moon Priests had tried drilling into him, but the words of a pure soul begging the Goddess for this one small favor as if she was his true mother.

Lamika gasped and her back arched. She looked up at the sky just as one of her eyes went silver.

A white line zig-zagged from her temple, weaving through the braid as its zipped down the length to the end.

Jimin did not notice the changes in Lamika. His prayer came to an end with a heart full of faith that the girl would be okay. He sat in that blood, weeping in sympathy for her pain as he cut her skirt and tied it over her wound with a chunk of snow.  He had been taught this by the healers so he could be useful after a battle. The ice was for pressure and would shrink the blood vessels to prevent her from bleeding out. He then took her hand and gripped it close to his little heart as it broke for her. He whispered another prayer and started to pull her toward the trees. He would hide her. He would save her…  

He had the greatest hope he would succeed.

Even the purest of intentions can bring what seems to be the wrath of the gods.

His mother came, snatched him up by his hair, and screamed at him for soiling his sacred skin in the blood of a pig.

“Let that swine go! She will die with the rest of her people soon enough!”

“NO! No, she is only little, like me!”

His mother gritted her teeth and sneered down at him.  “You will learn to obey me, or you will die WITH her!”

The C’Altaeki dragged him to the frozen river, broke through the ice with her sword, and dunked them both in.

“NO! Majesty! The prince will die!” Jimin’s cousin, Yoongi, was only thirteen but was already part of her army with his own war bear, Miski. He had dismounted and was rushing to intervene.

His mother demanded, “Let the pig go, Jimin! It is beneath us! Not fit for a single tear!”

Jimin still refused to let go of Lamika.

His mother stared down at him in fury. “So be it.” Then, in an act that would forever make the Goddess turn her back on the ruler of Boranthe, the C’Altaeki let her only living child slip beneath the ice. Then she turned and walked away.

Yoongi dove toward the hole, arm scrambling through as Jimin’s tiny fingers tried to hold onto the edge, but just as he thought he could save him, that ice chunk broke.

“NOOO!!” Yoongi screamed.

His mother scoffed, “If he is truly meant to inherit my throne, he will survive.”

Yoongi, terrified for his little cousin, had climbed back on Miski and raced after the boy beneath the ice. They got ahead of Jimin in the slow-moving slush and broke through the surface. Then, still holding the reins, the young warrior jumped into the frigid water to catch him before his limp form could slide by.

With tears and a cry of relief, Yoongi snatched him into his own quickly numbing arms.

Even in his half-frozen state, Jimin was still holding onto the little girl.

Yoongi’s bear pulled them out, slowly backing up until they were off of the ice and on solid ground.

                Then, his loving bear curled around them. They lay shivering beneath her warmth for a few minutes.

They were far from the company of warriors now. Jimin’s lips, hands, and feet were blue, and he was no longer moving. The little girl looked even worse, but her little chest was still rising and falling somehow. Jimin’s breathing was coming in short, involuntary spurts. His body jerked with each breath like a fish out of water. The sound from those gasps was alarming and Yoongi began to cry.

Two figures emerged from the snowy trees. They were clad in all white to blend with the snow around them.

The smaller figure spoke. “You need to come with me. Now.”

The bear did not growl, which was, to Yoongi, a clue that there was nothing to fear from these people.

Yoongi stood, shivering as he lifted the limp form in his arms but was dragged back by the weight of the girl, whose hand Jimin was still holding. “P-p-please, help.”

The larger of the two men came forward and wrapped a fur around the girl, finally prying the little bluish hands apart. He nodded to the smaller man and said, “By the Goddess, she will live to serve.” Then he sprinted at an impossible speed into the trees.

The other figure moved forward and took Jimin from Yoongi, opening his robes and placing the icy body against his own warm skin. The small boy gasped again, and then a tiny whimper escaped his throat as he curled into the warmth. The man wrapped his white cloak tightly around the child, holding him firmly.

He spoke to Yoongi. “Follow, youngling.”

The terrified teen did so, knowing that no one would come looking for them anyway. Truly, under the C’Altaeki he served, only the strong survived.

They were taught in training that no one would save them. Each warrior had to be able to save themselves, or they were not worthy. If you lost your war bear, you were as good as dead.

Yoongi shivered violently as he followed the small… man? Boy? He was of a size that made it hard to decipher an age and barely a gender, but the voice was masculine. The subgender was lost on him completely, as there was no scent whatsoever that he could yet discern.

They walked a few meters until they were at a cave, and they were taken inside. There, a delicious warmth came from within. As they climbed deeper and deeper down, they left his war bear behind. The passages grew too narrow for a beast so large.

Finally, they were in an enormous cavern, at the center of which was a glowing pool of magma.

They stayed far from the pool, to Yoongi’s relief.

The man walked to a well-illuminated corner, lit by a low-burning oil lamp. Yoongi watched the man as he began rifling through a bag until he pulled free a small vial of purple liquid.

He popped the cork and dribbled the fluid into the tiny mouth of the prince, and his little body jerked and coughed.

The man smiled and nodded. Then, he carefully wrapped the boy in furs and set him down to rest.

Yoongi was now warm but still very wet. His blue eyes drilled into the man. “Will he live? Will I? You won’t kill us or hold us for ransom?”

The man scoffed. “Ransom? The Evil Moon was ready to allow this star to fall, sure that she could just make another. No one would pay for thee. No. And I would not kill either of you. It is not the Goddess’s will. You are too important.”

The man nodded to Jimin. “That one is now the child of the Moon Goddess. She has claimed him for her purpose now that the one entrusted to birth him has turned her back on not only him but those who came before. The Goddess is displeased.”

Yoongi shivered again, his mind growing hazy as he struggled to follow the strange words.

The man took pity, removing his cloak and throwing it over the boy’s shoulders.

It was so warm and smelled lightly of gardenias and Sandalwood. It struck Yoongi as an odd scent for any subgender, as it rode the line between Alpha and Omega, and was too… odd to be the scent of a mated wolf. It had a strange base to it. A musk that was unlike anything he had ever smelled before.

“What will happen to us?” Yoongi pushed for answers as the man shoved a sack of pemmican into his hands. The boy opened the sack, shoved a square of the fatty meat, nut, and fruit mixture into his cheek, and closed his eyes. It tasted wonderful.

The man didn’t answer for a time as he threw herbs into a mortar and began crushing them.

When Yoongi had eaten his fill, the man stood and offered the boy the herbs mixed with warm wine.

Without hesitation, Yoongi drank.

The man answered him finally. “Now, my darling boy, you will sleep and heal. Then, you will both go home and fulfill your destiny.”

Yoongi collapsed.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

When next he woke, Yoongi was sitting atop Miski’s back. As if Yoongi’s body did not need his consciousness to know what must be done, Jimin was clutched tightly in his arms, warm and once again breathing normally. His beloved little cousin was wrapped in a papoose of white furs with only his button nose and chubby, ruddy cheeks showing. His war bear was limping slowly into town.

The soldiers who opened the gates wept at the sight of them, for the entire city had begun to mourn their passing. It had been days since they were last seen. Their people had been sure they would not find their small bodies until the spring thaw.

A herald cried from the top of the wall as Miski limped past the gate. “A HERO! THE CHILD WARRIOR OF BORANTHE HAS SAVED OUR YOUNG PRINCE!”

Their people lined the streets, sobbing with relief and joy to see the heir safe again after hearing of the cruel test the C’Altaeki had given the Gods.

Yoongi was thereafter honored as one chosen by the heavens to watch over the next in line for the throne. It was declared by Jimin’s mother that the gods had indeed spoken. Her child would someday lead as the rightful heir.

Their people worshipped the little prince from then on, for it was truly a miracle that he had survived.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

*Deep in the Jungles of Terapah*

When Jeongguk had first wandered into the jungle, he was carrying his mind-sick mother. She was still murmuring, struggling, and trying to get free to turn back. Keeping her bound was necessary… otherwise, she would throw herself into the Dynamis River where the rest of their family was slain. She had done so twice now, though it had been months since it had happened. Each time, Jeongguk had saved her.  His hope in travelling this far south, was that the distance would be so great that she would not be drawn to that place.

Initially, he had wanted revenge, but the nights of holding his weeping mother, missing his father and baby sister, and wishing to once again have the peace of a simple life… that became his goal. He would find that again for her even if it meant starting from scratch. He would build his own little empire far from the place they’d lost everything. They would set down roots and claim a territory so well guarded and intimidating that only a fool would try to take it. Never again would his mother know such danger as they had found on the bank of the Dynamis.

Many would think such a task would be too much for a boy his age. Fifteen was indeed young to take on such an enormous responsibility… but he was different.

He’d chosen the Terapah for a reason. The clans of the Terapah Jungle were rumored to be among the strongest in the world. He would need that strength to protect his mother, and anyone else who wished to find peace from the Demon Bitch of Boranthe.  He would turn none away, as long as they proved themselves willing to help keep peace and contribute to the quality of life for their people.

Several hundred feet past the Charabol river and into the jungle, they had been attacked.

Good. It was just as he’d planned.

Following the first failed attack on him, the young Enigma had taken over the leadership of not only that pack, called ‘Eternal Equinox,’ but ALL of the packs of the Jungles of Terapah. Many Chieftains had challenged him and lost… without a fight.

Jeongguk did not have to lift a finger to win. He was an Enigma. His voice could force almost anyone into submission, though his father, Head Alpha of the nomadic Goldenpaw Pack, had always taught him to only use such power for the betterment of others.

To protect.

However… when one of the chieftains called him out on using his voice, Jeongguk only laughed at him and invited anyone from the clans who thought they could take him in a fair battle to try. It had been child’s play for the Enigma, and he had proven himself strong beyond compare. He was also wise and innovative, if a bit egotistical at times. He had come up with the idea to live in the canopy instead of down on the ground, vulnerable to attack from not only other clans, but all manner of wildlife.

It was because of him that there was an entire city between the first and second canopy, which was connected by a series of wooden bridges.

When he was shown all of the territory Eternal Equinox held and what lay within, he found himself intrigued by the pyramids of the ancients. They were overgrown with vines and nearly hidden, but he ordered them explored.

At first, the tribe did not want this. It was a place for the dead. He went in first, declared bravely to any spirits within their plight, and said they only wished to visit. He declared they would take nothing. When weeks went by and nothing bad happened, the superstitious people agreed to explore further. They found catacombs that went on for miles.

They spoke to the dead while inside, bringing life and one-sided conversation with them.

Then… their luck seemed to blossom. Everything good happened for their people. Food became more abundant. Those with illnesses found themselves cured, and their wombs became more fruitful.

They believed their new Enigma leader to be truly blessed by the Goddess.

They made a place in the catacombs for the goddess, and began to stock provisions there on Jeongguk’s orders. This was to be a place of escape should anything dire happen. They believed their ancestors would have agreed, as the dead seemed to enjoy their company.

At first, they balked at Jeongguk’s order to store food there. Food? It would surely spoil! They were a people who did not typically have to prepare for things like a long winter. They hunted and gathered what they needed when they needed it.

He taught them how to preserve in honey. Even dried meats would stay good if packed in such. Emergency rations would be necessary in such a place, as they could close the entrance and stay safe within for an extended period.

He was incredible, intelligent, and they practically worshipped him.

The first “messenger of the Goddess” came along shortly after Jeongguk had firmly established the first set of bridges in what they called their “sky village.”

The messenger seemed to be nothing but a scrawny teen. He had infiltrated their territory, purposefully pulling up fish traps along the banks of the River, which coincidentally was very close to where Jeongguk ruled.

The boy was attacked but proved he could defend himself against a multitude of Jeongguk’s men without harming a single one in self-defense. The fight had gone on for close to thirty minutes, yet the child showed no signs of tiring. They had even tried sleeping darts on him, but none would meet his skin. They had halted when his hood slipped, and they realized he wore a blindfold.  Although he had no sight, he’d cut each missile from the air before it could land.

When Jeongguk had arrived on the scene, he called for his men to cease the attack.  He was surprised to see the boy looked close in age to himself, perhaps a bit younger.

When Jeongguk motioned him to come forward, the boy simply smiled, picked up one of the darts, and stabbed himself in the thigh.

He remained standing, and finally spoke, “You cannot harm me. I am but a tool of the Goddess.”

It almost sounded like a challenge, and Jeongguk WOULD have accepted such… but instead he became furious at his own people a moment later.

He’d realized the young man was clutching a wriggling mass close to his chest with one arm.

“You imbeciles! You attacked an Omega with a pup?!”

One of his men sputtered, “He… he was stealing from our traps!”

Jeongguk looked the teen up and down. He had no bag. He only held the infant close. It was making miserable squeaking, hungry noises now. Plump baby lips appeared as the little face rooted for food, finding only a tiny barren fist to suckle.

“Where?! Where do you suppose he stuffed the fish?! Up his ass?! You dumbasses! He was seeking help! He was getting your attention, and you did not even try to see if he was actually doing anything but a favor for you?! Did you not even attempt to SPEAK with him?! We do NOT do things this way! Not anymore! He pulled up your traps and took nothing!” 

The pup let out a fragile, broken wail. Any Omega who had pups would know that cry. The infant’s belly was empty and needed food badly. The pup’s voice was heartbreaking in its frailty.

A middle-aged Omega stepped forward. “He…. He is not the pup’s Omega…. I do not smell milk on him. He is not Omega at all, nor Alpha. He must be a Beta. P… please. I lost my own pup recently. She was stillborn. Let me feed this little one.” He held out his arms, eyes begging and full of tears.

The teen, swathed in dark cloth, stepped forward without hesitation

.

“Milanki, yes… the Goddess said you had suffered a great loss and would show immense love to this child. Do you accept him in place of the one the Goddess took too soon?”

The Omega fell to his knees, weeping as he lowered his head to the damp mud of the riverbank. “Of course! You know my name! You truly serve the Goddess! Thank you, Goddess!” The Omega then looked at the boy.  “And… and you.”

“Hope. I am called Hope.”

The Omega took Hope’s offered hand, stood, and raised his eyes to the sky in silent prayer.

After a moment, Hope gently passed him the infant. Milanki immediately opened his robe and the pup, smelling the milk, made little desperate grunting noises as it rooted, and finally latched onto the source.

Milanki smiled with tears in his eyes. He pushed back the swaddling and gasped. “He… he is beautiful… but… his hair… his eyes… he is-”

Hope spoke. “He is no longer of that place. Give him all the love and care you would have given your own pup. He is yours. A gift from the Moon Goddess, NyneChel.”

Milanki smiled. “I will call him Couatl. He will be strong like the jungle beast he is named for.”

With a heart-shaped smile, the boy then turned to Jeongguk, who was looking at him with a protective gleam in his eyes, still angry at his men.

Hope shook his head, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m actually older than you by four years. Come, Jeongguk, we have much to discuss.”

Jeongguk had learned much that day. It was truly symbolic, the name of the messenger.

The Goddess sent Jeongguk “Hope” not only to give him instructions, but to prepare him for a future in which he would play a vital role in preparation for major changes for their people.

Without question, from that day on, he had done all that was asked of him by the Goddess.

*Ten years later*

“One.”

Jimin was screaming.

“Two...”

Please! No!

“Three…”

Jimin was on fire.

STOP!

“No.”

MOTHER! PLE--- PLEASE!!!

“More. Four.”

AHHHHHH!!!! PLEA-HEEESE!! AHHHH!!!

Jimin could see nothing as he was cradled in darkness.

All he could feel was pain. Every last cell of his body screamed with him as his mother assaulted his psyche, not withholding an ounce of her power.  There was a gag in his mouth, keeping him from doing anything but shrieking as he telepathically communicated with her.

He hated his life now. All of this was because he’d finally presented as an Omnia.

 He had seen many battles. Much death, but he had never had to experience pain like this.

His forced training on the battlefield was never physical. Omnias did not need to lower themselves to soiling their delicate, beautiful hands with the blood of the pigs they slaughtered, or so his mother had taught him.

That was why they sat atop their war bears. Not even the soldiers had to do much, though they often dismounted after their Omnia leader took control of their prey with her scent and voice, which carried in a hiss like the vibrating waves of a tuning fork.

Most often, she had their enemies slay one another. The weapons her soldiers carried were more for the creatures they could not control, and to make sure all the bodies left on the battlefield were dead.

The misery and death had started to affect Jimin in ways no one had expected. Instead of strengthening him, as his mother had hoped, it began to weaken him.

The healers had to force-feed him at one point, as he was losing his will to live.

His tutor, Mimms the Meticulous, had stepped in when, at the age of nine, his mother had threatened him with a beating if he did not participate in battle.  He had taken to covering his eyes and crying the entire time.

Mimms, who was at the time the highest respected scholar and seer in all the lands, had told the C’Altaeki that Jimin’s was a different calling.  He was a life-bringer, the part of the Goddess carried within him was not meant for killing unless it was in self-defense or the immediate defense of his people.

 If he was forced to participate in the extermination of those who had not attacked them, it would surely end him. He told her that Jimin would be the bearer of many powerful leaders, adding incredible strength to the bloodline and that his place would not be in battle. That would be his mate’s place. JIMIN would be leading their people in prayer to the Goddess at the temple in times of war. He would become known as the most powerful tool of the Goddess and the most well-known Omnia ruler of all time.  Both he and his mate would rule side by side for many, many decades, finally giving over the crown to their great-great-grandchild, as the Goddess would bless them with unnatural longevity and health to continue her work.

His mother never argued with Mimms. She showed him just as much respect as someone thought to be the voice of NyneChel.

Jimin’s training continued, but no longer on the battlefield.

He was taken every week to the Tower of Soul Temperance to strengthen his mind and build his endurance against pain and mental attacks.

He was glad he didn’t have to do more. If he had to kill, he knew he wouldn’t be the same person afterward…

That didn’t end his torment, however, which was why he was screaming now, begging his mother to stop.

Her responses were cold.

“It’s not real, Jimin. It’s in your mind. Take control. You are MORE than the pain.”

NO!! IT IS REAL!! IT HURTS SO MUCH MOTHER!! PLEASE STOP!!

“You must experience pain to become immune, child. You will take the throne when I fall. You must be strong enough to hold all we have gained for our people. We must keep these lands free from the plague of locusts that are those born in the savage lands.”

MOTHER! STOP! I CAN’T!

“You can, and you WILL, Jimin. You have no choice. I would flay the skin from your back myself before I allow weakness to flourish in this bloodline! Five.”

NOOOO!

“Six.”

*whimper*

“Seven.”

Jimin’s throat bled from the screaming.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

From the other side of the door that led to the tower’s “Altar of Endurance,” Yoongi was chained to the wall. He was screaming with his young prince and sweating as his muscles bulged, threatening to break the chains that held him.

“I will fucking KILL YOU ALL! LET HIM GO!!!”

The Omega priests tried to soothe him, stating it was for the betterment of their people. The next C’Altaeki would be even stronger than his mother with this training, but Yoongi would not be soothed.

They tried everything, even resorting to drugging the young Omega warrior with enough sedatives to knock out Algotha.

Nothing worked, and his eyes began to glow as he cursed them all in the name of the Lunar Goddess. 

In another miracle tied to this young warrior, they would later call what happened next “The Great Awakening of the Guardian Line.”

Yoongi’s skin began to glow like the moon, along with his eyes, much like the presentation of an Omnia…

Unlike the usual presentation, however, Yoongi was not entering his heat. Fur began to sprout from his skin as his bones crunched and shifted.  

The priests fell to their knees and then lowered themselves to the floor in prostration, sure this was yet another sign from the Goddess herself.

His body grew enormous, and he broke the chains as if they were made of daisies. He then broke down the door in a half-man, half-wolf form.

Jimin’s mother showed no fear as Yoongi fully shifted into a horse-sized wolf and ran at her from the other side of the cavernous room.

She held her ground, looking indifferent… as if this were merely a servant bringing her a pitcher of water.

Just as the wolf was nearly upon her, time seemed to slow, and with inhuman speed, Jimin was suddenly between them. He backhanded the wolf, not that it did much damage.

The wolf, fearing harming the small prince more than anything in this world, scrambled back, falling on his side as his paws clambered for purchase on the marble floor. Then he backed away with a whine.

Jimin’s mother smirked.

Her son was still wearing the blindfold she had covered his eyes with when the ritual began. He was clad only in silver ceremonial robes, and blood was slowly seeping out of the corners of his mouth from screaming and coughing in pain.

She wrapped her arms around her son’s shoulders from behind, whispering lovingly in his ear. “You did well, my son. You will be strong for our people. This test has been passed. You will do what you must in the name of duty.”

He collapsed in her arms. Yoongi tried to get close, worried for his young prince, but the C’Altaeki hissed at him. He shrank back and watched as she handed her son over to the priests.

Jimin had been carried from the room, bathed, and his throat healed.

When he was once again lucid, and he realized what he had done to his cousin and one true friend… Jimin hated himself.

Yoongi was deeply hurt by the perceived betrayal and was having trouble shifting back. NO ONE could help him, as none had ever seen such a thing happen before, much less experienced a shift.

His guardian was also confused at the change to his subgender, as he had already presented as an Omega at the age of thirteen. To suddenly find himself an Omnia was a cruel joke of the goddess, to be sure.

Jimin wept and held his cousin’s furry form, saying words fueled by his guilty conscience and begging his cousin’s forgiveness.

The priests said that was what likely forced his wolf to retreat and allow Yoongi to shift back into his human form.

He and Jimin held one another for hours. Jimin vowed that he would never again strike him and swore over and over that he had not even been conscious of doing so. Indeed… it had been his mother’s grip on his psyche that had allowed his instincts to do so. It was something SHE would have done… HER influence on his wolf had accomplished it.

How Jimin hated her.

He spoke these thoughts to Yoongi only, not daring to share such dangerous words with anyone else. He told him how he wished she was dead so all the killing could end, along with their own suffering. But… he also confessed that those thoughts felt selfish, for surely Jimin was not strong enough to keep their people safe. Then, too, was the fact that, despite her cruelty, Jimin loved his mother. Perhaps it was blood loyalty, or the loyal wolf within him that had a hard time letting go of loving someone so viciously malignant.  

Jimin kept his vow, not allowing Yoongi to accompany him to the tower ever again. He knew what would happen and would never again put his cousin through such an ordeal.

His mother hated that Jimin chose to “coddle” his guardian, feeling that bringing such a weapon to full obedience would be the wiser choice. She wanted Jimin to use his voice on him, forcing him to shift on command, but he refused.

They argued at length, but this was one thing that Jimin demanded if he was to indeed continue with the training without a fight.

He was growing more and more powerful by the day, now that he was not forced to be so close to death, and compromise with his mother was becoming easier.

He decided instead of fighting her, he would simply parrot her so she would believe he was ready and leave him alone that much sooner.

When Jimin was seventeen, she finally declared his training was over and began looking for his perfect mate. She wished to pair him with a like-minded individual. One who shared their (her) values.

This frightened Jimin. He suggested he be allowed to take Yoongi as his mate, as he had not truly taken the time to consider what that entirely meant. He at first thought they would just stay by each other’s sides, protecting and taking care of one another.  

His mother had laughed and explained that although Yoongi was now Omnia, he was too closely related by blood and was thus unfit. They would need to have sex… mate, and bear pups together.

Jimin had grown ill… he had quite forgotten about that part.

She further explained that while it was true that Yoongi was considered “Goddess-blessed” with his shifting abilities that had been granted to protect the young heir, Jimin’s mate would need to be from a different branch of the Boranthe bloodline.

Jimin’s branch of the bloodline was known as the Park line. His mother’s first chosen mate, from the Choi Boranthes, failed three times to give her an Omnia child.

She’d deemed him useless to the bloodline and killed him.

It took four Omega consorts from powerful bloodlines, and births of lesser subgenders before Jimin finally came along. She would have tried again had he not shown signs as an infant that he, too, would eventually present as an Omnia.

Those who came before him… those sweet innocents who did not show signs they would become Omnia… were left by the river to die.

She would likely force him to do the same with his own pups someday if they did not show signs of becoming an Omnia.

He vowed with all his heart that he would kill her first.

He still had one year left before he turned eighteen and would be forced into a mating bond with someone. He prayed she would die and leave him in peace before then.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

✩˚⋆☽✧I✧☾⋆˚✩

✩˚⋆☽✧Sorrow and Sovereignty✧☾⋆˚✩

Namjoon was sitting on a fallen, moss-covered log, looking up at the stars as he waited in the moonlight for their contact.

They had received the usual sign, purple smoke up over the east horizon at midday. Their lookouts had informed them to be ready for the messenger.

It was so still and quiet. Only the crickets and frogs chirped. It was soothing to his soul. He closed his eyes… maybe he would have a nap while he waited.

“I bring news for your leader.”

“FUCK!” Namjoon jumped every fucking time the wraithlike man appeared.

The man swathed in black approached the Alpha slowly, a gentle shaking of his shoulders the only hint of the man’s amusement at the reaction he always received.

Embarrassed, he groaned, “You do that on purpose, don’t you?”

After calming his heart and taking a few deep breaths, Namjoon tried to save face. He was really fucking enamored with this Beta… how the hell was he supposed to impress him if he was a walking jump scare with only a whisper?

In a deep, soft voice, the Alpha cleared his throat and greeted him properly. “Hello again, beautiful. What is it?  On your last visit, the news you brought displeased him greatly. I pray the information this time is much better.”

Namjoon did not need to see the man to know that he was beautiful. His warm, cheerful voice had captivated him since they first met when he was only seventeen.

The Alpha had first laid eyes on the mysterious Beta when the man in black was just a skinny teen delivering a squalling, malnourished infant to their village in the Terapah Jungle.

The Beta nodded beneath the dark garb, giving the Alpha a heart-shaped smile that wrecked his heart. “The news I bring delivers a pleasing scent on the winds of change. May I meet with him?”

Namjoon smiled and stood very close to the smaller man. He wanted so badly to touch him. To lay a hand upon his cheek. A kiss upon his pretty lips… to taste the mole on his lipline. That mole was teasing him by existing yet not allowing him to know the flavor of the cute little dot. In a raspy voice, he responded. “You know he always accepts your visits. He quite enjoys your company, brief though it always is. We all do.”

The rush of heat that was coming from the Beta told Namjoon he might be blushing. That radiant warmth also let off a slightly floral and woodsy scent. It was faint and impossible to decipher. It swirled around him like the slightest breeze on a hot summer day, bringing beautiful relief from the heat.

A balm for the Alpha’s soul.

Namjoon sighed. He would love to someday offer to mate this intriguing Beta… though his leader would likely raise an eyebrow at the request. Betas typically could not handle an Alpha of the Terapah packs.

The Jungles of Terapah were harsh and thus created wolves of unparalleled strength and vigor. Betas mated to an Alpha of the Terapah packs often found intimacy painful, especially when the Alpha was in rut and had less control over their actions.

He would be different. He would always be gentle with his mate. His wolf promised this much as they both longed for the mysterious man.

However, being realistic… he knew it would never happen. The man was a messenger of NyneChel, after all.

Namjoon turned and led the man down the path to their tree. The Beta knew the way, of course… but it was a matter of courtesy to allow himself to be escorted into their home.

As they approached the tree slowly, Namjoon tensed. Something seemed off.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Beta smirk.

The Alpha dove to the side as a black figure plummeted to the ground from above.

With lightning speed, the Beta drew a double-bladed scimitar from his back and began spinning it with practiced ease.  The clash of steel on steel rang through the cold night air.

Namjoon stood back, crossed his arms, and leaned against the tree as he watched the somewhat familiar scene before him with a deeply dimpled smile.

The two figures, clad head to toe in darkness, danced in a battle made of magic and impossibility.

No matter where the larger figure swung his enormous greatsword, the smaller danced away. It was like trying to cut at a feather as it fell. The wind from the offending blade only seemed to give the Beta a surface to stand on and vault himself from as he flittered around the leader of the pack known as the Eternal Equinox.

As they battled, the Beta switched from spinning the double scimitar like a windmill to breaking them apart at the center to wield one in each hand. He was impressive with both fighting styles and did not seem to be growing tired.

To the contrary… every time his leader swung at him, it seemed only to invigorate the lithe figure. It was not unlike watching a lion trying to conquer a persistent wasp.

The larger man lifted the greatsword over his head and brought it down with tremendous force, embedding it in the hard-packed ground and roots beneath their feet.

The smaller took a step back, and before the leader could rip his weapon from the soil, the Beta jumped on the blade, took two steps up the steel, and delivered a backflip kick to the large man’s jaw. An instant later, the smaller man landed in a crouch, simultaneously throwing three daggers.

All three were aimed perfectly, landing with careful precision, pinning the leader to a tree.

Not a single drop of blood was spilled.

The leader sighed and looked down at the blade embedded between his legs. It had missed his balls by less than a centimeter.

“Gods dammit, Hope. I really liked these pants.” He reached down, pulling the blade free, along with the two that had loosely pinned his fur tunic beneath his arms.

The Beta came forward and accepted them with the barest hint of a smile. “You started it. You always do. Maybe someday, it will actually surprise me, and you might gain an edge.”

The larger man snorted, sheathed his greatsword on his back, and led the way to a group of vines. He gripped one and slipped his foot in a subtle loop. With a twinkle in his eyes, the man looked at Namjoon. “Bring him along.” Then he swiped at another with his blade and was zipped into the air as a counterweight came down.

Namjoon smiled, grabbed the Beta around the waist, and hauled him flush against his body. “You heard the man.”

He slipped his foot into a loop and grabbed the vine. The Beta smiled and used his blade to free the counterweight, allowing the pair to follow the leader into the jungle canopy.

They stopped at a platform leading to an open treehouse well above the first, lower canopy. He reluctantly released the slight, deceptively delicate form.

There were no walls this high up. They weren’t needed. Only the occasional wild animal was able to infiltrate. During a storm, panels from the roof to the floor would unroll and secure to keep out most of the wind and rain. They had horizontal strips of wood that mostly served to keep their belongings from being blown away. There was also an enclosed section near the trunk where the wolves slept during such squalls. It was a beautiful way of life that Namjoon and his people would die to protect.

He watched as his leader motioned to one of the servants. Seeing who accompanied their leader, the Omega scurried away while giving orders to the others.

The larger man groused as he moved to sit on a cushion beside the low table. “Sit. I hope you bring better news than last time.”

Namjoon watched as the Beta sat but did not lower his hood. In all the years that “Hope” had worked with his pack as an informant and independent ally, he had never shown his face. At least, not in Namjoon’s presence.  The one time his hood had been ripped away during a playful battle, it had revealed only a leather headdress painted black and white. It fit like a second skin and was a protective mask of sorts. The section where his eyes would typically be was instead a solid, form-fitting metal half mask. The man apparently did not need his eyes to see.

It only intrigued Namjoon more.

The headdress even had cute little white cat ears with black spots like a snow leopard…  

He wanted to see that mask again, along with the actual eyes of the man beneath the mask, but he never revealed so much as a hair on his head.

The servants returned with platters of freshly cooked venison, spiced vegetables, honey cakes, and two large pitchers of black mead.

The Beta cocked his head, listening to the movements as the servers ladled food onto his plate. He then lifted his fork and began to eat.

This exhibited the trust the Beta had in the pack leader, and it made Namjoon proud.

As the two men broke bread, and Namjoon stood guard, the smaller man spoke.

“The Black Moon shall soon fall. A star from within the same sky delivers a blow that will dim that malicious light, and none will be able to reverse the events set in motion. Such is the will of the goddess. The sky grows dark on the third night of the Summer Solstice. That is the day the Black Moon will fail to rise.”

Silence hung heavy in the air as the small man took a long drink of his mead.  

Namjoon’s leader knew better than to interrupt the smaller man. It was their custom to allow him to speak until he was ready to leave. Only then would a question or two be entertained.

Hope took a few bites, then another swallow of mead before continuing. “The people of the sky shall be bereft of a light to guide their way for a period of one month. Then, a new moon shall rise. You must be ready to strike before the Moon of Pure Intention takes his place in the sky.”

More silence, broken only by the soft sounds of chewing and the scrape of knives against wooden plates as the men shared a meal in quiet harmony.

The entire time they ate together, the leader watched the small man with wide, black eyes and a furrowed brow. He chewed slowly, listening carefully so as not to miss a single word.

Finally, Hope had cleaned his plate, and the meal was at an end. He wiped his mouth with a linen napkin and stood with his final words. “You must get to the new moon before it rises and is bound by duty. The one who is slated to be tied to the new moon in a mating bond… be warned. She is worse than the one who soon falls. Once bound to the Moon of Pure Intention, that intended mate will seek to destroy him and take the throne to rule alone.”

The small man turned to leave.

The leader stood, fury writ across his features. “Wait! I need to be sure I have the full understanding of all you have said. The Moon of Pure Intention… You said long ago that the one who was next in line for the throne of Boranthe was not like his mother. Speak plainly. Is that the ‘Moon of Pure Intention?’ And does this all mean his betrothed will kill him and end the possibility for change from within that empire?”

The man turned his head, speaking over his shoulder. “Yes. Once the bond is complete, the royal serpent bound to him will seek to swallow the moon, extinguishing that light of love and purity. She will do so quite easily, as the new moon was never truly tainted by the poison of the old, no matter how many times she sought to season his soul with hatred and cruelty. At his core, he is kind and trusting, though… he will not seem so at first. He was deeply steeped in malice, after all and raised in horrific abuse. He played his part well through the years, but it was all pretense. It was how he found peace in the hell that was his life. Get to him, Jeongguk. Make sure Boranthe has a sun in the sky with the chosen one. By NyneChel’s command, you, Jeongguk, must illuminate the dark side of the moon”

With that, he walked to the railing and looked down at the canopy of trees below them. They were quite a long way up.

Namjoon’s leader followed quickly. “Wait! I have more questions!”

The Beta jumped over the rail, falling into the open air.

Namjoon and his leader ran to that rail and found the man had vanished. There was nothing near but a few sparse branches and leaves in the shadows cast by the treehouse; beyond that, the canopy of green far below.

The leader sighed in exasperation. “How the fuck does he do that? It’s like he becomes one with the mist.”

Namjoon set a hand on his shoulder. “What will we do, Jeongguk? According to his words, we haven’t much time. We still have some men down from the battle with the Mountain Silverbark pack.”

His leader growled. “You heard him. We have to prepare. Get the men ready and move those of our tribe who will be left behind and vulnerable into the sacred catacombs. I doubt they would be attacked, but we will take no chances. The provisions there near the underground river will keep them for at least a year, more if they are careful, though I expect we will return in just a few months. We have never been unsafe in the trees, but you never know with the unrest in the territories bordering the Terapah lately. Call a summit of Chieftans. Let all clans know I will advance with a small army to infiltrate Boranthe. I will be taking the throne soon to ensure the Goddess’s plans are fulfilled. We will need all able-bodied clansmen ready to protect this region when others inevitably hear I am elsewhere and not here to protect the Terapah packs.”

Namjoon’s brows furrowed. “Aren’t you afraid? They have not only the one witch ruling currently but also her son. His betrothed will soon be in residence as well. The trifecta could prove-“

“Traveling there will take some time, Joonah. There will only be one present by the time I arrive, and I can handle him with ease.” Jeongguk declared as he strode away to prepare.

Namjoon followed after him. “At least take the narcotic arrows I use for-“

“No. I will not begin a relationship with a possible new ally by drugging him. He will submit. It is the will of the Goddess. You heard Hope.”

“I sure as fuck didn’t hear him say THAT. I heard he would not seem docile at first as he was raised in malice! What makes you so sure?” The older Alpha looked concerned and frustrated at the lack of caution the younger seemed to feel.

“You know why…”

Namjoon shook his head, growing angry at the hubris the younger was showing. “I know you are an Enigma, yes, but that bloodline holds power! You don’t understand! Part of the reason they are so feared and no one ventures onto their lands is because they-“

“I KNOW WHY!” Jeongguk roared. “Obviously! Otherwise, we would have organized the entire southern half of the continent to attack long ago and end the bitch’s tyranny! With the Matriarch fallen, they will be vulnerable!”

Namjoon stood abashed. He had never questioned Jeongguk before. He was a great leader… he always had been. Their people ate well and were protected at all costs. He accepted unpresented younglings into the fold without question, though the teens and adults had to prove themselves willing to submit fully to his rule in order to be accepted.

Outside of the Jungle, however, he was seen as a monster to be feared. It was deliberate. He carefully crafted that fear in outsiders so no one dared attack his people.

“Gather my usual team. We leave at dawn. You will send a messenger to alert the other packs so they can be ready. Boranthe will be secured soon. The second moon shall not rise. Not unless it is the right one.”

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The bells were ringing. She was gone.

His mother, the C’Alteaki of Boranthe, was no more.

Jimin lay shivering with what the scholars called the “Moon’s Affliction” in his enormous bedchamber. He’d always hated that this room was so large. It felt like a waste of space and was ten times lonelier when no one was with him.

Although it was heavenly with the ivory walls and domed cathedral ceiling, bedecked with carefully sculpted ornamental scrolling designs, and furnished with a gorgeous, hand-carved circular marble canopy bed with silk and velvet hangings, and covered in white furs, there was just so much space between it all. He could fit half of the city Bazaar in this one room. From his nest to his enormous open balcony, it was roughly 10 meters. His quarters were a perfect circle and had an attached bathing chamber.

His body shook with the after-effects of the maternal bond being severed between him and his mother. It was something only a C’Altaeki and her offspring shared, and only if the offspring was an Omnia too.

Three days following his eighteenth nameday celebration, where she had declared Vilanti of the Baek Clan as his future mate, she had fallen deathly ill.

Jimin remembered the screams as her lady-in-waiting ran from her bedchamber. The body of a crushed Fire Mountain Scorpion was clutched in paper as she ran to the alchemists. They had sought an antidote far and wide, but there was no known cure for the sting of such a creature.

Jimin had wept at her bedside as his mother grew more and more ill. In rare form, she had allowed him to lay his head on her chest as he had as a child. She soothed and comforted him, running her fingers through his waist-length, snow-white hair and emitting calming pheromones. She was, for once in her wretched life, being the mother she should have been throughout his youth.

He wept for the life they should have had as mother and son as she told him how proud she was of his strength and beauty.

When she was nearly gone, her eyes began to glow, and she began to weep tears of moon ichor.

The priests in attendance quickly caught the tears in vials, for it was believed to be the portion of the Goddess each C’Altaeki receives on Coronation.

She gasped as she was granted visions, and slowly, her eyes met Jimin’s. Their eyes matched. An ethereal blue with the hue and vibrancy of a blue morpho butterfly.

She couldn’t speak, but he saw a deep remorse in her gaze as she caressed his cheek and took her last breath.

He wondered what visions the Gods had granted before her passing.

He would never know.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

That very night… the nightmares began.

He saw blood running like a river, and the bodies of his people floating by like the chunks of ice he was once trapped beneath the frozen river surface with.

The black eyes glittered as they stared into his soul from the open space atop his throne. The eyes were set in the head of a black wolf…  and filled with the stars and nebulas of the heavens. The same as the night sky he could see with the powerful looking glass at the top of the Tower of Wisdom.

Those eyes told him that he was coming to rule Boranthe. That the throne would now be his...

Jimin was sure this man… No. Not a man, this DEMON was not of this world.

It frightened Jimin to his core, especially with the evident death of his people that his vision foretold.

Night after night, Jimin woke screaming. Yoongi came to soothe him, and the priests were called, along with the seers to interpret his dreams.

They all simply stated that it was insecurity in his ability to protect his people. That it was only because of his mother’s passing. They reassured him that he would become the world’s greatest leader and be beloved.

Then… the messengers from the North came.

They brought news of a Northern rebellion led by a formidable Alpha warrior, the likes of which haven’t been seen in their kingdom for over a millennium. One that could threaten their way of life if he chose to strike while they were without a ruler. Omnia Vilanti was sent for, and Jimin was forced to agree to a coronation and mating ceremony within one day of each other.   They would take place very soon. Their armies were sent out to the Northern border, where the war had already begun with three attacks on mining and lumbering towns. TWO Omnias would sit on the throne to protect Boranthe very soon.

Jimin felt ill. He truly hated Vilanti. She was even more bloodthirsty than his mother had been.

*knock knock*

Jimin was shaken from his thoughts by that soft knock. He immediately knew who it was from the tangerine scent coming through the door. “Come in, Yoongi.”

His guardian entered, bringing a large basket of herbs, ceremonial robes, anointing oils, and incense. “Jimin. I’m sorry. I’ve been sent to prepare your body to receive the new power that will be bestowed on you by the Goddess as the new C’Altaeki of Boranthe. Tonight, you will soak in the sacred waters, and come morning, the priests will anoint your body with the Moon Ichor your mother produced on her death bed. You will be crowned by noon, and you will receive yet more power from the Goddess during the ritual.  Vilanti’s company has been spotted on the road a day’s ride from here.”

Jimin’s heart clenched. “Why must they push this so hard? Why must I mate so soon? They expect me to mate with Vilanti the morning after I take the throne... I cannot. I do not like her. She speaks like I am nothing. Like I am not the next C’Altaeki… but more than that, she speaks even of our people as if they were mere chaff. I don’t trust her to lead at my side. A good ruler should love their people and put their needs first. I feel like, in her mind, they are nothing more than colorful puppets decorating her little world of self-absorbed avarice. She only loves herself. I wish I had been able to convince Mother not to declare her as my intended.”

Yoongi looked away, the guilt on his face rocked Jimin to his core. 

The prince sighed. “Yoongi, I do not mean to sound like I hold you responsible for pushing this. I know you’re just doing your duty, as I am being forced to. I’m just… venting. I don’t understand. Vilanti’s mother, Peranti, was even beheaded for treason. Why did she choose her?”

Yoongi shook his head, disapproving the words he was about to speak. “It was because although Vilanti’s mother committed treason, the rest of her family denounced her and swore fealty. They are the strongest bloodline, aside from ours, Jimin. It makes sense to bring the two strongest bloodlines together for the good of Boranthe… but I, too, feel that Vilanti was possibly the worst choice imaginable for you.”

The elder went on,  “Also, do not spare a thought for my feelings, Jimin. You know I would do anything for you, no matter what. Your best interests are my priority. They have been since you were a child, and I was named your personal guardian.”

Jimin sighed and stood, allowing Yoongi to remove his robe and lead him into the bathing chamber where the pool, fed by a hot spring, sat ready.

He held Jimin’s hand as the younger stepped into the enormous stone basin and sat as Yoongi uttered prayers to the Goddess. Then, he poured the contents of a crystal decanter into the bath.

The room was filled with the scent of the forest. It was beautiful and reminded Jimin of his nights beneath the stars when they were camped, traveling between the cities of Boranthe.

Then, Yoongi disrobed and sat beside the young prince, pulling him into his arms.

“You are my comfort, Yoongi. Thank you for always being here for me. I am sorry for whatever comes after tonight… I get the feeling that Vilanti will try something terrible. If she does… I want you to run. She has always hated you.”

Yoongi snarled. “No. You are mine to safe keep. My prince. My family. My responsibility. I will protect you with my life until I know you are forever safe, Jimin. That was the role I was assigned by the Goddess.”

Jimin sighed. “Can you blame me for trying to protect you?”

Yoongi shook his head. “Stop. It is MY job to protect YOU.”

Yoongi kissed his cheek and helped wash his body with careful reverence. Then, when he was clean and dry, Yoongi combed his long, white hair before the ornate vanity mirror.

A small group of maids came to tend to Jimin, as they always did before bed, and they replaced his basket of fresh fruit, cheese, wine, and dried squares of crispy unleavened bread with a fresh one as they did every evening. Jimin often woke starving in the middle of the night. He would sit and eat beneath the stars on his balcony, talking to NyneChel and his ancestors. His maids had even moved a trunk full of soft furs out there because he had fallen asleep in the moonlight so many times.

Yoongi shooed the maids away, feeling greedy about the limited time he had left with his little prince before he would take on the heavy responsibility of that crown.  He hugged him, scented him, and tucked Jimin into his bed.

He started for the door. It was his custom to run a patrol in his wolf form every night, just to make sure all was well in the city, before coming back and curling up on the floor at the foot of Jimin’s bed.

“Wait! Can you lie with me? Just until I fall asleep?”

Yoongi smiled. “Of course.”

He went back to his charge and pushed him gently, making a place for himself in his nest. Then he wrapped the younger in his arms.

As soon as Jimin was delicately snoring, Yoongi slipped from the bed and shifted. He ran through the halls of the palace, nails clicking sharply on the marble floors as he swiftly departed.

He ran through the streets, in his white wolf form. He was enormous, and the few people who were out at this time stopped to stare in awe.  

His heart was pounding in his ears as he made a beeline for one person.

Vilanti.

He would KILL her before he allowed her anywhere near his prince.

Suddenly, there were two figures blocking his path. He felt the sting of a dart in his flank and immediately knew from the abrupt feeling of nausea that he had been poisoned. These men smelled strange, and both were clad in brown and gold robes.

Vilanti’s colors!

Yoongi turned, sprinting for the alley beside him. A swift, light scrape of footsteps followed as he wove through the streets, trying to outrun them. He could not smell them on the wind as he ran, he was not sure he was losing them, but he was insanely fast in this form.

I must get to the gates! The guards will see and have my back! I must get there before I fall to whatever they have poisoned me with, or Jimin will never know what happened!

He leapt over crates and broken, overturned carts in the alleyway, hoping to slow his pursuers. Just as he was about to turn the corner and try another direction, he felt a second sting.

That one took him down fast. As he felt his body grow heavier, he internally cursed himself.

Fucking stupid. I should have just killed them.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jimin was having a nightmare again.

The screams of his people were louder now, and someone was in his bedchamber, ripping him from his nest.

He was dragged in his thin nightclothes through the cold halls and allowed to fall at the foot of his own throne.

He swam up into full consciousness then, tears streaming down his face from the horrid dream… only to find his cheek pressed to the cold marble floor.

It was then he came to the full realization. He was at the foot of his silver throne…

He pushed himself up on his arms, his long white hair falling around his face like silk curtains. Jimin lifted his red-rimmed eyes, and bared his teeth with a growl, fangs elongating in his fury.

He’d fully expected to see the floating, star-bedecked gaze from his nightmares.

Instead, a smirking Alpha stared into his soul.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

✩˚⋆☽✧II✧☾⋆˚✩

✩˚⋆☽✧The Moon's Covenant✧☾⋆˚✩

As their eyes met, Jeongguk quickly lost that smirk…

Goddess… no. Why? Why him?! NyneChel, why did you not give me so much as a WHISPER of warning?! This cannot be my true mate!

Jeongguk was a complete stranger to desire. He was not affected by the pheromones of others. Omegas had thrown themselves at him night and day, begging to pleasure him, but he knew they were drawn only to his power. They did not truly love him, they loved the idea of being with the one who ruled over the Terapah jungle.

Most importantly… and from what Namjoon had said, most surprisingly, his wolf had been uninterested in copulating with just anyone for the sake of continuing the line… it was simply not something he felt called to do. Even his ruts were spent alone, with only Namjoon and Taehyung to bring him water and food, make sure he ate well, and keep everyone else away. His primal did not see them as something he wished to mount, just as a wolf in the wild would not wish to mount a turtle. It was as if they were not even the same species to him, though he knew not why. Thus, he had never partaken in the carnal offerings of his people.

His mother and father had been together from the time they were teens to the time his father and baby sister were killed. They KNEW they were meant for one another from the moment they'd met. His human side had been seeking that same sort of connection for his entire life.

He'd never expected it to be the pup of the demon who destroyed his family.

As for Jimin, he was not doing much better. He had been immediately filled with unfettered rage that blinded him to anything but the situation at hand.

With a reverberating growl, the Omnia jumped to his feet and strode toward the throne… HIS throne, that this would-be usurper was sitting his ass upon.  His protective instincts kicked in as he saw the many Alphas lining the walls restraining his Omega servants.

Growls were emanating from the Alphas, and Jimin’s people looked afraid.

Jimin’s eyes began to glow. Slowly, he lifted his chin. From deep within his chest, he released his Omnia voice. The sound echoed from his lips in powerful waves. It may have only been a whispering hiss, but it had the qualities of a shout as it rolled further and further from the source, like ripples in a pond made of resonant malice.

 (((“Let them GO!”)))

Powerful pheromones smelling of moonflowers poured from him, attempting to force his new enemies to bend to his will.  The Alphas present began to falter, eyes glazing over as they reacted to his demands.

Then, a bellow that shook Jimin’s soul came from his throne. << “Stand strong, he has no power here. You will KEEP YOUR FEET! USE YOUR PLUGS!”>>

Jimin watched in horror as those present obeyed the Alpha. They raised strange contraptions from around their necks that had wax beads which they settled in their ears. There was already a black ring in each nose that seemed to do the same for scent…

Jimin tried again, hissing with a more focused, hypnotic timbre.

(((“Leeeetttt themmmm goooo!!”)))

Nothing happened.

Wrath filled him. His head swung to the Alpha on his throne, and he strode forward. His eyes were bright with undiluted indignation. “I will kill you, Alpha, and every person in your bloodline if you do not leave this place in peace! Every last member of your family will suffer!”

The Alpha was staring deeply into his eyes. It seemed like he was waiting, expecting something, and probing deep into his soul for answers in the process.

Finally, he spoke softly. “No... I don’t think you will. It’s not in you. Even if you could, your mother already did that. She killed my family. All but my own sweet mother… but even she is now insane. She mutters at phantoms daily, blaming herself for leaving my sister behind to play on the shore instead of making her help with the gathering. She talks to her as if she was still at her side, a ghost that follows her around, learning to cook, clean, mend… as if she is forever that child your mother killed so heartlessly. She killed them all that day… my father, sister, and in her mind and heart… my mother.”

Jeongguk stepped even closer as he continued. His body trembled with some strange emotion that was not anger as he spoke. It was more like demanding intensity. A plea for understanding.

 “My father was the head Alpha. He did his best against the beasts your kind used as weapons that day… but he and the warriors present were no match against such enormous creatures.  When my sister ran to his body, she was swiped aside, catching the deadly claws of a Norfrost Polar Bear in her little chest. That is what my mother and I saw as we were about to cross back over the river to our camp. She was about to run into that fray to try to save my sister, but I stopped her. There was no way a child that small would survive such wounds… She was already dead, and my mother would be killed for nothing. I restrained her and carried her away, and she will forever hate me for it. She wanted to die with them, and leave me alone in this world. Perhaps I should have let her… but I am selfish.”

He stepped back then, though he wanted to take the tiny, ethereal man and shake him until he listened. Until he acknowledged the hell the evil C’Altaeki had put him and his mother through… but he kept his head. “Your kind leave nothing behind… Your people burned the bodies.  We had nothing more than ashes to mourn! We could not even perform our burial rituals so their souls would be free to run on the Moon Plains of the Goddess. Because of this… those she didn’t kill…? Those who managed to flee or hide, watching the horror that unfolded from afar…? Well, they are stuck reliving the past every day of their lives, regretting that they could do nothing against such power. You, on the other hand… have had the joy of a happy, pampered life and a warm bed for all of yours...”

Something in his words resounded within Jimin, a stirring of echoes in his memories. It had the flavor of tragedy that he was familiar with.

Part of him wanted to apologize. To beg forgiveness for what his malicious mother did to so many people…

The other part of him, still focused on the whimpering sounds and sour scents of fear and despair coming from his servants, allowed his rage to remain strong.

The things the Alpha had told him he’d suffered… that had not been Jimin’s fault. He had been a victim of the same person. He had suffered living with her. The daily training for pain resistance… the disturbing sights and experiences no child should have to endure…

Such innocence, created by the Goddess, should be allowed to flower in beauty and love, not induced pain and death.

But his pure heart felt a deep, soul-shaking remorse for all his mother had done to this man.

Then, he heard his mother in his head, a residual memory from days past that reminded him that his people came first. “You are being WEAK! You MUST be strong for our people! You WILL do what you must in the name of duty!”

It was like an icy bath, shaking him back to reality. The people, his people in this throne room and anywhere else this bastard had his men… they were in danger. He would protect them. They were innocent of his mother’s tyranny and should not suffer this Alpha’s wrath.

He focused again on trying to steer the man to leave.  Jimin was pouring out so much scent that the Alpha should have been on his knees, passed out from the effects, or begging to do Jimin’s bidding. Begging to do whatever he asked of him just to be allowed to serve…

Instead, he was met only with an expectant, hateful, sorrowful gaze, waiting for a response.

Jimin was stunned. What was this?! No one. Not ANYONE was able to resist his powers. Only an Omnia of equal strength could hope to escape his reach. That was what made his people special. The only beings who were not affected were…

It finally dawned on Jimin. The messengers. The information of the Alpha from the north… a warrior the likes of which had not been seen for over a millennium…

“You… are an Enigma.”

The man scoffed. “Very good, my delicate little Shard of Glass. Yes, I am. My name is Jeongguk. I am the Leader of the Eternal Equinox and the ultimate ruler and protector of ALL clans in the Jungles of Terapah.  You have no power over me. I will be taking your throne…” He stopped, shook his head, and sighed. “And… it seems that I will also be taking your hand…” His eyes trailed over Jimin’s form, clad only in a gossamer-thin nightgown that left little to the imagination. The only thing that kept him from being on full display were sheer, lacy pantalettes underneath. “And that sweet, plump ass of yours very soon. It is the will of the Goddess. You are to be my mate.”

“LIKE HELL I AM!” Jimin’s eyes grew even more vibrant, and the Enigma began to chuckle.

“Gods… you are fucking beautiful. So worthy to hold a drop of the soul of our Moon Goddess… come. Sit on my lap, I want to speak with you and hold you already.”

“Never!”

<<NOW!!>>

The Enigma used his voice, and while it made Jimin’s knees weak, and a drop of slick involuntarily slip from between his cheeks, it was not because of the power of the voice.

Just as Jeongguk was immune to his Omnia powers… he was immune to Jeongguk’s Enigma abilities.

It was like his inner wolf was both viscerally and emotionally affected…

It was as if it recognized something in this Enigma his human side did not.

Mate

NO!

The Enigma again approached him. His eyes were hypnotic, drilling into Jimin’s.

The Omnia’s breath came in sharp gasps as his own wolf fought his human side from within. For the first time, that primal part of his soul was at odds with his human psyche.

The Enigma spoke softly to him, his tone almost loving, though the words held the bitter sting of condescension. “Now, why don’t you just come and sit? Why not just enjoy letting someone else handle all the difficult tasks going forward? Hmm? Relax and be soft and pretty like a good little mate.”

That was NOT the right thing to say to the Omnia prince…

The difference between an Enigma and an Omnia… while BOTH were created by the Moon Goddess… was the purpose of the vessel. 

An Omnia carried the blood of the Goddess within. It was bestowed on them when they presented as such.  Jimin had never truly tapped into that power… not as his mother had.

Now… however…

Jimin closed his eyes.

Jeongguk smiled, taking that as submission. He thought he had won.

Then, just as he was reaching out to pick up Jimin by his tiny waist, his world turned upside down. The small, glorious man made of moonlight moved like lightning.

One moment, Jeongguk was staring at the ethereal entity before him, salivating at the thought of the small, gorgeous body pliant and greedily presenting for him… and the next, Jimin was behind him, attached to his back. His legs were wrapped around the Enigma’s waist, and silver claws gripped him by the throat. Blood dripped down his neck where the needle-sharp little nails were puncturing him. Jimin’s eyes glowed like silver moons as he hissed in his ear, all signs of the stunning blue, gone.

“You will tell your men to release my people, or I will tear the throat from your neck and bathe in your blood, vermin!”

The Omnia was trembling with animosity. He again saw the river of blood in his mind… His people’s bodies floating by… hundreds of innocents slain… this would NOT come to pass. He would not LET it!

His nails sunk deeper into Jeongguk’s neck, his eyes glowing brighter as they shined like the moon. “You bring death with you! I have seen it! The blood of my people shall run like a river, and their lives will be blown away like… like chaff on the wind…”

Something in what he was saying felt suddenly wrong. It was as if his wolf was trying to tell him something.

It was still fighting him, but then, it had wanted the Enigma for a mate. Perhaps it was just more affected by the large, dominant wolf’s power than his Omnia self.

Jimin snarled, answering his wolf’s internal urgings aloud. “I will never mate with someone like you. I can only mate one of my own kind. It is the will of the Goddess.”

The Enigma touched him again. This time, it was more respectful. Just a hand reaching for the one that was clutching his throat. He did not try to remove it; he only caressed it gently. “What is your name, my beautiful, deadly little Shard of Glass?”

Jimin’s eyes had not stopped glowing with malice, though his wolf was rolling over and showing its belly for the man. “How is it that you come here to attack, yet you do not know?! I am Park Jimin, the next C’Altaeki of Boranthe! Soon, I will be mated to Baek Vilanti, and if you wish to survive my wrath, you MUST leave, taking your death with you. You may not truly fear me now, but I promise…  two Omnia at your throat would rip it clean from your body with no issue, Enigma or not.”

He was met with silence as Jeongguk simply turned his head toward the shoulder at which Jimin was speaking over.  Their faces were so close that their breath warmed the same space. Jimin fought the urge to inhale that warmth, feeling it curl over his tongue like a phantom’s kiss.

When Jeongguk didn’t answer right away, Jimin whispered, allowing the heat pulsing from within to color his words with a hint of the confusing desire he was feeling. “Or you can get on your knees before me, swear yourself into my service, and I will let you live.”

Something in that statement made Jeongguk’s cock twitch. The power and confidence of his fated mate was intoxicating. He longed to claim him. He would see him submit and make him emit beautiful sounds as he took him…

“Jimin… Hmm… that’s beautiful. We don’t need all this violence from you… These will soon be my people, too. I will protect them as fiercely as I have the packs within the jungles of Terapah. Besides… the one who you were going to mate plans to kill you after the ceremony. She will rule this kingdom alone and bring more death to your lands than your predecessor ever did. To her, their lives are nothing more than pieces at play on a gaming table. Such great loss means nothing to one whose body and mind harbors a self-serving soul. So long as she gets what she wants in the end, she will use their corpses as stepping stones, destroying all in her desire to dominate the entire continent.”

Jimin quaked at those words. He thought he could feel an other-worldly confirmation of truth from within, but he didn’t know if it was real.

Perhaps it was the Goddess trying to guide him? But Mimms had once said their people had strayed so far from Her teachings, they could no longer hear Her whispers in the temple. He’d secretly told Jimin that those who said they could were charlatans, and he feared they would incur NyneChel’s wrath someday. He thought they would be purged from existence for all they did in the name of keeping the lesser subgenders in their place.

So… maybe it wasn’t the Goddess trying to tell him something, but his wolf.  The part of him that wanted this man as much as he wanted a safe and happy future for the pups he would someday carry…

Jimin wasn’t sure what to do. He was afraid that his first steps as C’Altaeki would be wrong. He had yet to be crowned, but what if he was the ruination of his people already?

He released the Enigma and backed away.

Jeongguk turned and stepped toward him in a predatory prowl. “You will submit. This will come to pass. It is your destiny and responsibility to bring change to your bloodline and lands. Peace and prosperity will be had by your people with me at your back.”

He cupped Jimin’s face, and the glow subsided in the Omnia’s moonlit eyes.

Jeongguk brushed a lock of snow-white hair behind his ear. “Please listen, my lovely little Shard of Glass… I expected to come here, take the throne by force only long enough to ensure the killing ends. However, I wanted to remain to protect you. You… whom the messengers of the Goddess call the ‘Moon of Pure Intention.’ Your survival is necessary for change, Jimin… and the one you expected to mate only wished to use you to get to the throne. She planned to end you as soon as the mating was complete. I did not expect…” He looked down at his own chest, then Jimin’s. He placed one hand over each of their hearts. “…this.”

Something inside Jimin’s chest shifted. He almost heard the goddess affirming the words…

Then a howl in the distance broke the emotional stirrings within him.

Where is my Yoongi? Why is he not back yet from patrol? This is a farce! A trick!

Jimin spun away, hissing, “Where is my personal guard?! What have you done with him?!”

Confused, Jeongguk looked at the two Alphas who had initially dragged Jimin into the throne room. “Joonah? Tae? Was there a guard at his door?”

Both Alphas shook their heads. One with a downy-soft, deep voice and gentle chocolate eyes replied, “No one was with him. I thought it odd, all things considered, but these people have had little to fear from outsiders for a very long time.”

Jimin felt relief wash over him and tears stung his eyes. Yoongi was likely still safe, out patrolling the outer reaches of the city. Maybe even now he was looking for a way to get back to his side after this invasion. Now that he considered, that howl was too high in pitch to be his. It was most likely an actual wolf roaming outside of the city.

He turned to the Enigma, still unsure. “I have no reason to believe any of you… but I want my personal guardian, Yoongi, returned to me safely. I demand time… and proof that you intend only good for my people. The only thing I can honestly say I believe is what you have said of Vilanti. She is, quite possibly, the most bloodthirsty of all Omnia in Boranthe. She would have challenged my mother, had the laws of the Goddess not prevented such.”

Jimin stepped back and then continued. “Find him. Find my Yoongi. Do not allow anyone to hurt him in any unhealable way. Your men would otherwise likely try to kill him on sight. He is… unusual… and would do anything and everything to find his way back to my side.” Jimin allowed the love he felt for his cousin to impassion his words. “Find him, or you will get nothing but a fight from me!”

Jeongguk’s wolf bristled as an all-consuming deluge of jealousy overtook him. Whomever this “Yoongi” was, it was clear the Omnia prince held him close to his heart. On top of the perceived threat of not being allowed to claim what was his, he was not accustomed to being given ultimatums. He was used to being obeyed without question by everyone.

Well… everyone except for his inner circle, Hope, and… the brats.

Jeongguk, in his possessive rage, stepped closer to Jimin again. He didn’t like the distance suddenly between them. His wolf longed to have this unique creature show even a hint of submission, and not only to his words. He wanted him to submit to his heart. To the truth of their destiny. To admit and acknowledge that they were meant to be one. This was the one his soul had been seeking. That wolf in the forest surrounded by turtles was now face to face with a beautiful wolf who shone like the moon.

Yet he fought him.

He sighed, then looked at his two most trusted men. “Take him and lock him in his rooms. Guard him and allow no one entry. We will find this ‘Yoongi’ and bring him back.”

Jimin suddenly clung to Jeongguk. “No. I will come with you! He will not trust any of you, and I would die before I allow someone to harm him.”

Having that slight form clinging to his body caused Jeongguk’s scent to spike with arousal.

In return, Jimin’s involuntarily sweetened as their wolves called to each other, demanding a bond be fulfilled.

Unable to help himself, Jeongguk yanked Jimin into his arms and held him tight against his body. Their breaths mingled as Jimin stared up at the Enigma. Their lips were nearly touching.

The Omnia’s eyes were again emitting a glow, but it held a warmth that was not present before.

The sweet scent of moonflowers emanated from him, filling the lungs of the Enigma, who answered with the rough, rich scent of leather and labdanum.

Both scents were spicy with intense desire. Jeongguk cupped his face, running a rough, calloused thumb over his lower lip. In a passionate, pleading, heartfelt whisper, he spoke from his soul. “Glass… you are truly my little Shard of Glass… so beautiful… so delicate… so broken and yet sharpened to a razor by life’s experience. You catch the light and reflect back to me my own image, my other half… why do you not see it? I feel you in my hands, precious one… and I would do anything not to shatter you further, yet all you do is cut me with your defiance and anger. All my wolf longs to do is love and protect you. Your edges are sharp, my love.”

Jimin leaned closer, allowing their lips to brush as he spoke. “I am not a shard of glass… I am a shard of NyneChel, the moon who rules the sky and stars of Boranthe.”

Jeongguk growled with hunger, feeling their breaths mingle. His heart sped and swelled. He spoke with a raspy, emotional intensity that gently revealed the silent storm raging within. “Fine… you are not a Shard of Glass… you are a Shard of Moon. My own, precious little Shard of Moon… Let me in… Please.”

Jimin pressed the softest, teasing, whisper of a kiss to that handsome, bewitching cupid’s bow for only an instant but held the Enigma’s head still as he pulled back and spoke. “Bring me my guard… ensure his safety. Prove you only wish to protect my people… and I will be yours.”

Jeongguk snatched him by his hair, making the gorgeous man whimper as he claimed his lips in a powerfully intoxicating kiss.

As he possessively plundered the softness of Jimin’s mouth with his tongue, sliding it roughly over the velvet within, he felt the beauty relax in his arms.

It all felt so right.

He slipped a rough, large hand beneath his angel’s thin nightgown.  He caressed the silken skin beneath, pulling a moan from the small form.  He felt the delicate man tremble, and his skin grew heated as the kiss intensified. Jimin was returning the passion he was given, seeking the flavor of him just as eagerly.

The Enigma’s hand slid lower down his back until he was cupping the generous swell of Jimin’s ass. He squeezed it hard, unable to help himself.

 Jimin whimpered and gasped, rutting his hard cock against him in response.

Jeongguk caught the sweet, intoxicating scent of Jimin’s slick as it dripped down the Omnia’s thighs, and his nostrils flared. His wolf became ravenous, mouth-watering as it demanded he take him now. He felt an indescribably powerful, all-consuming NEED to claim him before another could take his true mate away.

Jeongguk slipped a hand into his soft, lacy pantalettes. He felt the delicious wetness between those glorious globes as he gently dared to touch Jimin’s greedily clenching rim.

There was a sudden explosion in his ears, and his lovely siren was across the room, clinging to the wall ten feet above the throne like a strange, ethereally beautiful demon. His long snow-white hair hung around his delicate, blushing face. The many folds of his sheer gown hung loosely from his body, reminding Jeongguk of the broken wings of an angel. He looked wrecked, furious, and confused as he hissed, “You will not have me until my demands are met! I must have PROOF of your intentions!”

Jeongguk growled and brought his slick soaked fingers to his face. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. When he opened them, his eyes were bright gold. He put those fingers into his mouth, slowly sucking them clean as his chest rumbled and his eyes bored into the Omnia. His cock was raging in his pants.

“Come down…”

“No.”

<<NOW JIMIN!>>

Jimin’s servants all whimpered as they fell to their knees at the sound of that powerful voice, baring their necks in submission.

(((NO JEONGGUK!))) Jimin hissed in return, mocking him by using his voice for no other reason than to defy him.

“AAARRRG!!!” The Enigma roared in frustration, kicking the throne and turning with bright gold eyes to stare at all present.

Every last one of his Alphas were smirking at him knowingly. The scents in the room had shifted from fear however… the room was now full of arousal.

What? Oh… Of course!

The pheromones of an Omnia were said to be a powerful aphrodisiac, and were rumored to increase fertility in those around them. It raised the probability of conception for all subgenders, but was especially useful for two Omegas mating. For an Omega couple, if one was not male, it was absolutely necessary to be in the room with an Omnia assisting in order to conceive.  He’d heard of the orgies the Omnias of Boranthe hosted, having sex with their mates, consorts, or concubines while the Omegas wishing to breed copulated with one another in the same room to increase the probability of conception.

His cock twitched again, though not at the thought of the orgies. The mere thought of anyone else seeing Jimin in all of his glory made him furious, but the thought of taking his mate… perhaps behind a screen where none but he could see that treasure in the flesh...?

He could live with that… as long as no one touched or saw what was his.

He blushed and turned back to Jimin, where he was still clinging to the wall like an angelic moth made of snowy lace.

His heart was pounding with a mini battle of amusement and the powerful need to make the beautiful Omnia submit. His frustration and dominance won that gentle war, and he let out a shout.

“YOU ARE SUCH A BRAT! I CAN’T WAIT TO SPANK THAT GORGEOUS ASS OF YOURS FOR THIS!”

Jimin smirked. “You have to catch me first.”

Then, to the amazement of all present, his eyes flashed so bright it blinded them.

When Jeongguk’s vision cleared, it was just in time to see the elegant train of Jimin’s gossamer gown dragging across the edge of the arch that led back toward the prince’s bedchamber.

The scent of slick called to him in its wake.

 His little Shard of Moon wanted him just as badly, it seemed.

He began to follow the scent… hadn’t he all but asked to be chased???

If his mate wanted a chase… a chase is what he would get.

He stalked to the arch and turned back to his men. They were removing their earplugs now that the Omnia was gone. “Go and gather intel. See what these ones will tell you about the guard he spoke of. They have already heard their prince wants him found. They will cooperate.”

He strode from the room then, following the glorious scent.

It smelled like the future… and his mouth watered for it.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jimin closed the door to his room and ran to his nest. He threw himself in the center of it and began to deeply inhale the familiar scents. He was trying to purge his mind of the addictive pheromones of the Enigma… but he couldn’t.

He was reprehensibly wet… He quickly turned over and removed his thin silk pantalettes. With a sigh of self-disgust, he threw them onto the floor with a splat.

His cock was so achingly hard. He palmed himself to chase release after being so close to the powerful Enigma.

His cock was sticking straight up like a pale pink, fleshy velvet arrow… he needed to cum badly.

He opened the front of his nightgown and started touching his shell-pink nipples, pinching and rolling them between his fingers.  He clenched and unclenched his thighs, then gripped his shaft with one delicate hand and started to stroke himself.   

He moaned softly, a purr starting in his chest.

He tried in vain not to think about someone in particular…

When he had touched himself before, it was almost always with faceless people in mind. Just attractive bodies, though a time or two, he had asked his servants to procure for him some naughty books to read while he pleasured himself.

He couldn’t help it, though… that stupid Enigma! Coming into his life and flipping it upside down so fast! He shouldn’t want him like this!

He shouldn’t want those large arms around him… his warm, golden skin in such deep contrast to his own… hands calloused from living life in the Jungles of Terapah. He could imagine him running, climbing… muscles bunching as he moved with the grace of a lion… sweating while he tasted his skin under the moonlight… making love to him on the cool, damp soil under a canopy of green…

Jimin was going insane. His head thrashed from side to side as he fought his own desires.

He tried to turn that gorgeous figure in his mind into someone else pleasuring him… though he had never gotten to experience such. He pictured Harban. A tall, strong, lithe Omnia from one of the other bloodlines… his first crush. He had asked his mother to consider him when seeking a mate for Jimin… but she deemed him too gentle. Too kind.

Jimin now pulled up his face in his mind. He had done this once before while pleasuring himself… He could do it again!

He began to go soft, his wolf disgusted with the thought of anyone else now that he had met his…

No! No! He isn’t!

But he is…

He whimpered, eyes tearing up. What a cruel joke of the Goddess… making his true mate not ONLY unacceptable by his bloodline’s traditions… but an Enigma. Someone he would never be able to influence should he need to protect Boranthe from him. Someone who had purposefully fooled his court with lies about an attack coming from the North while he infiltrated from the South.

That small, lovely voice, one he had always thought of as his conscience spoke in his mind again.

He is wise. Clever. And with those lies, Boranthe was his for the culling. He could have killed hundreds… have you heard anything of the sort?

He hadn’t.

He’d said Jimin’s people would be his people, too… would the Goddess drop his true mate into his lap without purpose?

He was taught there were no accidents. Mimms believed that strongly.

The visage of the man who had called so powerfully to his wolf appeared again in his mind.  He was beautiful in a way that he had only seen when he was a child, stumbling on the battlefield. The golden skin of those who did not come from Boranthe… it was always so beautiful to him. His own was moon-pale. Boring, like an unpainted canvas. He had admired the darker beauty of those people. He often thought of them as “The people of the Sun.”

Jeongguk was of those people…

The thought of the man had Jimin whining into his furs, he turned over and began rubbing himself onto a mound of them, his slick coating everything.

His stubby fingers poked into his hole as he moaned in frustration.

“Too short. Too short to reach! Need more! I need HIM!”

No… he had to wait. He would absolutely NOT just give in because his body was craving a knot. He could get that anywhere now that he was of age. He needed to be positive that mating with someone like Jeongguk was what would be best for his people.

Maybe just a taste…

I want him.

Why? Why am I so unbearably starving for him? I may as well be in heat!

You know why.

He cried out in misery.

Suddenly, he was wrapped in warmth and the scent of labdanum. Before he could make a sound, lips were pressed to his own.

Jimin clutched the dark, silky locks of the Enigma as he surrendered to destiny. He whimpered between kisses, “You’re here… I don’t want you here. You are in my nest… That’s so rude!” Jimin ripped the Enigma’s face away to stare up into his eyes angrily. “You NEVER enter someone’s nest without permission!” Then he yanked the Enigma roughly back to his face in a demanding kiss.             

Jeongguk bit his lower lip hungrily, pulling back until the plump softness sprung free, returning to the pretty, angry pout of its owner. “Should I leave then?”

“If you leave right now, I’ll kill you.” Jimin snarled, eyes glowing silver.

They kissed again, growling and touching one another hungrily. Jeongguk sucked on his scent gland while Jimin rutted up into him, rolling his hips, seeking friction against his sensitive hole and cock. “I want you. I want you, and I shouldn’t!”

“You want me because you know it’s right. I’m your mate, Jimin, and you’re mine. We were made for one another alone. Meant for no one else! Only each other!” He kissed him again, drinking him in as Jimin reached into Jeongguk’s trousers and touched his cock. He wrapped his hand halfway around that delicious girth, his fingers being too short to fully encircle the meaty thickness.

 He was lost in it all. Feeling the hot, heavy weight of velvet over steel in his palm and the scorching, sticky wetness as the head leaked over the skin of his wrist and forearm. His hole clenched, and his own cock spilled a long stream of precum onto the space just below his navel.

Jimin moaned, tears springing to his eyes in eager anticipation. It was as if his soul was reaching the victorious end of a journey it had never known it was on.

Suddenly his hands were ripped away and pinned above his head. Jeongguk’s scent was overwhelmingly potent, rich, and full of unbearably powerful want. Yet, his words countered those truths.

“No. Not yet, mate. Not until I prove to you all that I plan to give, to protect you AND your people. You asked this of me, did you not? Now you must wait.” The Enigma wore a mocking little smirk.

Jimin snarled and pulled, trying to rip his hands free. “You will give me your knot! I want it! It’s mine!”

Jeongguk chuckled. “Yes, it belongs only to you, my perfect little Shard of Moon... Only you, but not until I bring you the courting gift you deserve… The corpses of those who wanted to bring you harm. I will deliver to you the head of the serpent who would swallow you whole and extinguish your benevolent light… I want to do this right. You have had enough taken from you in this life.”

Jimin stilled. “How would you know? How do you know what I’ve been through?” He pulled back a bit, confusion writ across his features.

Jeongguk continued touching him gently. “I don’t know if you would believe me.”

Jimin demanded, “Tell me!”

Jeongguk kissed him softly, then spoke,  “A messenger of the Goddess and his people have been communicating with me for many years now. He told me much about you, but not everything.” He growled. “Honestly, sometimes it was infuriating how little he told me.”

Jimin shook his head, “You can’t know! No one outside of the palace could know!” His eyes  filled with tears. The overwhelming feelings he was experiencing because of this strange bond, the panic from everything changing so fast, the fear of losing Yoongi, the fear for his people and doing the wrong thing… it was all catching up to him. He was breathing fast, starting to cry.

“Shhh, shhh… It’s okay. Don’t worry, love. I’ll make everything right. I know you feel it inside. I know you feel the bond in here,” He tapped his chest, “like an unfinished story, longing to be complete.  We were meant to be. And even if it takes five years for you to accept me, I will do everything that I can to-“

Jimin roared and ripped his hands free as he bucked his hips. He flipped Jeongguk onto his back, only able to do so as the powerful Enigma had not been expecting it.

He had a hand around his throat again, eyes glowing brighter. Then he whined, tears rushing down his cheeks. His voice broke, though it came out in a shout, “YOU WILL NOT MAKE ME WAIT FIVE YEARS! I WANT YOU NOW!”

Jeongguk laughed, hands held up in surrender, but then his face grew serious. “You will allow me to court you properly, mate. But first…” Without warning, Jeongguk yanked Jimin down onto his chest, reached back, and with a firm kiss pressed to his forehead, he inhaled his scent and gently, slowly began circling his rim with a finger.

Jimin keened, “Ah! MMmf! P-Please! Want you inside! Please! Don’t make me wait!”

Jeongguk wanted nothing more than to be inside the glorious warmth of his soon-to-be mate… but he had always done things his own way. With maddening care, he slowly pressed a finger into the slippery wet heat of that tight ring of muscle.

Jeongguk growled. His wolf was ripping at him from the inside, demanding they give their mate what he wanted. “Mine… my mate… I will make you cum harder than you ever have with anyone else in this life. Then, I will go and do all I have promised. I will come back to you soon. We will bond ourselves in ceremony before your court and the Moon Goddess. Then, and only then, will I take and mate you properly.”

The fuck you will.  

Jimin was completely done waiting... He’d waited to feel whole his entire life. Being with Jeongguk was RIGHT. THIS was right… it was how it SHOULD be.

He went limp in Jeongguk’s arms to mimic complete surrender. The pleasure helped him make the farce believable, as his scent was completely ‘in the moment.’ It matched the mood for this foreplay that Jeongguk was convinced would end with a few thick fingers inside his channel.

Jeongguk rumbled happily, “Yes, yes, my little Shard of Moon… just let me make you feel good.” He relaxed his hold, focusing on giving Jimin pleasure.

Fast as lightning, Jimin was off the bed and across the room, a sinister smile on his face as he crouched, ready to fight.

Jeongguk looked devastated as he realized Jimin was no longer in his arms. It happened so fast.

Once he was over the shock, anger tore through him. “You are playing with me! I thought you wanted me as much as I want you!” He stood, prowling again toward the Omnia.

Jimin chuckled. “Oh… I want you. I want you, and I WILL have you. None of this weak ‘let me court you proper’ bullshit! You will give me your knot tonight!”

In absolute, complete, and mind-burning shock, Jeongguk blinked. After a moment, he chuckled.  “Very well… a fight it will be. If you think you can MAKE me skip the courting, you have another-“

Another blinding light, the sound of ripping, and what felt like a wall of air knocked him nearly from his feet.

Flabbergasted, he turned to see his Omnia holding a large swatch of material in his hands.

He then noticed a nice breeze was cooling his balls….

Eyes bugging out of his head, he looked down and saw that the front of his breeches were ripped. His hard, heavy, thick cock, balls and part of his right leg were completely exposed.

“Fucking dammit. Why is it always my favorite pants?” He chuffed, then turned, tongue poking in his cheek as he took a deep breath. “Can we talk about thi-“

Another gust of wind, more ripping, and this time, it was the fur tunic he’d been wearing.

Jimin’s laughter echoed in his ears.

A playful warmth filled his chest. He crouched, now clad only in tatters, with his aching member swaying heavily as it jutted out between his legs. “My mate wants to play? You naughty thing… very well… let’s play!” He lunged.

Jimin giggled and dashed away before Jeongguk could get anywhere near him. 

The Enigma growled, “Fuck! This is so unfair. I don’t have what you do. I don’t have the blood of a goddess coursing through my veins.” He was smiling, though his words were meant to sound petulant.

The look on Jimin’s face was heart-shattering in its beauty. His cheeks were flushed with emotion. His chest was heaving, and the smile he wore made his eyes squinty little crescents. Although his gaze was glowing with moonlight, it had subsided enough to see his gorgeous blue irises through those precious slits.

“I’m taking what’s mine, Enigma. Whether you like it or not. You came here into MY castle, on MY land, to take MY authority from me… yet, before this is done, I will have full dominion over every inch of your body. As long as my people are safe, well cared for… I am doing what is right. In here… in my room… in my nest, however, I MAKE THE RULES!”  

Jeongguk was knocked to the floor, and the breath left him in a whoosh. He felt a sharp tug as the rest of his pants were ripped away, then Jimin was gone, across the room with the scraps.

“REALLY?! Now I can’t even repair them!” He was laughing as he spoke. He couldn’t help it. His wolf was VASTLY enjoying the fire of his mate.

“GOOD! YOU’LL NEVER NEED THEM AGAIN ANYWAY!” Jimin shouted back. “YOU’LL JUST STAY IN MY NEST, NAKED AND HARD SO I CAN USE YOUR COCK FOR MY PLEASURE DAY AND NIGHT!”

His heavy cock throbbed painfully at those words. The thought of being at the mercy of this young beauty, insatiable with lust, was more than welcome. Being used by him over and over…

But he wanted it the right way. He wanted them to belong to each other officially.

Jeongguk ran at him again, faster this time. He allowed his wolf to take over the chase.

It was thrilling for Jimin. His enormous bedchamber, once so echoing and lonely… it was now a playground.

They ran at each other, each trying to catch the other and gain the upper hand.  Every time they clashed and fell, each would try to roll and be the one on top.

Being the stronger and heavier of the two, Jeongguk was victorious every time. When he would catch Jimin, he would once again plunge his fingers in deep, and Jimin would enjoy it for a while, then dash away again, growling and snarling about wanting better than fingers.

Jeongguk had never expected to be met with such a beautiful experience when he had begun the journey here. He was so grateful now.

He decided to give his precious one exactly what he wanted… but only if…

Jeongguk allowed himself to be pinned finally, feigning fatigue, which caused his cute little mate’s scent to spike with pride and joy. Purring with satisfaction, Jimin had his wrists pressed above his head to the cold marble floor. “Got you! Do you yield?!”

He smiled softly up at Jimin, who sat atop him wearing a sinister smile, sharp fangs fully extended, and eyes glowing softly.  “Jimin… mate… my precious little Shard of Moon… am I not worth waiting for? Is my love not worth such a small cost as time? A few days?”

Jimin lost his smile, shame replacing the playfully victorious expression immediately. “I… I was… I didn’t think you were serious about making me wait. I thought you were just teasing me. If… If you truly do not wish to… No. I would never force you.”

Looking completely hurt and feeling rejected, he started to rise, but Jeongguk yanked him back down, putting his arms around him and keeping him right where he had been straddling him. Then, he gently placed his hand on the back of his neck and pulled him into a bone-melting kiss.

Jimin whimpered, and Jeongguk tasted the salt of tears in that kiss. He let his scent burn with all the desire and yearning he felt for him.

For both, time meant nothing. Their wolves were two halves of one whole. While their bodies might be strangers, the spirits within were not.

It was as if they had walked through many lifetimes together, having to find one another again in each one. This was just another reunion of two souls, desperately loving their other half. They were unable to understand why they felt such love for someone they did not know in this life, so they were giving in to the unexplainable feelings with trust and acceptance that the Goddess would guide them.

They kissed and whined and touched with worshipful caresses. Jeongguk licked up the center of Jimin’s chest, nipping at the skin until he found his scent gland. He bit it softly, not breaking the skin.

Jimin moaned and rolled his hips atop him. “Please. I…. I will wait but I don’t want to.”

Jeongguk smiled. “You don’t have to wait. My wolf was furious with me for trying to postpone it anyway.”

With a little whine, Jimin crashed his lips back down onto his as he slid his slippery crack along the huge cock pressed to Jeongguk’s belly. He moved back and forth along that length, making Jeongguk moan.

The Enigma wanted to reach between them and hold up his cock for Jimin to sink down on.

Jimin already looked completely blissed out. His lips were swollen from their kisses, and the pupils of his half-lidded eyes were blown wide.

He looked glorious, cloaked in the pure white of his silky hair.

Jeongguk pushed the gossamer gown from his shoulders and tossed it aside. He ran his rough hands over Jimin’s skin with a soft rumble coming from his chest.

Jimin buried his face in his neck and arched his hips, instinctively maneuvering himself without his hands until the head of Jeongguk’s cock was sitting right at his entrance.

As if he had done it a million times before, he pressed down and back, catching the tip and crying out as it put pressure on his rim.

“Easy, easy, my precious one. Slow. You have never been with someone like me. I know your kind are not… as large.  Your previous lovers cannot have-“

“No one.” He gasped and pressed his hips down harder, forcing the head of Jeongguk’s cock to breach that tight ring of muscle.

They moaned in unison, and Jimin’s eyes watered at the sting.

“No one? Not even during your-“

“Never!”

Jeongguk groaned as Jimin whimpered in pain. “Stop, love. Let me prep you more. You didn’t even let me.”

“NO!” He slid his hips down with a victorious cry as it filled him. There was a bulge in his belly where the head of Jeongguk’s enormous cock was. “Was I not made for this?! My body is ready!” But tears of discomfort at the lack of preparation on his own part did course down his cheeks.

Jeongguk sucked in a groan and shut his eyes tight as they rolled back in his head. Jimin’s hot, wet velvety walls clung to his cock too tightly, practically strangling his shaft in the best way. “Fuck… yes, yes, love. You were made for this. Perfection created by the hand of a Goddess… but please love, be still. Let the pain ebb for a moment, then the pleasure will have you.”

Jimin sniffled and growled, “Don’t tell me what to do!” But when he tried to move, Jeongguk held him still and shushed him lovingly.

He praised his beautiful eyes, face, hair and body as he worshipped him with his hands and words. He kept a hold on his hip as he ran the other up the center of his chest, caressing the soft, satin skin with the calloused roughness of hands made for living in the wild. Jimin closed his eyes with a whimper, and opened his lips when that hand probed at his mouth. He sucked the fingers presented to him as he started to rock his hips, staring down at Jeongguk in triumph.

Jeongguk smiled back and stilled his hips again when Jimin flinched. Then, when the Omnia started to fuss, he guided Jimin’s hips in slow circles. “I can’t believe you’re real”

Jimin, eager to make sure this prize was not denied him again, lifted himself up and impaled himself back down with a wet slap, his flesh rippling on impact. He did it again and again, taking full control of their lovemaking with a hand around Jeongguk’s throat. “Going to give me what I need. Going to give me everything you have. Every drop. Going to knot me tonight. Want it all.”

Jeongguk chuckled. “Jimin, you may not know this… but our kind can only knot during rut. I’m sorry, love- AH!” He hissed in pleasure as Jimin let go of his throat and leaned back. He had placed a hand on each of Jeongguk’s thighs behind him and planted his feet. He was fucking himself on Jeongguk’s cock with a deliriously blissed out expression. His mouth was hanging open as he panted. He was moving up and down faster and faster, now circling his hips. He was making the Enigma completely weak as his eyes took in the gorgeous sight of Jimin’s hole stretched around the enormous slick-shiny girth of him.

Jimin’s cock was bright pink now, shiny and engorged. Thick strings of precum were hanging from it, pooling onto Jeonguk’s belly while the wet sounds of a rock-hard cock being worked in and out of a sloppy, eager hole reverberated in the cavernous room.  The slapping of Jimin’s drenched ass cheeks hitting his pelvis was like the strongest aphrodisiac. The constant echoes that sounded like someone stirring a bowl of jellied fruit were music to his ears.

Their bodies were coated in slick where they met at the hips. Slowly, as Jimin worked himself into a desperate frenzy on the Enigma’s cock, Jeongguk brought a hand to Jimin’s aching shaft and began to stroke it for him.

Jimin cried out, his eyes filling with light again, illuminating the darkness as he threw back his head. “Ah! AH! Yes! Please!!! Please, you must- I’m going to- Goddess! MMMfh!!”

Jeongguk added to the wet sounds in the room as he stroked his beautiful mate. Jimin whimpered and cried out loudly, his orgasm hitting him like a war beast. His seed hit his own chin and dripped down his chest, but his eyes glowed brighter as he continued moving his hips. He looked down at Jeongguk, who was staring up at him in wrecked awe.

“You are so fucking beautiful, my little Shard of Moon.” He reached up and cupped Jimin’s face. Jimin held his arm there with both hands as he doubled his efforts, moving his hips faster and faster, showing no signs of overstimulation.

Jeongguk’s eyes widened as he felt a strange tightening around the base of his cock. It was like two thick, insanely strong fingers were fully encircling it. That ring of flesh was pulsating as it grew tighter and tighter. It was almost like the vibratic muscles that formed a cat’s purr, pleasuring him as it strangled his cock. It was eventually so tight Jimin could not slide up and down any longer and was only rocking his hips against him.

“What?! What the… Jimin! What is it?! What’s happening?!” He tried to push Jimin off of him, but his cock tugged uncomfortably with that attempt, and Jimin gnashed his teeth at him in a primal response. It was like Jeongguk had knotted, but one had not formed. Jimin’s claws sunk into his arm as he shushed him.

“Shhh… it’s okay. You are mine… I’ve locked you in, that’s all…  you will give me your knot now, love.” He sucked Jeongguk’s fingers back into his mouth and darted his tongue between the digits as he stared down at him with a demanding gleam in his beautiful eyes.

Jeongguk felt both fear and soul-stealing desire as those eyes bored into him.  

The strange sensation of the ring around the base of his cock began to undulate in an anomalous, mind-meltingly, pleasurable way. It was as if it was milking him. The pheromones in the room shifted again, and Jeongguk felt his cock grow even harder.

He whimpered when he felt the base of his cock swelling as his knot formed outside of his control. The pleasure he was receiving was beyond anything he had ever felt before. It was like his entire body, his every nerve was at attention, waiting for the next touch, lick, kiss…

It was almost as if he was having an out-of-body experience, the pleasure was so intensely overwhelming.

As his knot fully formed, Jeongguk felt the white heat of ecstasy focusing on the head of his cock. It coiled there, that powerful orgasm building.

“Ji- Jimin! I’m… I’m going to- Ngh!”  He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t think enough to even try to finish his sentence as Jimin just continued rocking his hips, and that crazy ring of flesh continued to create magic as it held him in a primal, possessive lock. It relaxed once the knot was in place, which seemed to release a floodgate of sensations throughout Jeongguk’s, deliciously, painlessly tortured cock.

Jimin smirked, his wolf very excited for what was about to happen to them. “Fill me up, mate. Fill me up. Breed me! Your cock, knot, seed, and soul are mine forever!”

Jeongguk’s vision went white, and he roared as that coil exploded. His entire body shuddered as his cock erupted, filling Jimin with wave after wave of his hot seed.

Jimin’s channel tightened around that knot, milking it in a way Jeongguk had not thought possible in all of his rut induced imaginings of what his first time would be like.

Jimin whimpered, his body shaking with newfound feelings. The wolf in him was pleased, but demanded a completion of the mating bond.

Jimin cried out as he fell forward onto his mate, and he started to suck greedily on Jeongguk’s scent gland, ready to take that bite.

Yet… a powerful wave of emotion rolled over him, overwhelming him so much that he wept into his neck instead of stealing that moment for himself.

Jeongguk wrapped his arms around him, holding him close, then he framed his face with both hands, and they kissed each other with an emotional desperation that neither could fully understand.

The urge for Jeongguk to tell him he loved him was beyond comprehension.

It was the same for Jimin, but neither did it because how could they possibly know love for the other when they had just met? It defied logic, and yet the bond was there, demanding it, along with the completion they would not have until the mating ceremony.

The one they were both now determined would take place.

Soon…

There were no words needed, however, as they kissed and held onto one another there in the darkness.

Lightning flashed across the sky, and there was a rumble in the distance.

It was then they realized that a storm system was moving in, and they turned their faces toward the open balcony, cuddling there on the floor, still joined.

Jimin fell asleep first, completely content, as Jeongguk whispered his promise to protect him always. They slept in each other’s arms to the sounds of thunder and rain.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jeongguk was startled awake by a whimpering, warm, silky body atop his own. He looked down and saw that Jimin was still asleep. His cock had just slipped out of his hole, and the Omnia was none too pleased, even in his dreams.

The enigma chuckled and gathered him close.  As he did so, a belly rumbled, and it was not his own. 

He began stroking Jimin’s face lovingly, then kissed his pretty, button nose. “My hungry little kitten. Wake for me, love. You need to eat.”

Jimin grumbled and stirred. Then he whimpered as his eyes fluttered open.

He turned big, sorrowful, blue eyes toward Jeongguk.

They stared at one another for a long moment before the Enigma finally broke the silence.  With a sigh and a smile, he spoke. “Don’t look at me like that. Why are you looking at me like I have licked all the frosting from your nameday cake? What have I done to make you so sad, my love?”

Jimin’s lower lip trembled, and Jeongguk began to worry. Did he regret it? Was he having second thoughts? He had been so sure the night before… was he now going to take it all back and try to make Jeongguk leave his side?

Panic was about to set in, when Jimin finally spoke. “You left me.”

“I… beg pardon?”

“You left me.”

Jeongguk laughed softly and caressed the messy, silky strands out of his Omnia’s angelic face. “I assure you, precious… I have not moved an inch away from you. Our bodies have been pressed together since-“

“You are not inside me anymore. Don’t you want me? You left.” Jimin’s lower lip was fully shaking now, and his eyes were welling with tears. “Don’t you want to fill me with pups? Am I not pretty enough?”

What in NyneChel?...

Jeongguk cupped his face in both hands, and he watched as Jimin’s eyes flashed bright silver. His mate snarled, then whimpered as tears fell down his cheeks.

Oh… OH!... His wolf… of course. He is young and confused since he has just been bedded for the first time, and I have not yet marked him… He is probably feeling rejected, as Jimin’s human psyche is likely still half asleep.

He kissed his lips. “You… are the prettiest, strongest, smartest, and most worthy wolf in the entire world. I'm going to get you the best courting gift ever, and then I am going to pledge my devotion to you in a mating ceremony and mark you so that you will be mine forever. I want to put so many pups in your belly through the years that you will eventually want to tie my dick in a great big knot, just like your bootlaces, so that I will stop pupping you. I’m going to fuck you again, love, soon. My worthy little mate… but first, you must eat. Your belly is rumbling, and what kind of mate would I be if I allowed my precious one to starve?”

This not only seemed to calm the Omnia, but he preened at the praise and nudged under his chin, seeking his scent.

Jeongguk bared his neck to him, and Jimin latched onto his scent gland like it was his last meal. He suckled it until Jeongguk was so hard that he wasn’t sure his legs would work. Then he moved to the other side of his neck.

With shaking hands, the Enigma stopped him and tried to push him back, but Jimin whined and gnashed his teeth. “Mine!”

Jeongguk laughed, “You really love using that word, don’t you? You’ve said it a few times now. Yes…. Yours, but only if you’re good. You want to be good for me, don’t you?”

A whine left Jimin’s throat, and he nodded with great big puppy-dog eyes.

The Enigma pressed on. “And you’ll let me feed you?”

Jimin looked away, clearly annoyed that their mating would have to wait for something as commonplace as food. 

Jeongguk kissed his nose and caressed his cheek. "My pretty, my precious. Please let me feed you? Let me take such good care of you that you will be so proud to call me mate."

Those large eyes went soft with love and Jeongukk's heart danced in his chest. After that, Jimin was given no choice as Jeongguk stood and lifted him in his arms. He followed his nose to the basket beside the vanity, filled with fruits, cheeses, wine, and more. 

He sat on the ornate silver stool in front of the vanity and pulled a few strawberries from the basket. He held one to Jimin’s lips.

Jimin was blearily staring at him as if he wasn’t quite sure if he was real, or a dream. His eyelids were growing droopy again. “Ah, ah… baby, eat for me, please. You’ll need your energy for more play, right?”

The Omnia sighed and opened his mouth like a baby bird, and Jeongguk stuffed the berry in. As Jimin chewed, Jeongguk put a tiny circle of cheese onto a little square of crispy flatbread and sent that after the strawberry into his mate’s belly.

He continued this for a while, giving Jimin’s plump, pouty lips kisses as a reward between bites until his mate began to fall asleep again.

Jeongguk held him against his chest as he fed himself what was left in the basket, then carried his love back to their place on the floor.  He knew he should probably at least lay on the chaise… but he didn’t want to dirty anything that could not be easily wiped clean, like the silver stool. They were still a bit of a slick, and cum soaked mess…

Plus… he didn’t want Jimin to wake up alarmed by finding them in a new location and wondering why he didn’t remember it. He wasn't sure how in tune Jimin and his wolf were with one another or if there had ever been a time before when his wolf fully took control like this. He doubted it. It was sort of extreme, caused by either strong emotion or if their lives were in danger. 

He lay one last kiss on Jimin’s slumbering lips, then sat, getting them back into position with Jimin lying atop his chest.

He stroked his hair until he, too, fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

✩˚⋆☽✧III✧☾⋆˚✩

✩˚⋆☽✧Ripples of the Past✧☾⋆˚✩

When Jimin woke, he felt himself rising and falling atop a meaty, vibrating chest.

He smiled softly. The sliver of Moon Goddess within, along with his wolf, vibrated with joy.

It set his soul at ease… this was right!

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard his mother as she had been, long before death. Her voice was sharp with hatred, telling him that he was already the downfall of their kind.

Whatever. He was happy for once, and she was dead.

He would have this for himself and leave the past behind him.

He slowly stood and limped into the bathing chamber. He gingerly stepped into the steaming waters and washed away the dried, sticky remnants of their lovemaking. As he ran the plain, wet cloth over his gloriously bruised skin, he went over the events from the night before. The memories gave him a sense of victorious elation swelling in his heart. 

Never in his life had he ever expected to mate outside of his bloodline. He had dreaded the thought of being forced into a loveless bond simply for the act of continuing the line. He had never dared to dream things could change. Never hoped for more. He’d felt selfish for even wanting love from his future mate… but that was the poison his mother had tainted Boranthe with.

He wanted change.

He wanted others to find love and joy. To find peace with those whom they would share their life with. It seemed to be a Goddess-given right. Who was he to tell people who they could, and could not, love? What about fated mates? Destiny? Surely, he was not the only one who, all this time, had a mate outside the boundaries of Boranthe. He wanted to help people find their fated ones.

Perhaps there was a way?

Sadly, theirs was a culture of small-minded hatred, bred and beaten into them from family to family. He was not sure how some of those families, like those of Kim Harban and his brother Kim Seokjin, had managed to raise such gentle, loving pups. Perhaps some, like himself, had longed for a different way of life. He could only hope so, for he would need their support in the coming days if the plan he was now hatching was to come to fruition.

When his bath was through, he dried himself and took a strip of linen from the basket beside the pool, wetting it with warm water to clean his lover.

He first went to his nest and pulled one of his best furs free, then dragged it over to Jeongguk. Using that wet linen, he cleaned him well. He was pumping out calming pheromones, but he was unsure if these would have any effect. It was strange. Between two Omnia, only the stronger could affect the weaker with voice or scent, but that was when speaking of the attempt to dominate and control another. Simple things like calming pheromones could still be used, but it was to a weaker effect.  When two unmated Omnias clashed, and one was mated to an Omnia stronger than their opponent, they drew power from their bond. They could tap into that power and use it to resist submission. Perhaps all of these things applied to an Omnia/Enigma pairing too?

He made a mental note to ask Mimms at some point. The old man seemed to know everything there was to know about their kind and the history of it. He didn’t think even for a second that Enigmas had somehow escaped his study.

When he was done cleaning Jeongguk. He left a trail of hungry, growly little kisses across his chest. He wanted desperately to make love to him again. To get that fat knot back inside him.

He started to leak with want, but he forced the desire down. There was so much to do, and he still had to check on his people.

 He covered his Enigma with his best fur lovingly, then kissed his sleeping lips.

He stared at him for a long moment, taking in the absolute, miraculous beauty of him. He had the prettiest face he had ever seen in his life. The strong jawline, handsome nose, pretty, petal pink lips, and sun-kissed skin… it was making Jimin beautifully weak in the knees.

He longed for him to wake, even just to be by his side, but knew his body needed rest. He was most likely exhausted from having an Omnia for the first time.

Jimin’s chest swelled with pride at the thought that HE had caused this. HE had worn out his lover so that he was sleeping like a grizzly in deep hibernation.  It was probably the best sleep of Jeongguk’s life.

Jimin snickered, and then went around the room, happily gathering the leftover scraps of Jeongguk’s clothes until he had every single piece. He threw them into a pile on his nest, giggled, and rolled all over them. He growled, and the playful wolf in him took over. He joyfully mouthed the ripped furs and leather. He gripped a leg torn off of Jeongguk’s breeches in his teeth, shaking it from side to side like a toy.

It was indeed quite the trophy, and his wolf preened as he sat in the center of those scraps with that leg hanging from his mouth for a moment, his chest puffed out in proud celebration. Then, he turned and began digging into the mound of furs, making a hole in the center of his nest to bury them there for safekeeping.

He covered them well, then dressed in a clean set of lacy pantalettes, a moon-silver royal gown that proudly displayed the bruises on his pale neck, and soft silver boots.

He strode from the room with a satisfied smile, knowing he smelled of his mate.

Well… his soon-to-be mate… He wanted nothing more than to go back in that room and have him again and again… to keep going until they created a pup. To demand that they call the priests and make it official.

He halted, his hand flying back up to feel the bruises.

 Damn it. 

He realized that this all coming out before he had the authority as C’Altaeki could very well start a war. Perhaps it would be best to go through with the coronation and THEN worry about the mating ceremony when none could challenge his rule. War was less likely in that scenario, but still quite possible.

He had to plan more carefully, but first, he had to go back, change, and then check on his people.

He did so, rushing into the bathing chamber.  He washed his body better, using strongly scented soaps, cleaned himself out, and rubbed the special herbs his servants used after his heat into his skin to help mute his scent. Then he changed into a high-necked gown, similar to the first.

As he walked back through the bedchamber, he saw his love had turned over onto his side. His thick bicep was curled under his head as a pillow and the fur had fallen away to display a very painful-looking case of morning wood.

Goddess… his cock was so deliciously huge.

Maybe… I should… just a little taste? Just one more before I go?

He couldn’t do it. He had to put his people first. For now… at least.

Before he walked from the room, he turned and growled at the sleeping form, “Later.”  

There was sooo much intensity in that one little word. So much meaning behind it, and he couldn’t wait to be back in bed with his Enigma.

When he reached the throne room, he stopped at the arch taking in the sight. His eyes widened.

Alphas and Omegas were getting along. Some were even lying together. Some pairs were naked, some just cuddling and fully clothed. Some were sitting calmly, playing cards or gambling, laughing, and talking quietly like old friends.

He had not expected this... 

As Jimin entered, a set of Omegas escorted by two Alphas came in from behind, pushing carts full of food and drink past him.

He looked around and realized that some of the naked Alpha and Omega couples had fresh mating bites.

Jimin knew some of those who were just talking or playing cards already had mates, and others were probably just not into Alphas, or the idea of breaking tradition. Not everyone would be, of course. Not only had they been taught it was against what the Goddess wanted for them, but not everyone would feel attracted to the opposite subgender.

Another stab of sorrow went through him at the thought of those who had been possibly kept from their fated ones over the centuries because of their laws. He knew from seeing it within his court that fated mates could be found within the same subgender. He strongly believed that it had nothing to do with that, but the same thoughts from his bath came back to him. The knowledge that fated mates were a rare occurrence in Boranthe made him wonder if maybe that was because they were meant to venture out into the world to find their other half outside of their lands and bloodline.

Either way, change would not happen overnight.

And yet… he saw so much acceptance!

Gods… it was all happening so fast.  It was as if nothing completely earth-shattering had taken place. As if they completely accepted this way of life already. Perhaps they even welcomed it.

Well… most of them…

He turned and saw some Omegas at the back of the room furiously gazing at him. They were guarded by the two Alphas who had originally brought him into this throne room the night before.

One of those Omegas muttered, “Our new C’Altaeki is naught but a whore.”

An irritated growl ripped from the chest of the Alpha guard with soft brown eyes. He lifted his hand to strike the man, but Jimin was there in an instant.

“You will not lay a finger on my people!” The Omnia then looked down at the wide eyes of the man who had just dared to call him a whore. “No matter HOW much they deserve it. They are MINE to punish!” With that, Jimin lifted the larger Omega and backhanded him so hard he went flying into the small group of troublemakers.

Jimin snarled at the rest of them. “If ANY of you wish to incur such wrath from me, if you ache for pain beyond your imaginings, by all means, continue! I will have you all thrown into the dungeons for daring to say such things!”

The man who had just been struck struggled to his feet. He hissed at Jimin through broken teeth and shredded lips. “You! You whore yourself for these lowlifes! One stupid look at him, and you were slicking up! We could all smell your stinking ass-cunt!”

Jimin’s claws caught the side of his head this time, sinking deep into the flesh and ripping it open.

 He called to one of the Omegas playing cards. “Noctura, show these two where our dungeons are. I want all of these locked up, but separate them.”

The Alpha with the soft eyes questioned Jimin gently. “Why not just use your voice?”

Jimin met his eyes then, and he sighed. “I never use my voice against my own people if it can be avoided. I have never been like my mother. I have no wish to abuse my power.”

The Alpha gave him a beautiful, boxy smile. “He was right. You are well-named by the messenger. A true ‘Moon of Pure Intention.’”

 Jimin almost smiled, but the disgusted look of the Omega servants from this particular group soured his mood.

Noctura approached with a bow, “I will be swift, C’Altaeki.”

Another Omega male, a smaller one, then spoke. “He is not C’Altaeki yet. Let us see what his betrothed has to say about this when SHE arrives. We do not want a filthy whore for a-“

<<”BE SILENT!”>>

The Omegas who were asleep awoke with a terrified start but were quickly calmed by their cuddle buddy; the ones who were awake shuddered, and the ones from this group of troublemakers quaked in fear.

Jeongguk strode forward, dressed only in one of Jimin’s furs wrapped around his waist, and grabbed up the one who had spoken. It was not the one Jimin had already punished.

He growled in that Omega’s face. The beautiful gold of his irises changed. They were slowly engulfed by blood red as fury took control.  <<You will get on your knees before your C’Altaeki, and lick… his… fucking… BOOTS!>>

He dropped him then, and the man immediately fell to his knees. He crawled over with eager grunts and began to lick Jimin’s boots while simultaneously trying to bare his neck and pissing himself.

Jimin stepped back, hissing, “Gross! Stop!!” but the man whimpered and crawled after him.

Namjoon stepped forward and grabbed the man, yanking him away.  The man struggled, snapping and snarling as he tried to get free and back to giving Jimin’s boots a good tongue-bathing. “Tae and I will get them to the dungeons as your mate directed.”

They shuffled off, and some other servants stood and asked permission to clean up the mess of urine left behind.

Before Jimin could respond, Jeongguk gave permission, and a few specific orders on how he wanted it done. The servants bowed and rushed off, followed by their Alpha guards.

Jimin didn’t like that. Nor did he like him using his voice on his people. The fact that he felt free to punish them was rubbing him the wrong way. “These are my people, Jeongguk… what happened between us does not change that. None of my mother’s consorts ever dared to give orders!  If I had pups from another sire, and you and I became mates after, do you think that would give you the immediate right to discipline them?! This is the same!”

Jeongguk did not like that thought… not at ALL. “Who are you thinking about having pups with if not me?!”

Jimin’s lips twitched. Really? That’s what he got from what Jimin said? “You are missing the point! I wasn’t even…”

Jimin licked his lips, looking at the bare torso and furs wrapped around Jeongguk’s waist.

Fuck. Maybe I shouldn’t have ripped his clothes… if he walks around like that, how am I supposed to get anything done?

He was thinking about pups now, for SURE. Or… more accurately, the making of them.

That line of thinking, of course, led to his wolf begging for another go at breeding, and Jimin began to slick up again…

Jeongguk caught the scent and growled, reaching for him, his eyes glowing gold with lust.

Hmmm

Maybe now would be a good time to lure him back to the bedroom. His people were fine, after all… Just one more little romp… maybe a day or two rolling in the furs… Goddess, he wanted that knot again, and maybe a little chase as foreplay.

Time to push some boundaries. “Jeongguk… do you think you can come into my home and just take over? Huh?” He poked a finger in his chest, trying not to smile. “Just because you knotted me doesn’t give you the right to take my throne. I still rule here, Jeongguk!”

Jeongguk snatched him up, but Jimin squealed, wiggled free, and spun away in a flurry of long silky hair and silver fabric. “Stop! I need to speak with my people! I need to make sure they understand what is happening right now, and that I am still in charge!”

Jeongguk rumbled, “Oh, are you, now?”

“Yes! I am!” Jimin straightened his gown and tossed his hair over one shoulder as he walked toward his people.

 He approached one of his dressing maids. “Verin, have you seen Yoongi return? He never stays away the entire night, but if he saw… well… I can imagine if he stumbled upon me and… um…”

She shook her head. “He has not returned, but I did see him running off with his lover… you know the one, the rider of the Blacktooth NorFrost.” She covered a giggle.

Jimin looked at her, aghast. Yoongi had a lover? He had never smelled anyone on him before… he only ever smelled of tangerines.

“Who?  I know not whom you speak of.”

She looked around nervously, as if she shouldn’t have said anything, and scratched the back of her neck. “I don’t know his name. He smells of oranges. I think that’s why they get along so easily. He’s sweet on Yoongi, and they seem very compatible.”

Well, that would explain why he only smelled like tangerines… the citrus notes are similar… but still…

Jimin felt a stab of hurt that Yoongi never told him of a lover. His eyes stung. Did he think he would have teased him? True, he would have had a LOT of questions… but it might have better prepared him for last night. “Thank you, Verin. That will be all.”

Well… at least he knew Yoongi was probably only late because of a tryst… but still very unlike him to leave Jimin alone this long.

He needed him here.

Arms circled his waist from behind, and he felt Jeongguk nuzzle his neck.

Concern filled him as the eyes of his people widened. “Jeongguk… are my people still your prisoners?!”

Jeongguk scooped him up and began to carry him back toward the hallway. “Until we come to an agreement, yes. I need to make sure you are safe… and now that we know what we are to one another… we need to make it official. We must do all by the Goddess. A proper mating ceremony. Preferably simultaneously as the coronation so that your enemies have no window to crawl through.”

Jimin tried to get free. He wasn’t finished with his people. Not only that, but he was beginning to feel uncomfortably hot. His skin was starting to burn, and he wasn’t feeling very well. All of that, on top of someone else taking control away from him, was overwhelming. 

He experienced a sharp mood swing.

“You are making me angry with all your demands! What about what I want?! I wish to retain control of my own throne, Jeongguk! Whether we are fated or not, this is MY land!”

Jeongguk set him down and ground his teeth. “You are my mate! We are then equals! I protect you, my delicate little Shard of Moon…, and you protect your people. You may have power beyond anything I could have imagined… you… and your fellow Omnia, but you… your body is still breakable. My love, I will let no one hurt you. Not while there is life in my body.”

Jimin’s wolf swooned… but his human psyche was not feeling the same. All he was hearing was that his choices were no longer his own. The position he would hold would have strings attached.

And Jeongguk was calling him weak…

Catching the scent of flowers being torched, the Enigma quickly cupped his cheeks and tried to calm him. “You know I’m right. That is why your kind does not fight fair. You ride those enormous war beasts and use them to rip through your enemies, or you control all within earshot or within range of your scent and have them slay one another… because if you did not, they would rip through you like wet paper… Do not feel ashamed of this. You are like glass cannons. Beautiful weapons of great power… but easily shattered.”

Jimin angrily slapped his hands away, fighting back tears of humiliation. This is what giving in got him? He was being called weak in front of his own people!

He turned and strode from the room before the first tear could fall.

“Jimin! Wait!” Jeongguk’s heart sank. He had meant all he said in the most loving way… why was he so bad with words?!

He was about to go after him when someone dropped to the floor behind his back, making everyone gasp.

The Enigma turned to see Hope standing there, moving his head this way and that as he sniffed the air. The act had a serpentine grace, and he wondered for a moment if the messengers of the gods were truly human.

Finally, Hope spoke. “You must find his guard. He has been taken by a few of my own kind in service to the serpent who would swallow the moon.”

Jeongguk startled at this news and glared toward the Omega maid, whom he now knew lied to Jimin. She was leaving the room swiftly, but there was no time to go after her. He would deal with her later. “Hope. How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to tell you that Vilanti is here. She will kill his guardian soon. The two have been at odds for some time. In her mind, the guardian is all that stands between her and the ability to hold the throne alone. I do not believe she is aware that you are here. She thinks the danger lies in the north.”

Jeongguk paled and turned to one of the other Alphas. “Get me clothes and armor.” He turned back to Hope. “Any chance the guardian could be turned and used against Jimin?”

Hope shook his head. “Vilanti is the more powerful Omnia between the two, but this guardian is different. He has a specific purpose and power bestowed on him by NyneChel. He would protect the Moon of Pure Intention with his own life and cannot be controlled by another. Only Jimin. Last night, he was on his way to kill the serpent when the Unseen from my tribe rendered him powerless.”

Jeongguk turned to stare at him. “The… Unseen. You… all these years, and you never told me. You are from the Tribe of the Unseen Moon.”

Hope nodded but continued with more directives. “Take your men and head to the east aqueduct. The one you used to infiltrate the city. They are on the bank of the Perale River. Know that the guardian is the first of his kind… a lycan shifter made guardian by the Goddess. As such, the dispatch must be ritualistic. Vilanti was told by the rogue Unseen that it was the only way to avoid the wrath of the Goddess. He is to be a sacrifice.”

Jeongguk looked toward Jimin’s hallway. His heart longed to go to him… but his wolf demanded they not lock eyes with their mate until they had his guardian back safe in hand. That, and the head of the one who would destroy him.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jimin was burning up. His body was on fire as if he was entering his heat… but it was much too soon.

He quickly moved to his bathing chamber, kicked off his boots, and dove into the waters of that enormous bath. Though it was fed by a hot spring, it soothed him. He ripped the gown from his body, allowing it to settle at the bottom of the bathing pool.

Jimin bit his lip and closed his eyes, fisting his aching cock beneath the surface.

With his other hand, he probed at his sore, needy hole and moaned.

He wished he had some of the fake leather knot toys created for heats handy… but those were only provided during your first adult heat if a partner is refused. As he had yet to have a heat since becoming an adult, he had none.

His heat should not be here. Too soon. Now… he was starting to think it was coming early.

Jimin pumped his cock harder, fat tears of frustration and shame sliding down his cheeks. Why had Jeongguk chosen NOW to stay away?! Maybe he just needed another little taste…

He did not see the figure coming in through the balcony until it was too late.

“That looks painful. Would you like some help, Moon of Pure Intention?”

Jimin screamed, and then his cheeks pinkened as he swam to the other side of the pool.  He sank low in the water as his eyes glowed with fury.

“HOW DARE YOU ENTER MY BATHING CHAMBERS! WHO ARE YOU?!”

The figure swathed in black approached slowly and bowed. “One who can help you… but I must get closer.”

(((LEAVE!))) Jimin hissed.

The figure shook his head. “No. I am only here to help. I promise I will not harm thee. I would not dare. I serve the Moon Goddess only.”

Jimin was stunned…

Another Enigma???

He eyed the man from foot to crown, though it was hard to really make much out beneath the leathers and cloak.

 The man was of a lithe build, like him.

Omnia?

Jimin sniffed the air. No… definitely not.

The man removed his hooded cloak to reveal a leather headdress. The white leather had tufts of pale fur on each side with black spots like a snow leopard. He wore a solid metal half-mask with no visible way for him to see through it.

Blind?

The man dropped the cloak to the floor and walked to the edge of the bath.

“Wait! You’ll fall in!” Jimin, despite his fear, was true to his own pure heart. He did not want to see someone possibly so vulnerable hurt if he could prevent it.

The man laughed. He had a charming, heart-shaped smile. “I can see just fine, Little Moon.”

Jimin tilted his head to the side, studying the man.  He seemed very different, moving with an otherworldly, animalistic grace as he unzipped the armor over his chest next, revealing smooth, pale skin beneath.  He slid it from his shoulders,  then pushed his pants down.

Jimin saw he was built much like an Omega… but with a strange wiriness that was not present with his people either.

Jimin shook his head. “I… I don’t need your help! Please don’t come in!”

There was something flicking back and forth behind the man now…. It was white with black spots.

The man dove into the water and swam directly to Jimin, who moved to the other side of the pool in a heartbeat. While he could be lightning fast on land when focused and using his abilities, the water somewhat slowed him. Even so, he was much faster than most humans.

The man zipped after him as he moved, darting like a minnow through the waters and surfacing in front of him at the same time as Jimin.

Impossible. He is as fast… no… faster than an Omnia?! Can he anticipate my moves?

 “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I won’t touch you like that. I just want to help. Otherwise, you will be in heat soon.”

Jimin stared at him.

There was something about the man that called to his childhood recollections. He felt like he knew him somehow. He also smelled very familiar, like gardenias and sandalwood. Perhaps it was because his mother loved gardenias and had many in the garden? The combination of the two only spoke of one thing to Jimin…

Safety… I am safe with him… how do I know this?

Jimin, sensing it would be allowed, reached up and touched his face.

The man didn’t move, only smiled.

Jimin saw there was a clasp beneath the man’s jawline and flicked it with a fingertip.

The man still did not fight him.

Slowly… Jimin pulled the leather headdress from the man’s head. He saw there were two large holes crafted in the leather, and the fur he thought was part of the headdress remained on his head. The man’s eyes were still closed as he reached up and took the leather garment and mask back.

He had snow-white hair… just like a Boranthean.

Jimin whispered softly. “Open your eyes.”

The man did, blinking rapidly at the light. They focused on Jimin.

They matched his color exactly.

Not only that… but they held the same shape as his mother’s eyes. Then… the two tufts of fur atop his head lifted and faced forward.

Ears… large, rounded cat ears with opalescent skin within and rimmed with black fur. At the base of each ear was white fur, the same color as his hair. As they moved, swinging around as if listening, he saw they were black and silver on the back.

“Wh… who… and what… are you?”

The man smiled at him and pulled him close in a loving embrace. “I am one of your siblings… left to die by the riverbed fourteen years before your birth.”

Jimin was reeling. He was feeling light-headed.

His voice shook with emotion. “I’m so sorry. I… I was the only one she kept. I'm sorry!” He started to hyperventilate. “I… it wasn’t fair! I was told what she did to those not born with signs of becoming like us… but…” Jimin sobbed. “I’m so sorry! How?! How are you like…” He pulled back and looked up at the man’s cat ears as they wiggled back and forth.

“It is a tale for another time.” He smirked as his tail playfully swished up out of the water, an obvious play on words.

As his brother held him close, and pheromones permeated the air around them, Jimin felt the ache in his loins ease, and the heat at his core ebbed.

“What do I call you, brother?”

“I am Hoseok. Now that we are reunited, I will serve as part of your personal guard, alongside your moon lycan.”

Jimin shook his head. “Who is Lycan?”

His brother laughed. “Not who. What. A Lycan is a soldier of NyneChel, like me, but with the full ability to shift into man or beast, along with something in between, like what I am.”

Jimin breathed. “Yoongi.”

Hoseok nodded.

Jimin sniffed his neck. “You aren’t Omega. You aren’t Alpha… nor Beta.”

Hoseok shook his head.

“What are-“

The sound of a door opening caused his brother to turn abruptly. He put a finger to his lips, warning Jimin to be silent. He jumped out of the pool like a cat, prowled to his discarded belongings, and picked them up while watching the door.

Jimin then watched in astonishment as his brother moved to stand in front of the stone wall and disappeared, blending with his surroundings.

He slid his eyes back to the door just as a small group of his Omega servants came into the bath.

They sighed in relief and began to weep. “We were so worried for you! You left so very angry! Are you okay?! We were allowed to bring your meal and some comfort!”

One moved to grab a towel for him as he climbed from the bath.

Another wrapped him in a robe while the third moved back to his bedchamber to begin serving his meal.

Jimin sighed, looking around, wondering where his brother was now.

Were there more like him??? How many had survived?

He sat and began to eat. For once, his servants remained with him instead of rushing off to complete other duties, and he could see they were shaking.

He began emitting calming pheromones, and they relaxed.

He got more information from them on the happenings outside of his room, and he was relieved to hear no one had been mistreated, but the city was now sealed. No one would be getting in or out, and the royal guards were locked away. Vilanti was already camped outside of the city on the Perale River.

She would soon be alerted of what had transpired. Jimin hoped she would just turn around and go home…

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jungkook moved through the icy waters as easily as a fish. He was just as at home swimming through lakes and streams as he was in the trees, and they had taken a special thermal compound Hoseok had given them to fight off the effects of the cold. Their core temp would remain stable. 

He surfaced with Namjoon and Taehyung by his side, their crowns of seaweed bobbing in the water along the edge of the river where the channel met the sea.

“Hard to see how many there are present from here…”

“Hope said forty thousand men,” Taehyung whispered.

Jeongguk and Namjoon responded at once. “Pardon?”

Taehyung nodded. “It was a lot.”

“Why would a royal marriage convoy need to be that large?”

Taehyung whispered again. “It was never about mating. It was about taking the throne from the start. She was prepared to take it by force if Jimin refused her, now that his mother is not here to force his hand.”

They eyed the troops along the riverbank that stretched for miles.

“We need to find his guardian,” Jeongguk whispered.

They moved through the reeds, sniffing the air and trying to find a good vantage point to see more.

Namjoon pointed out a small rocky cliff overlooking the camp, and they carefully swam toward it.

After climbing to the top, they lay on their bellies to take in the sight below them.

Jeongguk growled as he saw her.

She was an Omnia, to be sure. She looked a great deal like Jimin with her long white hair, and their regal poise was the same, but that was where the similarities ended.

She had an ugly sneer on her face as she stared at a beast chained to the ground with eyes a pale sky blue. Nowhere near as beautiful as his mate’s.

It snapped its jaws at her and yanked at the steel shackles that held him fast.

She spoke to it angrily, saying words he could not hear at this distance.

When the beast did not cower, she began to hiss.

It yelped and went down to the ground as if it was in great pain.

The Omnia moved closer then… and the two Unseen, dressed much like Hope, spoke to her.

She didn’t listen, however, and continued speaking in her hiss, moving closer.

She pulled a long, deadly-looking half-moon blade from her robe.

Namjoon and Taehyung looked uncomfortable, as the sound of her hiss had begun to reach them.

They slipped their wax plugs into their ears as they watched.

She was nearly on top of the beast, her knife at the ready.

It lunged, just as one of the Unseen yanked her back.

It had nearly taken her head off in its enormous jaws.

“NO! HOW?!” She cried.

The beast snarled again, baring its teeth.

Jeongguk heard the words “Also an Omnia” and “Goddess Blessed.”

She screeched, “Impossible! He presented Omega at thirteen! NO ONE presents twice! Not even an OMNIA!”

The Unseen whispered an answer calmly to her, but she rolled her eyes. “If you believe everything the Moon Goddess says, then why do you serve me?!”

“The moon goddess doesn’t give us what you do, and it is not as if we have a choice any longer.” One responded gently.

She scoffed, then snapped. “Whatever! Prepare the ritual! I will bathe in his blood tonight!”

Jeongguk pointed, mouthing the words to his men. “We need to free him, now.”

They nodded and moved down from the rocky overlook.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

 Jimin’s servants were finally leaving. He was exhausted. He was supposed to have been crowned C’Altaeki by now, but the priests were locked in the tower by Jeongguk’s men to prevent anything big from happening before he could prove himself to Jimin. 

He had been furious when one of Jeongguk’s Alphas, escorted by Noctura, came to let him know what was happening and ever so grateful at the same time.

He was hurt that Jeongguk had not come to say he was leaving but also understood that time was of the essence.

He needed his Yoongi safe. He loved him, as they had an emotional, other-worldly bond closer than blood.

Jimin had already sworn to himself that he would give Jeongguk the chance to fulfill the need to court him. He would be fair about it and keep his word.

As soon as the door closed, he turned and whispered into the room. “Hoseok?”

No one answered.

He sighed sadly. His brother must have left at some point while the servants were with him.

He had so many questions for him. He prayed they had years to get to know one another…

He lay down to rest.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

 Jimin was awakened a few hours later when he felt the bed dip near his feet. “Hoseok?”

He sat up and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, but he was surprised to see not a man at the foot of his bed… but a woman.

“Vi… Vilanti? How did you get here?!” He looked from her to the door, where the chair was still wedged under the knob. Without his guardian, and without Jeongguk, he had felt somewhat vulnerable.

He turned his head to the open balcony and was startled to see two figures dressed much like his brother, only they were wearing Vilanti’s colors now instead of the black robes.

She purred at him as she approached. “It doesn’t matter… what matters is tonight was to be our mating celebration, but I have been locked out of the city. Why, beloved? Do you plan on refusing my bite?”

Jimin backed away from her, crowding himself against the beautiful tapestry hanging beside his nest.  He was glad that his servants had smelled Jeongguk on him and helped him with herbal compounds to remove the scent from his skin.  

Vilanti had never been in his bedchamber, so she wouldn’t know what scents should or shouldn’t be there. He also doubted she would even know what an Alpha should smell like…  much less an Enigma… or he hoped at least.

Jimin had the tatters of Jeongguk’s ripped clothes buried deep at the core of his nest now as his most treasured addition. She could hopefully not smell it, but all the same, Jimin’s heart sped with fear.

She cooed. “Oh… what is it C’Altaeki?” She sneered the last word. “Could it be that you know, being a male Omnia… that you are inferior to me? That I hold more power to lead our people? You know it to be true… so I will give you one chance. You will give me your seed tonight… you will knot and pup me. Come sunrise, you will declare before all that I am to be named C’Altaeki of Boranthe in your stead. All know that a female Omnia is the true embodiment of the Goddess’s power.”

Jimin shook his head angrily. “I will NOT mate you! That was never my wish! It was my mother’s!”

She tsked… “What? You won’t even honor her dying wish?” She scoffed. “The hag… I killed her too quickly. I should have waited until we were mated… then the coronation would have been much easier as I would have been here at the palace already… strange, though. The basal root should have taken at least a full three months to work… I was surprised to hear she died so quickly.”

Jimin’s eyes widened. “You? You killed mother?! But she was the one who chose you! Why?!”

She chuckled. “How else would I have been named C’Altaeki? YOU, I thought I could reason with, especially once we are bound. It is well known that you haven’t the stomach to do what needs to be done to protect our people. You put on a good show… but your servants see all, and they have never been able to stay quiet about how good and kind you are to everyone… even the lowest Beta, fighting to have them exiled once it is found their families tried to hide their true subgender.” She snickered. “Much too soft. I heard how you interceded time and again to prevent their beheading. Why? Why let trash continue to blow across the face of the world?”

Jimin’s eyes stung. He had listened to his mother say the same things when he had begged for her to exile those Betas instead of killing them, bargaining time and again with her over it. Spending more and more time in the Tower of Soul Temperence, allowing her to torture him…

She reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. She was so beautiful… but only on the outside. Jimin could see nothing but a demon when he looked at her.

She continued. “I know how you secretly despise your mother’s teachings, Jimin. I know what she did to try to break you. I know you hated her. I know you wanted to be free. I gave you that freedom and will give you even more once you name me C’Altaeki. I know you don’t want the responsibility of leading as your mother did. You know I am what is best for our people.”

Jimin allowed his face to soften… but it was a farce. He was buying himself time. Something she said didn’t make sense. “May… may I speak to my council to let them know our plans then?” He gave her a beautiful, gentle smile.

His mother had died from the sting of a fire mountain scorpion… she wasn’t poisoned. Yet, she seemed to genuinely believe she had been the one to strike the killing blow.

She gave him a cold smile in return. “I like that you are already submissive to me… You know your place, my love. No. You may not. Not unless I am with you. First… come to me. You will plant your seed in my womb this night. I will carry the next royal Omnia within me before either of us steps foot from this room… and I will be crowned before you are allowed out of my sight.”

Jimin shook his head. “No! I will not! I do not want this! Not like this! I-“

“Hold him down.” She spoke, and the Unseen guard moved forward.

Panic filled him as they came closer, and he hissed.

 (((GET OUT!)))

It did not work… just as it had not affected his brother.

Vilanti snarled. (((BE STILL AND SILENT!)))

Jimin felt it like a slap against his gentle soul… it was the same flavor as his mother’s anger, only stronger as it was fueled with hatred.

She hated Jimin, and he could feel it now.

The Unseen grabbed him, subduing his small form easily due to the command, and using blessed chains to bind him with heavy runic shackles to the four-poster bed.

“Very good, now leave us. Make sure no one else enters.”

The Unseen guards bowed and walked out onto the balcony.

The effect of her command wore off swiftly, but it was too late. He yanked and pulled but Jeongguk had been right… All the power within… useless as his body was weak.

A glass cannon…

He attacked her psyche, but she attacked back sevenfold.

He screamed.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

From far below the castle, on the banks of the Perale, Jeongguk heard those screams.

The beast they had been sneaking up on heard them, too. It stood and roared, throwing its body again and again toward the guards, trying to break free… but the shackles were too strong.

The guards laughed and went back to their card game.

Jeongguk spoke as soft as the wind then. Only those with supernatural hearing would be able to decipher it.

“Yoongi.”

The wolf’s ears perked up. He snarled.

“Stop. Jimin sent me. Do not turn to me, or I will not be able to free you. I will be putting a chemical compound on these chains at the links closest to the shadows. This will embrittle them. You should be able to break free soon… but I need you to listen.”

The wolf turned his head slightly and lowered it, side-eying the shadows. He flicked his ear twice as if saying, “I’m listening. Get on with it.”

He popped the cork on the glass vial and began pouring the compound on the first links. There was a quiet sizzle. “I need you to wag once for every Omnia you have seen in this army. I need confirmation we are only up against one. I know you may not have full-“

The wolf wagged once.

“You’re sure? Just the one? Or is it a guess?”

Yoongi pawed the ground in frustration and again, very deliberately wagged once.

“I’ll take that as you are sure and know for a fact it is just one. I hope it is because of your sense of smell, or something that I have no understanding of…. Anyway. I know you will want to take your revenge on these guards, but I want you to focus on your escape. If you head to the mouth of the channel where it meets the sea, there will be a sack hidden in the hollow of the only tallow tree there. It holds human clothing, an amulet of my people, and weapons if you need them. Use the amulet to get back into the city and get to Jimin. My men already know to expect you and let you in…  but we don’t know if any of Vilanti’s men have gotten to them yet. If you go in this form, you may be faster, but you run the risk of being attacked.”

He poured the fluid on the link of the last chain and waited a moment.

“Go, now. You are free.”

With a gentle yank of his paw, there was a light *clink*  as the first chain broke at the brittle link.

The wolf grinned.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jimin was once again fighting hard against a psyche trying to break his.

Mother… did you know that I would be attacked thus someday? Is it a normal battle between Omnia? Why did you never explain?

He was warring with Vilanti inside his mind as she ripped through him like a storm of anger and hate. GIVE IN JIMIN! GIVE UP! LET ME HAVE CONTROL, AND YOUR SOUL CAN REST!

Never! Never to you!

You will wear my mark soon, and we will see who is more powerful. You know I will win once the bond is in place! You will not be marking ME, however…

Jimin’s blood ran cold. She was right… typically, a mating bite between Omnia would bind them together in a way that made it more difficult for one mate to resist the other’s demands. It was why mating bites between their kind were only completed for either true love or in royal unions among his people. One was by choice, the other forced by duty. The stronger of the two mates was almost always the one with the upper hand.

What she was suggesting, though, was an archaic practice.

 Once, in the dark history of the continent, some rulers, of varying subgenders, would bite every single one of their soldiers. A one-way mating mark that would subjugate their army, making them fully submissive and unable to live for anything other than to serve. It also prevented them from being able to be affected by the voice of any other Alpha, Enigma, or Omnia. It was unknown why that was, as a couple with a completed mating bond could still be commanded by a more dominant voice… but some theorized that it was because the bond was waiting, forever in limbo. That half of your soul in a somewhat hazy sort of drift, waiting to be completed and thus only anchored to the one who gave that bite.

The practice was abolished by one of his C’Altaeki ancestors who deemed it barbaric. She had destroyed all who had subjugated armies like this, and the act was now punishable by death.

He yanked and pulled at the chains, his hands bleeding where he had been trying to squeeze them through the shackles.

Jimin screamed as his naked form grew hard under her influence. “NO! I do not WANT this, Vilanti!!”

She snorted and again attacked his psyche, trying to wear him out.

Isn’t it clear yet? This is not about what YOU want. It’s not even about what is best for the people at this point. I have worked too hard to achieve this. I  WILL be C’Altaeki, Jimin. And dead or alive… I will bear at least one of your brats so all will know I have a right to that throne!  ONLY one. I will only bear ONE of your pups. The Park line was weakened by you and your mother. She should have let a male Omnia die with the rest of her failed brats, as my father suggested. The stupid bitch was so enamored of her precious little boy… so FUCKING weak.

Jimin was now fully erect. He fought his body’s reaction to her pheromones. It was unfair… His body could not be forced by an Enigma, but an Omnia of greater power could force an erection, and even a knot, from another.

It was proof that her power exceeded his own.

She climbed onto his lap, straddling him. Her eyes glowed silver, her wolf at the fore, ready to claim him. Her fangs elongated.

He tried to buck her off. “No! It is not FOR YOU! It belongs to my mate!”

Suddenly, her body was slammed down into Jimin’s, but NOT the way she would have liked. His cock was swiftly deflating, and Vilanti was screaming.

With the way she was pressed to him, all he saw were clouds of white curls on his face, and he was being crushed under an intense weight.

The screams of a wildcat filled his ears, and then Vilanti was yanked up by her hair.

Jimin saw blood as teeth sank into her scent gland.

She screamed, her eyes wild with fear, surprise, and mind-shattering confusion.

It was Hoseok.

He jumped off her and pulled a double-bladed scimitar from his back, facing the two rogue Unseen warriors who had run back into the room to intervene at her screams.

She was weeping and clutching her neck. Her eyes were rolling back uncontrollably, body convulsing as a result of the bite she had just received.

Jimin was still chained to the bed. She gained control of herself again and began to crawl up to his neck, baring her teeth.

At the very last moment, when Jimin thought he was about to be forced into a mating bond, he saw the silver eyes of her wolf flicker and extinguish like a candle guttering out, and her fangs fell out completely.  She collapsed against him.

The sound of steel against steel rang through the bedchamber as Hoseok fought the two rogues. His scimitar was spun like a windmill, his body turned and flipped as he skillfully defied gravity.

She laughed softly, laying weakly on Jimin’s chest like a lover.

Her voice came out a frail and trembling squeak… like that of a very elderly woman.

“You have an Abrogati… I should have known. Your mother would have something like him in her arsenal. She was careful…she knew what she was doing… the bitch.  Abomination… disgusting!” She whimpered in pain. “Sadly effective. No wonder… No wonder…”

She was sobbing now. “My father… my father will kill you all for this.”

Suddenly she was yanked away from Jimin by one of the Unseen as the other continued fighting Hoseok. He wrapped her in his cloak, ran to the balcony, and jumped.

The other quickly turned and went after them.

Hoseok was about to give chase when Jimin cried. “Brother!”

Hoseok turned back to him, yanked off his mask, and ran to him.

“I will free you, but I must go after them and finish what I started. She must not be allowed to reach her father. This will soon deteriorate to war, and he has nearly arrived at the banks of the Perale to join her army! He brings more men!”

He quickly picked the locks on the shackles and set Jimin free.

Then he held him for a moment, and Jimin dared to ask, “What is it she called you? What is an Abrogati?”

Hoseok sighed. “We haven’t time for this now. Ask your scholars. They will know. They are likely the ones who helped create me. Ask the one least likely to talk about it. The wisest of them… The most learned but one who is not so very deeply steeped in the sacred teachings, for among your people, it is considered sacrilege to even discuss it any longer. It should not be… but that is for another time.”

He kissed the top of Jimin’s head. “I love you, baby brother. I will go and help Jeongguk finish this so you can finally be happy and free to choose your own path. When this is all over… the choice will be yours, for I will not let him choose for you.”

He picked up his headdress from where he had thrown it on the floor as he ran past, then jumped over the balcony railing.

Jimin quickly ran to the edge and looked down, but his brother was gone.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jeongguk was groggy. His head was pounding as he opened his eyes.

Soil? Where the fuck? What happened??

He looked around and saw Namjoon and Taehyung were also there with him. There was a disgusting rag in his mouth tied in place with another, and his hands were tied behind his back.

His eyes met Namjoon's.  “We were ambushed. As soon as the wolf was free, they hit you with a sleeping dart, and you were out. Fuck, Gguk… we thought you were dead. We didn’t know what was on the dart at first.”

Jeongguk rubbed his face into the dirt, trying to shove the gag down, but it was too tight. It was digging into the sides of his mouth, and his cheeks bulged over the material.

Taehyung was lying on his side, away from Jeongguk. His hands were tied behind his back.

Namjoon was just sitting against the bars. His arms were tied above his head. “They know you’re an Enigma. I heard them talking. They have eyes and ears in the castle, apparently. One of Jimin’s closest servants has been feeding them intel, which is how they knew Jimin was not very happy about being mated to the Omnia, Vilanti.”

Jeongguk grunted. That must be why they had brought an army. They knew Jimin would refuse.

He needed to be able to use his voice. There was something stinging over his scent glands, even the ones on his groin. It felt like fire. He flinched and whined as he tried in vain to rub one side of his neck in the dirt.

Namjoon was staring sadly at him. “They rubbed demon nettles into your scent glands, Gguk.”

His chest contracted. He shook his head, eyes stinging with tears.

Jimin… Jimin would be without the comfort of his scent permanently if they couldn’t wash it away soon.

He may not have said it… but his sassy Omnia prince loved his scent. He’d been rolling all over his ripped clothing the morning after they had been together.

 Jimin had thought him asleep, but Jeongguk had watched him through slitted eyes pretending to slumber on as the Omnia had mouthed those scraps, giggling as he dug through his nesting furs and making a place for those torn garments at the core of his nest…

Jeongguk fought back the tears.

No.

He would fucking find a way to wash this shit off soon. These wolves may be well organized, but they were fucking stupid and spoiled by posh life.

He rolled over to Taehyung and wiggled down so his head was level with the Alpha’s backside, right where his hands were tied.

Tae looked over his shoulder and snarkily commented. “Sniffing my ass, Gguk? Tell me you didn’t confuse me with Jimin. I’m not ready! It’s all so sudden!” He batted his eyelashes.

Namjoon rolled his eyes. “Shut up and try to pull the gag down his chin.”

He tried, but it was so tight that it was nearly impossible.

“Turn over instead, Gguk. Let him try the knot.”

“Oh… Daddy… yes, give me that knot! NNNNnnnngggh!” Tae moaned playfully.

Namjoon snarled. “Enough! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Tae giggled. “Fuck… I’m just playing, stop being such an ass. If you don’t make your own smiles in the face of death like this, you’ll die with a frown. That is not how I plan to leave this world.”

“Admit it! Ever since you came into this clan and found out Jeongguk could make an Alpha slick, you’ve been curious.”

Taehyung blushed. “No! It’s just…. Okay! Yes! But not because I want HIM specifically…”

He managed to get a nail underneath the thick knot and pulled. It started to give when the two Omega guards came in, followed by a servant with a small steaming pot of food. She was pale-skinned, with black hair and hazel eyes. She had a collar around her neck.

She was NOT of Boranthe. A slave of another tribe. An Omega. She looked like the mountain people.

What the fuck?! Slavery? That is unheard of these days!

It was collectively looked down upon, though the occasional lord or royal was found to be keeping some locked away.

 She bowed and quickly began ladling food into small clay bowls for them.  

A loud, reverberating snarl startled them all.

<<Don’t scream and don’t run.>>

All three people stopped. The two Omegas looked like they wanted to bolt but were easily baring their necks for the Enigma, who was now sitting up, the gag hanging limply around his neck.

<<Now… Set us free>>

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

✩˚⋆☽✧IV✧☾⋆˚✩

✩˚⋆☽✧Mimms the Meticulous✧☾⋆˚✩

Jimin was standing at the door leading to the private study of Mimms the Meticulous. He knocked softly.

Mimms was an elderly Omega scholar who required everything to be just so… which was why he had a private study away from the busybodies who always touched his things and moved them around like he wouldn’t notice.

“GO! AWAY!” He said it slow and very deliberately loud.

Jimin smirked. He loved the old man.

He knocked again.

He heard cussing coming from the other side of the door.

A throat cleared, closer to the door now. “You must not have heard me. I said… ahem… GO! A! WAYYYY!”

Jimin giggled.

“Oh! My darling! It’s you!” Jimin listened patiently as the sounds of metal and clinks of chains came from the door while the man began opening every one of his numerous steel locks.

When the door opened, Jimin was greeted by a man even shorter than himself, with a shock of white hair sticking up all over.

He blinked two enormous blue eyes at him from behind his goggles. It had one of the ocular loupes down still where he must have been reading a tiny text.

He smiled beatifically up at the prince. “Ohhhhh! You haven’t come to see me in ages! Come in! Come in, my boy!”

Jimin came in and sat down in the overstuffed chair in front of his old tutor’s desk. “I brought your favorite snack.”

“Ah! So you are working to butter me up! What is it this time? Do you need me to slip some sleeping powder into your next care basket so you and your young guardian can sneak past the guards again? If you do…. Will you bring me back a red silk scarf from Illaca the tailor? Mine has finally gotten a hole.” The old man looked down at his beloved scarf and wiggled a finger through a rip in the fabric.

Jimin laughed. “I will bring you whatever you wish… if I ever get out of here alive. You clearly have no idea what has been happening over the last week.”

The man lost his smile. “I know I’ve had to shoo more people away recently. Even an Alpha! Can you believe it?! An ALPHA! Here! In this house!”

Oh, Mimms… you truly are senile, but I love you.

 “I told him to go stuff his knot in a cow and leave me to my books! He was stinking up the place like Vetiver and Rain! Such SOGGY smells! I can't have that around my books!”

Jimin chuckled and nudged an inkpot with the tip of his finger as he set the basket on the desk with his other hand.

Mimms stood and slid the ink bottle back to its rightful place as he stared into the basket in awe. “Oh! They smell so good! Would you like some? Will you eat with me?!” He turned and walked swiftly to a small cabinet that held the old man’s liquor.

Jimin shook his head and moved a paperweight an inch to the left, then a small hourglass half a centimeter to the right as the old man poured himself a drink. “Mimms… what do you know about… um… Abrogati?”

The old man froze and then looked down at the bottle he was holding. “She told you, did she? After all these years? I told her to bring them home. She wouldn’t listen. She thought it was too dangerous. Indeed… they are. Too dangerous to her. When did she tell you? She has not been to see me recently. Is she on her way?”

Jimin sadly shook his head, unsure if he should burden his old friend with the knowledge that she had died. They had consulted him when they found the fire mountain scorpion, but he had only shoved a book at them and told them to leave him be. There had been no time to explain.

Jimin sighed. “Why are they dangerous?”

The old man looked away, wringing his hands. “Oh… the Gamma. The Gamma must have told you. I do not like this… playing God like this… it was so unnatural, but she insisted.”

The old man moved to sit at the desk. Talking about this was clearly unnerving to the old scholar.

Jimin tried a different approach. A scientific one. “Give me the definition and word origin of “Abrogati” to start. Maybe from there, we can move this conversation along more easily.”

The old man’s eyes sparkled, happy to impart wisdom. “Oh! YES!” *Ahem, ahem, ahem*

He cleared his throat as he scurried to a chalkboard as if Jimin was once again seven and about to be shown his letters.

“The Abrogati! Sometimes called an ‘Abrogant’ From the word ‘abrogate’! To nullify, rescind, or cancel out! They are a type of Gamma. Oh… and Gamma! Well…” He chuckled. “I surely don’t have to tell you what a Gamma is.”

Jimin’s eyes were wide. He sure as fuck had never heard of a Gamma. “R… refresh my memory.”

Mimms puffed out his chest. “Gamma, the third subgender, was created by the Moon Goddess after Alpha and Omega. It is both and neither at the same time. The Alpha and Omega’s primary purpose was to carry on and procreate. The Alpha and the Omega were made to be equal and to support each other in different ways. The Alpha was made strong to protect the weak. The strongest, most dominant Alpha will lead the pack in most cultures, leaving the Omegas to provide loving and gentle comfort to the pups, their Alpha, and their pack. Though, as you well know, the Omega is also quite strong with unparalleled pain tolerance. They were made strong to protect their pups and the back of their Alpha!”

Jimin blinked. Mimms had never tried to shove the “Omnia is the Master Subgender” agenda down his throat, but he had been very careful when Jimin was a child under his tutelage. Back then, his tutor would never have said, “Alphas and Omegas were created to be equal”

 Jimin shook his head. “I thought… I thought Betas were considered the third-“

Mimms chuckled. “No… no, they are not. Jimin! How could you not know? They are, in fact, the ABSENCE of a subgender.  No, no, no, my dearest prince. But they are still important to our kind as they are not limited by heat or rut and can perform needed tasks in the pack without being incapacitated by such. No. The Gamma was created to protect and support on an entirely different level! They were primarily Sentinels, Seers and Scouts! They were the first line of defense when it came to attacks, as they knew before anyone that danger was near with a powerful intuition that neither the Alpha nor Omega could even begin to imagine. They were considered the closest link to the Goddess of the three subgenders and were often the shamans and spiritual leaders of a pack.  They were swifter, stealthier, and…. I daresay, more intelligent than any other subgender. They were also typically born outwardly intersexed so that they can physically fill any role in packs where the pairings are not even in number, or to take the place of a Head Alpha if needed in a pack… However, their pubescent period typically shifted them in one direction or the other. They became more male or female as a primary gender. Those more physically male would have a vast fatty swelling of the primary labia to mimic the appearance of testicles and hide the shrunken vaginal seam. Those more physically female would experience a sort of shrinking of their member, and develop small breasts, but they all remained adaptable. If the need later arises, they can still knot or carry pups. That being said… neither went into heat or rut. Their bodies simply did not produce eggs or semen unless certain physical and chemical response criteria were met. They did not have testicles or ovaries… but a hybrid of both in one internal organ that produced whatever was needed, determined by hormonal changes. Many once considered them eunuchs, as they also were not easy to incite into lust. Pheromones have no effect on them, though matters of the heart very much do. If a Gamma is in love, they are easily seduced and quite passionate. If mated, they are then able to be affected by being scented, the same as any other subgender, but only by their mate.”

Jimin swallowed thickly. “I… I’m dizzy. This is a lot of information, Mimms. Why did you never teach me this? Why do we have no Gammas now? I have never heard of them before.”

Mimms laughed humorlessly. The sad glint returned to his eyes, along with a bit of mental clarity. “She never would have allowed it. She would have killed me had I shared such truth with you. She said it was all for your own protection.”

He leaned forward and put a hand over Jimin’s. “She was very disturbed, boy… she had been through so much in her young life… you don’t know, but I saw it all. Her mother was ten times the monster that she ever was. Even so… her black, cruel heart loved you in her own way. She was a terrible mother, putting duty and Boranthe before you much of the time… but she killed her own mother when she tried to end you. Although you showed all signs that you would be an Omnia, you were not a female. The day her mother ordered her to bring you to her, I was there. She placed you in your grandmother’s arms… the C’Altaeki at the time. As your grandmother was about to snap your neck, a mercy killing instead of leaving you in the elements to suffer… your mother ripped out her throat. Her rule began with the blood of a C’Altaeki staining the throne and the immaculate skin of her newborn infant. This gruesome act set the course for the rest of her rule.”

Jimin paled. Had he not considered doing the same thing to his own mother if she tried to do such to him? He had not known that she was not the C’Altaeki when he was born… He’d thought she held the crown long before then.

Perhaps they were more alike than he thought…

Mimms went on, “All she did, the risks she took, was to protect you. Even long before you were born, she seemed to know you, a male Omnia, was coming.  She did her best to pave the way so you would be safe once you arrived. There were so many lies… so much she did that made her womb seem a lost cause… but not a petal falls that goes unnoticed by NyneChel. Nothing goes to waste. It was all to protect you. To build for you something special that would one day be needed to keep you safe. She said you have ‘divine purpose.’ A destiny she spoke of only to me, though I thought her mad at the time. She knew… she knew one day it would all end for her, and she wanted to ensure you would be well taken care of.”

Jimin’s heart ached. So… at least part of Mimms was aware that his mother had died. His mother had been so, so cruel… the things she had done to innocents, it was inexcusable. He had felt her love at the end, but…

He shook himself as his eyes stung with tears. He couldn’t focus on that now, he needed more information about his brother. “Please, tell me more. This is very important. Why are there no Gammas?”

Mimms took a long, deep breath and wiped a tear from behind his glasses. “Some speculate that since they were born with the external genitals of both male and female, they were seen as deformed and thus killed outright or left in the elements to die.  Over time, the subgender was forgotten among most cultures.”

Jimin thought back to when Hoseok had been in the bath with him. He had looked.  At first, he had not known Hoseok’s intentions and was on guard, but he had not shown any signs of arousal, so Jimin had felt a little safer. He had never been around someone he could not control with his scent or voice, aside from his mother and Jeongguk. From what he remembered, Hoseok only seemed to have a penis and testes. Unless another opening was hidden where his testes seemed to be? His soft cock had been hanging down over the center of what looked like testicles. Perhaps those were just fatty labia as Mimms had been explaining…

Jimin shook his head. “Wait... wait… Why? Why would they allow them to die for having both? Male Omegas have wombs and female Alphas; even female Omegas with an Omnia’s help can get productive erections. Technically, Alphas and Omegas of the opposing subgender to their base gender are intersexed as well.”

Mimms’s eyes grew cloudy, and he giggled. He started talking to Jimin in a baby voice he used on him until he was twelve. “Yes! Yes, that is true! But we also keep those organs tucked up snugly in our tummies where no one can see them, don’t we hmm? Now Jimin. Remember! We do not show our special cookies to anyone! That is a treasured private place only the physicians and your caretakers are allowed to see until you are all grown up!”

Jimin was losing him again. The old man was lost in time, talking to little Jimin… He had to nudge him back to this side of his senility.

Jimin pressed with more adult vernacular, “So because they saw that a newborn Gamma had vaginal folds and a penis… external proof, they were seen as deformed?”

The old man’s eyes cleared, and he stared at Jimin for a long moment as if lost in thought. Then he seemed to realize where he was and nodded. “That is the theory, anyway. The Gamma has not been seen since ancient times.” His eyes shifted away with something like guilt as he said this.

“So, what is an Abrogant?”

The man’s eyes sparkled, now with a direct question to answer.

Mimms moved back to his desk and again righted the things Jimin had moved before sitting. “Hmm… Well, like Gamma, they naturally have the ability to cancel out pheromonal or audible influence and negate intense emotions, but to greater effect. And they could naturally suppress the heat or rut of another with their own pheromones.”

Jimin’s brows furrowed. “That’s all?” He thought back to Hoseok in his bath. How he had calmed him, easily bringing him back from the edge of his heat.

“All? All??!! No! That is not ‘all’ my little prince! They were the spiritual leaders, protectors, inquisitors, justiciars, mediators, and peacekeepers of our kind!” Mimms was standing as if outraged, but Jimin never feared him. He was a gentle soul, and his anger was likely directed inward. Mimms always took it very personally and considered it a failure on his part when Jimin did not grasp his teachings at first explanation.

Jimin shook his head. “I don’t see how the ability to affect someone’s heat and rut cycle would-“

The old man stood and began pacing. A sort of maniacal gleam was in his eyes now. It was the same gleam he used to get when trying to figure out how to teach Jimin a new formula for arithmetic so the young prince would easily understand.

“No. Nonononono…. I went about this all wrong. I need to work backward. Start with the most important. Yes… Yes, you silly old man start with the most important so the pup does not focus on the rest.” He nodded and walked back to his desk. He sat and pulled a simple, plain dinner roll from the basket and took a bite.

“My dear boy! The Abrogati have the ability to negate the powers of an Enigma or Omnia either temporarily or permanently! They are, quite simply, the Hand of the Goddess. They wipe the slate clean if she deems one entrusted with those powers unworthy.”

Jimin’s heart held a touch of panic. Hoseok had been close to him… had stopping his heat removed his powers somehow? He had to check…

His eyes glowed, and he gave a hiss.

(((Move your inkpot two inches to the left)))

The old man’s eyes grew cloudy, and he obeyed.

With a sigh of relief, Jimin moved the pot back to its original place. Mimms would never have done that without a fight. He even refilled it with a bulb without moving it. He was that… well… meticulous.

The old man took a minute to come back to himself, then shook his head in confusion. “Where was I? OH! Yes! So you see… their mere existence was a threat to the Omnia and Enigma of ancient times. I personally believe that it was by the order of one of our Enigma or Omnia ancestors that any new Gamma born be killed before they have a chance to present. You see… like Betas, Gammas did not typically present at all, instead going through a normal pubescent period like a Beta where hair starts sprouting in funny places. While Betas were the absence of a subgender, Gammas were the presence of both, unified without the need for presentation. If, by rare event, they did go through a presentation… they were always Abrogant. Having them killed before that could happen removed the threat. I also believe, however, that this is why the Enigma and Omnia are now so rare among our kind. While Boranthe does tend to force it by breeding Omnia with Omnia for the C’Altaeki line, and the head of each bloodline is required to keep producing until one is born… the process is still quite grueling and, often, fruitless.”

Jimin whispered his understanding, “We stopped being worthy as a people, so fewer are given the chance to wield such power…”

Mimms shrugged, hands up on each side as if weighing the heavy burden of possibilities in each hand. “It is all theory, pup. Until NyneChel decides to slide her juicy rump off her heavenly throne and come down here to tell us herself, it is all mere theory.”

Jimin sat forward. “Mimms. Tell me what is not theory. You know something more. I saw it in your eyes. There is an Abrogant among us... Tell me how that happened, for I have a feeling you were elbow-deep in all of this. You are the most learned and intelligent of the scholars here.”

A little stroke to the ego never hurt when talking to Mimms…

Sure enough, he lifted his chin proudly. “Of course, I was involved! I was the one who figured out how to create them, but I advised against it and tried to destroy my research. Besides… none were willing to try until the C’Altaeki! Your mother was the one who found my research before I could bring myself to destroy it. This was, of course, before she took the throne.” He shook his head. “Always… always much too inquisitive for her own good, that one. Shady. Shifty… she did so much at such a young age that went against the sacred texts… took so many risks, but oh the mind and courage. I will always be so proud of her! ”

The old man smiled and bit off a huge, cloudy chunk of a new roll. He made cute little ‘nom nom nom’ sounds before muttering to himself. “Ohh! Are these sesame seeds? I love them!”

Now they were getting somewhere… “Oh? You helped create them? And what was required to create them?”

The old man stopped chewing and stared with his enormous bespectacled eyes at Jimin. He blinked twice, then pushed back his chair and walked over to the “red section” of his library.  He climbed a ladder and plucked one from the shelf, not even reading the words on the binding. He knew where every single book in his library was, and could recite the contents verbatim, down to the page number.

Jimin smiled. Mimms’s books were all in order by the color of their binding, and he refused to allow them to be organized in any other way. Once, when Jimin was thirteen, he walked in to find his tutor weeping because some “helpful” busybody scholar had come to borrow a book while he was napping and put everything “in proper order.”

His tutor had a meltdown and could barely even speak to tell Jimin what was wrong. He had been frozen and overwhelmed with only deep sobs and tears to communicate his heartbreak.

That was the day the locks were installed. Jimin, in his very first fit of absolute rage, had marched to the royal library and demanded to know who had been in Mimms’s private study without permission.

He had attacked the man, unable as of yet to control his angry wolf.

His mother had been so proud…

Afterward, Jimin helped Mimms put them back in order by color, and never again was anyone allowed into his private study to “borrow a book” but… he sadly also never left his tower. He slept on a chaise by the window.

Mimms waddled back to the desk and slapped the book down in front of Jimin. He threw it open, quickly flipping to the necessary pages.

Jimin was staring at a very detailed anatomical analysis of a type of humanoid called a hybrid.

The page he was looking at specifically showed a direwolf hybrid, with detailed cross-sections of claws and cranium.  It was the first of MANY pages regarding this specimen.

 Jimin did not want to stop to consider how they knew exactly what lay inside a hybrid. He knew that dead bodies were often used for study, some even before they expired, but this knowledge came from ancient times… hadn’t it? Why, then, did the text appear to be in Mimm’s own hand?

He began to flip through the pages, confused. “Oh… okay? What am I looking at here?” Jimin looked back up at Mimms, who was proudly standing with his hand on his hips as if the one book could explain everything.

Mimms slowly came up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. With startling clarity and deep respect, he responded, “Our origins.”

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Hoseok was running over the rooftops of the city, chasing the scent of his prey. His former brethren of the Tribe of the Unseen Moon had somehow resisted Jimin’s voice. They were not like Hoseok… not Abrogati, so how had they resisted?

His tribe had thought them dead. Years before, they had been sent by the Grandmaster on an errand and never returned… but Hoseok had a feeling before they even left that they were planning something.

These two were never happy with the tribe. They had grown up beside Hoseok, receiving the same teachings and training for the most part. They had grown discontented when they discovered that there were teachings and training reserved for a very small group of his kind. Then furious when they learned that they were not allowed to take part in it.

Hoseok was one of the few in that small group of those who received the additional training...

The boys had hounded him daily, demanding he tell them what was taught in the temple. Unable to lie, Hoseok had only said he was not going to tell them. The knowledge was not for them and the Goddess herself had deemed this to be the truth of it.

That was when they had begun to pull away from the rest of the Unseen, accusing them in quiet grumbles of favoritism.

When Hoseok had gone to the Grandmaster with his concerns, the old man had only nodded and said, “All will come clear in the fullness of time. Every rock thrown into a pond produces a ripple. Every ripple has a purpose. It is the energy that restores the water to a stable state after disturbance…”

It hadn’t made much sense to young Hoseok, who thought that it would be better for the Goddess to come down and handle all such nonsense Herself… but now it made perfect sense. The Goddess wasted no opportunity. Every life was hers. Every wrong, every death, every sad and tragic happening had its place on the wheel of time. Cause and effect…

And if she did come down to do all herself, what purpose would she have for her children?

None.

He caught the scent of rot on the wind and smiled.

He had only once before used his ability on someone. It was a powerful Alpha who had caught him in a trap when he was very young and sent out to check the snares surrounding the temple.

Hoseok had broken his leg when he fell into a pit while checking a snare. The man who had set the trap laughed and carried him back to his village, telling him he had always wondered about the boys from the mountain clan of monks.

The man had many slaves, and Hoseok had been told he would be trained as a serving boy as well.

The Alpha had set him up in his own tent as a pet once he had forcibly removed his robe to see his injuries and found he was a hybrid. He thought him very special, as hybrids were rarely ever seen anymore. The man had swiftly decided he would teach him how to work and serve, then sell him to the highest bidder. 

Unfortunately for that Alpha,  Hoseok was much more special than his greedy heart could even begin to imagine.

His captor had found out the hard way when he tried to mount an Omega by force the very first night Hoseok stayed in his tent. He had kept the boy close, tied to his own foot so that he would awaken if he tried to escape. He had given him a sleeping draught, not knowing that nothing of that sort would work on him. Hoseok played along, recognizing the scent of the berries used to knock people out. When he thought the boy was asleep, the Alpha brought in his victim. The woman had been crying with a gag in her mouth, tied up, and trying to scratch the Alpha with her bound hands as he started to undress her.

Hoseok had jumped on his back and sunk his fangs into the man’s scent gland. He'd released his venom, rendering him immediately impotent and violently ill.

That man would never again have the ability to mount someone against their will…

The slaves were set free quietly, and they took what stores they could without waking the entire village as they stole away into the night. They carried Hoseok back up to the temple with a badly mangled leg, as he had damaged it further when attacking the Alpha.

He was taken away for healing, and their leader, Grandmaster Kaido, had refused the offerings the slaves had tried to leave for the tribe as thanks.

It had confused the freed slaves, as the old man looked to be little more than a beggar. His clothes were of the cheapest, roughest material, he was quite thin and shoeless… he looked like he needed that food more than they did.

They tried to insist, but he refused, reasoning with them. Not only were the supplies all they had managed to take for themselves when they escaped, and thus needed for their own survival, but the tribe accepted no payment for deeds of the Goddess. Hoseok had simply fulfilled the purpose She had set upon his young shoulders at that time. She had told him what to do, and had given him a touch of his Abrogant powers early in order to complete the task set before him.

It had been the first of many tests the young Gamma had to endure…

He was happy to serve and gave NyneChel back his entire heart with blinding devotion.

The scent of rot was thicker now… he was getting closer. That scent came with the change. The direct bite was fast-acting and served to destroy the scent glands of the afflicted. It traveled through the bloodstream like poison, altering and potentially shortening the life of that person.

For an Omnia or Enigma… the devastation went beyond physical. Like anyone else, they were left without the ability to produce pheromones and rendered useless even to procreate, but they also lost the power to force others into submission. It left deep, psychological wounds that many never recovered from. 

Without a subgender following such a bite, they were often exiled from pack lands, for it was unknown if what afflicted them was contagious. The existence of Abrogants and all they could do was, after all, not common knowledge.

Not even the afflicted knew. No one knew about his kind, save for scholars studying the past, the Grandmaster, his brothers and sisters, and the ones who helped create them.

Possibly, his brother would soon be among those with the knowledge, He hoped, someday soon, that Namjoon would know, too.  If he would even accept him. He knew they were meant to be... but the Goddess like to keep some things veiled for her own enjoyment. He would have to tell Namjoon everything, including the fact that his bite would not be a danger to him. Abrogants could control the release of their venom. They only used it with purpose, as it came from a secondary set of fangs that only descended when they wished them to. 

He dove into the shadows and surfaced beneath a cliff overlooking the pines his prey was being carried through. Found you! He thought.


He smiled, then lifted his godsight to look over the landscape. His blood froze. 

There was another army moving through the trees. 

More of her people.

 More enemies of his beloved baby brother.

With an anger he rarely felt churning in his heart, he sunk back into the shadows.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jimin’s head ached. He still didn’t understand half of what Mimms had told him… but…

Their people… the wolf people… had originally come from hybrids. Jimin had then asked why they didn’t consider wolves their ancestors. Why only go back as far as the Hybrids to call it their origins?

Mimms had snarkily responded, “If someone asks you how you made a cake, are you going to discuss planting the wheat??? No! Of course not! If we were going to go back that far, we may as well discuss the primordial soup that was the start of all life!”

They were considered their “origins” because that was the first bipedal form. 

His mother HATED anything she considered beneath her…. How had she been okay with all that was needed to “recreate” an Abrogant?

He didn’t want to think of it, but Mimms had made it sound all quite scientific, speaking only of genetic traits and using medical terms that Jimin did not understand. The main point to Jimin was that they had found an isolated pack of  snow leopard hybrids that still had some with the physical qualities of a Gamma, and the strongest male of those had served as part of the equation.

He was slowly walking back to his chambers when Yoongi came bounding up to him in his wolf form. He shifted a moment before throwing his arms around him and bowling him over, hugging him tight. “Jimin! Fuck! I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Yoongi! I am so mad at you! How dare you have a lover and not tell me!” Jimin’s eyes welled with tears as he hugged his guardian back, then sat up with him. “And you’ve NEVER left me alone all night before! Who is he?!”

Yoongi shook his head, confusion evident in his eyes as he stood and pulled Jimin back to his feet. “Lover? Jimin, I was captured!” His eyes then noticed the bruises barely visible below his collar. He yanked down the fabric at Jimin’s throat. “WHO DID THIS?! WHO HURT YOU?! I WILL FUCKING KILL THEM!”

Jimin hugged him tight again, crying softly, a mix of sad and happy tears. “No! No, you will not! He is my mate. We are fated! You do not have permission to harm him. These…” Jimin touched his own neck reverently. “These were made in passion… he has many in the shape of my own mouth across his body.”                                                                                                       

He smiled and looked over Yoongi’s shoulder. “Is he here? Where is he? Did you outrun him?”

Yoongi growled, “No, they are not here. I tried to end it! I tried to kill Vilanti, but she was-“

“What?! Did you see her? But Hoseok only left a short time ago! Is she dead then?!”

Yoongi looked confused. “Hoseok? Who’s Hoseok? What are you talking about? Vilanti captured me and was going to kill me in a ritual. A small pack of Alphas saved me. A pack of Alphas who said YOU sent them. I would have stayed to fight, but they had plans in place for me.  I followed their directives to get back here to you as fast as possible. Besides, making sure you are well was my first priority.”

He pulled back and looked into the eyes of his most treasured friend. “Jimin… she plans to kill you after the mating ceremony. She doesn’t want to share the throne. I should have told you what I suspected and what I planned to do… but… I was afraid if I did, you would encourage me to leave it be. To wait and see… I could not risk that. I would do anything… Have done some unspeakable things to make sure your reign would be absolute and free.”

Jimin stared up at him, realization hitting him, but he pushed the knowledge away.

Later…

“C’Altaeki!”

Jimin turned to see Noctura running toward them with an Alpha at her heels. “C’Altaeki! Our scouts! They say Vilanti’s father has arrived! He is on our lands and brings an additional army of twenty thousand men! They hold the city in a pincer attack! Vilanti with her forty-thousand men along the bank of the Perale and her father to the east!

The Alpha moved beside her and got down on one knee before Jimin with an arm across his chest. “C’Altaeki, We also have news from our side. Our leader has been caught by Vilanti’s men.”

Jimin shook his head, in denial. “That’s impossible… he’s immune to our powers. She couldn’t have captured him easily-“

Yoongi turned to him. “She wasn’t there, Jimin. It was the ones who captured ME that must have got them. They are well-trained assassins or mercenaries of some abilities that render them unaffected by my powers.”

Jimin’s heart sank. “I know. They were here with her. She tried to… to force me. She tried to rape me.  I must go. I have to save them!”

“The fuck you do! No, Jimin! Not for a pack of foreigners! Not for Alphas!” He side-eyed the Alpha on his knees before Jimin.

Jimin snarled, “He SAVED you! THEY saved you! All because I needed you by my side! Listen to yourself! It was one of OUR kind who captured you! One of OUR kind who you instinctively knew you needed to kill, and a pack of ALPHAS who saved you! I WILL save him, and you can either help me or watch, but you won't be stopping me!”

Yoongi stared into his eyes, and shame filled him.  Jimin was right. “I’m… I’m sorry. I’ve been focused only on protecting you for so long that I never stopped to consider… yes. Yes, of course, especially if he is your mate. Of course. I will save them. You stay here.”

Jimin rolled his eyes and headed to the armory.  He was going, and no one would stop him.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Verin was packing her things. She had to hide until Vilanti took over. She’d seen the guardian return and knew not what went wrong in the Omnia’s planning, but Verin’s lies about Yoongi having a lover would soon come back to bite her.

She had everything in place. The coin she had accepted for her treachery, clothes, and emergency rations. She would hide within these walls in the secret passages until-

“Hello.”

She froze. That voice… It couldn’t be… why would HE-

“You almost succeeded, didn’t you?” The voice chuckled softly and a small hand was patting her on the back. “Well… I guess you underestimated what the Goddess will do to protect Her plans. I wish She had come to me sooner with the knowledge of your treachery, but… not a petal falls that goes unnoticed, you know. Even death serves a purpose. Nothing goes to waste… Take what comfort you can in that, young Verin. Your evil purpose, whatever that was, has been served. You will never again work against one so precious and pure. His purpose runs much deeper than yours. I sincerely hope you die in deep regret.”

She turned then, meeting his eyes. She fell to her knees before him, ready to beg forgiveness, but she felt the life siphoned from her body, and all went dark.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

A fully armored Jimin and Yoongi were staring down at the body of Verin on the floor of the private quarters she shared with one other young maid. They had heard a scream from down the hall just as they were about to leave and found the sobbing teenage girl who shared the room with Verin on the floor outside of the door.

 All of Verin’s belongings were shoved into a sack, and her body was just lying there, covered in gold coins and an empty coin purse.

Yoongi was kneeling beside her. “This was a revenge killing, Jimin. It has to be. It looks like she was about to flee. She likely knew I had returned and that her lies would soon be revealed. We can’t know for sure… but I’m willing to bet those coins are what she was paid for her betrayal.”

Jimin turned her over. “We don’t have time for this. There are no wounds, no blood, it has to have been a magic attack.”

He turned to Noctura, who was watching from behind them with wide eyes. “Go and speak to Mimms. Tell him I sent you. He will not leave his tower, but he is familiar with magic. Have him give you the best names for a team to examine the body, though I feel the time and resources will be wasted. I’m fairly sure Vilanti is behind Verin’s betrayal. Still… it would be good to know if I have more enemies within our ranks who were siding with her. The scholars can use necromancy to speak with the dead. Maybe she will be repentant in her dark deeds, and we can promise an intercession with the Goddess if she reveals all she knows so her soul can run on the Moon Plains.”

Noctura bowed and ran to do as she was told, the Alpha following quickly behind her.

Jimin’s face grew dark. “I want no more deaths but Vilanti’s. I know now it was not Jeongguk’s men who caused that river of blood in my vision… it was her. She would dare to bring such a sizable army here! Those bodies… that vision will not come to pass. I will kill her and her father if I have to.”

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

✩˚⋆☽✧V✧☾⋆˚✩

✩˚⋆☽✧NyneChel's Wrath✧☾⋆˚✩

An hour later, they were following a scent in the freezing cold… one that was like Vilanti’s but with a hint of decay.

It was snowing again, and Jimin’s heart ached, praying that Jeongguk, wherever he was, had something to keep him warm.

Stay alive, mate. I beg you.

Jimin was sitting atop Algotha. Never having the need for a war-bear after Mimms had put an end to his field training, he did not have one of his own, but his mother’s old steed knew him by scent and sight.

She’d roared with joy when she saw Jimin and pulled him close, very gently, with one enormous paw.

She had been mourning the loss of her rider, but now, seeing she was needed… she was once again moving like a young, spry cub. She was missing the vision of one badly healed, cloudy eye and had many, many scars, but she was eager and ready for anything needed of her.

Jimin rode beside Yoongi who was sniffing out the trail in his wolf form as they left the city. Miski, Yoongi’s bear, had roared angrily when they tried to leave her behind, so she was following along, on guard and ready to protect.

They had no real army currently, as they were all still in the north, and the royal guard had been dispatched to protect the city walls from the dangers outside of it.

All of the Alphas from Jeongguk’s team offered to come with him, but to Yoongi’s astonishment, Jimin had refused.

His reasoning was sound. The Alphas may be well trained, but they were not going up against a small household of Omegas as they had been on infiltrating his castle with only one Omnia to contend with. There were now sixty-thousand Omega warriors ready to battle them, and possibly several Omnia if Vilanti’s father brought others with him. Yoongi and Jimin would be the only ones who could really contend with them.

Now, Jimin and Yoongi were creeping through the night making their way to the road that forked to the east and west. They were about to head west toward the Perale when Algotha growled.

Jimin’s skin tingled and his eyes began to glow at the same time as Yoongi’s.

A horde of armored men burst from the trees on the backs of their war-bears. Algotha was larger than any of them, but they were still outnumbered.

There was a large silver NorFrost leading them all. Vilanti’s father, Minjahi, led them.

“There he is… My soon to be son… mate of my sweet Vilanti! Tell me, Jimin. Why are you out right now?! Why are you not with my daughter?!  I heard you have locked her from the city, could it be you are foolish enough to try to escape the inevitable? Or have your own people turned against the idea, and you are now out looking for her to complete your bond?” He seemed genuinely unsure.

“Papa!” Two figures burst from the trees, one was carrying a skinny, gray, sickly looking form in its arms.

Minjahi slid from his war bear and ran to the Unseen who carried his daughter. “Vi! What happened to you, my child?!” He gasped when he saw the decaying mating bite.

His eyes grew silver with anger. “What… is this?!” He glared at Jimin. “YOU! YOU ABOMINATION! I TOLD HER TO LET YOU DIE ON THE RIVER LIKE SHE DID THE REST OF THE FRUIT OF HER FESTERING WOMB! WHAT DID YOUR BITE DO TO HER?!”

“It wasn’t him!” Vilanti shrieked, surprising Jimin.

Is she actually protecting me?

“He didn’t DO this! His MOTHER did! She has killed me from the grave! They have an Abrogant, and this whore has taken an Enigma for his mate!”

Oh. Of course… she wants my brother slain… Over my dead fucking body! They will not TOUCH him!

Her father took her from the arms of the Unseen… and held her close. He cried then. “My angel. My strong, gorgeous beauty. What did they do to you?”

Jimin and Yoongi shared a look. They began backing away from the scene.

He looked down at his daughter. “They have reduced you to NOTHING! You are not even fit to live such a pitiful life! Do not worry, my darling. Papa will not let you suffer…”

Her eyes widened. “What?... No… No wait!”

But his hands were already around her neck, squeezing. “You deserved the world, little bird. Now return to the goddess and be reborn.”

Her eyes grew fierce as she struggled, but he was too strong.

“WAIT!” Jimin cried, his heart full of pity and anger. (((DO NOT KILL HER!)))

It was too late. As Jimin had spoken the words, there was a pop, as her father sharply twisted her head to the side. Her head was at an unnatural angle when he dropped her.

The Unseen backed away into the trees, seeming unsure what to do now that the one who commanded them was gone.

Jimin looked down at her body. Then, he roared. “You…. You killed your own daughter! But she was your everything! You put so many expectations on her, practically worshipping her since we were children! Why?!”

“That is no way for her to live. It would have been a useless existence without flavor. I did her a favor!”

“SHE COULD HAVE LIVED A FULL LIFE! THERE ARE MANY IN THIS WORLD WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN WEAKER THAN SHE AND THEY LIVE HAPPY, HEALTHY LIVES! YOU FOOL!”

He roared back, “It would have been a black existence! She would have had nothing!”

“YOU could have ensured she had everything she desired! You have that power!”

Her father snarled. “You… YOU are the reason she is dead. Do not lay the burden of responsibility for this at MY feet! You… the worthless little male bitch that our C’Altaeki decided to keep instead of leaving to die as she should have…. And now, you have destroyed the one Omnia strong enough to continue the legacy of our people, and take it to where it belongs. Domination of all races and the elimination of the lesser subgenders!”

Jimin growled, “I would NEVER allow that to happen! You go too far! The Goddess created us in her image, but she created all of the Moon’s Children! Alphas, Omegas-“

“BE SILENT! (((ATTACK HIM!)))” He ordered his army.  The bears advanced, their riders looked a combination of terrified and furious.

There were so many of them.

Jimin countered. (((STAY BACK!)))

They did not.

Jimin was stunned. He was more powerful than Minjahi. He had always known this, so how then was his army ignoring his command?

Then, as the soldiers closest to her father drew near, he saw the marks. They were glowing slightly, still pink. Never to heal as they would always be waiting for completion.

“H-he… he did it. He subjugated them with a one-sided mark.  It’s so cruel! How could he?! That is SICK! Those poor soldiers…”

“Run Jimin!” Yoongi shouted, ready to spring into action.

Algotha roared in fury. She was eager and ready for a fight, undaunted by the odds. She longed for a good death and wanted to rejoin her rider. Protecting the pup of her mistress was a more than worthy cause.

She threw him off toward Yoongi, nodding to the wolf. It was an understanding between beasts. Then she ran headfirst into the oncoming attack.

Miski roared and followed.

A lump instantly formed in Jimin’s throat.  “Algotha! Miski!”  

They were the two largest bears on the battlefield… but even so… they were only two against many.

Yoongi sobbed. “Get on, Jimin. Do not let their sacrifice be for nothing!”

He lowered himself, and Jimin grabbed onto his fur, and Yoongi shot into the woods.

They heard the cry “AFTER THEM!” As they disappeared into the darkness, weaving through the trees.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Jungkook was following the slave girl through camp. The Omega soldiers he had taken control of were escorting the three of them, all now “wearing” chains.

He had considered trying to disguise them, but their scents and size would have made it impossible, even if they could have hidden their skin and eyes for a time.

“Hurry up! You sorry sacks of shit are too slow! Filthy fucking pigs!” One of the guards shoved him into a trough full of disgusting water, slimy with polar bear spittle and a layer of fur frozen in the thin layer of ice on top, but it was what he wanted. He quickly scrubbed at his glands while trying to look like he was flailing around, removing the oil from the demon nettles. He immediately felt relief, and could once again smell his own scent.

Good… he just wasn’t sure how potent it would be after that attack. His glands were swollen with rash. Hopefully it would be enough to manipulate these people if needed.

He pushed down his scent, muting it further as he climbed out of the trough.

They continued walking through camp, gazing around as if in fear or in awe of the sheer numbers. He shivered, though his body was already warming from his abilities.

As they were led around, they were mapping. Taking inventory. Planning.

He was relieved that Yoongi had been right. There was only one Omnia from what he was seeing and hearing. But where? Why wasn’t she here with them?

He could see the castle from where they were camped outside of the city walls.  He could see the balcony of Jimin’s quarters…

He missed him. He wanted to be with him right now.

They were taken to a large wooden platform in the middle of camp.

Be ready, my Solar Solace.

He stilled. There was a voice in his head. Was he going mad? It was not his wolf. That sounded much like himself, but this was a feminine voice.

Who are you? Are you a magi? Did Jimin send you?

You know who I am. I have amplified your powers. You have shown you are more than worthy and equally as pure of heart as my Moon of Pure Intention. I say again. Be ready. You will know what to do.

He did know who She was then. He felt his entire body tingling with something so powerful that his mind and body grew confused. He felt the urge to laugh, cry, vomit, and shout praise to the heavens all at once. He was filled with the knowledge that they were not alone, and all would be as NyneChel intended.

You never walk alone.

“Wait! You there! What are you doing?! Who said to move these Alphas from the prison tent?!”

Fuck.

One of the Omega guards responded, saluting as he recognized a superior-ranking soldier. “Vilanti wanted them brought here… to be put on display as she breaks them.”

The high-ranking soldier shook his head. “No. No, she didn’t.” He took the Omega guard by the throat. “And Vilanti is not yet back. So tell me… what are you fucking DOING with them?!”

Jeongguk felt it then. A sharp tug inside was directing him.

He ran up the platform, released the chains he had been holding behind his back, yanked down his gag, and projected his voice.

<(<<((<< (((STOPPPPP!!!!)))>>))>>)>

It came out of his body like the crack of thunder, echoing throughout the camp, sending a shockwave as powerful as a meteor striking the earth.

All around him, men, women, carts, tents, and racks were blown over, thrown, or flipped.  Even the bears cowered at the power of that voice.

Only the Omegas Jeongguk already had control of, Namjoon and Tae were unaffected.

They all stared around in shock.

Taehyung breathed. “I… I think I just slicked my pants.”

Namjoon turned and punched him, then helped him back to his feet with a smirk. “Sorry…. You were asking for it.”

Tae rubbed his jaw. “Damn it, Namjoon! How am I supposed to fight while sporting wood? You know that shit turns me on!”

Slowly, as everyone got back up to their knees, they were immediately baring their necks.

Jeongguk smiled.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

They were being hunted.

As Yoongi tore through the dark, overgrown forest, they could hear the pounding of enormous paws behind them. They wove through the trees, doing everything they could to lose them. 

Jimin turned his head and his eyes widened. There were just so many of their enemies chasing them that small trees were getting trampled by the enormous NorFrosts. This forest was very dense. They had thought to use that to their advantage, but truly it slowed their pursuers very little.

The sounds of roars and cracking behind them, at least, gave him an idea of how much space was between them, though he knew Yoongi was growing very tired. 

Every time they thought they would have a chance to breathe for a few minutes, they heard another roar grow closer. 

They were helpless against so many, especially since Vilanti’s father had bonded each fucking one of them with a sacred bite… A mating bite was only supposed to be used for that. Mating. 

He must have been planning this for some time now if he had an entire army bound to him so no other Omnia could take control of it. Only a C’Altaeki would be able to override that bond with their voice.

Since the coronation had not yet taken place, and the ritual had not yet been performed… he did not yet have that slice of the Moon Goddess within him. The additional powers that would have been bestowed upon him on completion of that ritual would have made him the most powerful Omnia in existence. He could have broken that bond easily and taken control of the opposing army.

NyneChel... please send us help. Please lead us with your light out of this dark forest to a place of safekeeping. 

They ran on, and Jimin continued praying with all of his heart.

He was starting to feel his guardian's body tremble with fatigue. “Yoongi, I can sense you are tiring! We must try to hide instead, or find our allies! I think we have to-“

A break in the trees ahead revealed a moonlit meadow. Yoongi panted, “I KNOW! Did you think I was running aimlessly this entire time?! There! We are almost to the Kim lands! Past that meadow is another forest and beyond it, the city of Falanth. If we can reach his city walls, I know they will help us!”

Jimin shook his head. “We will bring with us an army of twenty thousand men giving chase! No! We cannot bring this trouble to those gentle souls. Seokjin and his brother Harban do not deserve this!”

Yoongi snorted. "Their father kind of does. He has always played neutral ground. That family has never backed the C'Altaeki in her wars!"

Jimin was silent a moment. "Yoongi... a lot of what my mother did was very wrong. Do not forget that."

That seemed to give Yoongi pause as he went silent. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm being judgmental over a stance that probably kept their hands clean, free from the blood of innocents."

They broke through the trees, and Yoongi headed in the direction of Falanth, regardless of Jimin’s orders not to. While they had never supported Jimin's mother in battle, they were at least loyal to the prince. Yoongi's first priority was keeping him safe… even if he had to disobey.

His paws pounded the ground, his claws breaking the earth, sending clods of dirt and snow flying as he pushed his body past his limits. He was faster than the war bears, but their strides were larger.

They were less than 100 feet from the opposite tree line when they skidded to a stop.

More pale, enormous shapes emerged from the forest, which would have led to their freedom.  

They had been anticipated… and were now trapped in the meadow between two large legions of bears and their riders.

Atop an enormous Blacktooth NorFrost, was Peranti. Vilanti’s Omnia mother...

Jimin gasped. “What? HOW?! She was beheaded seven years ago!”

More figures came out of the woods, flanking her.

Minjahi rode up beside her. “Peranti… I’m sorry. Our Vilanti is dead. This unworthy trash killed our princess.”

She sneered. “If she died at the hands of this weakling… she was not what we thought she was. No matter… he will not have the throne. I will take it myself.”

Jimin grew furious. He may have hated Vilanti… but she was their daughter… to not even be mourned by those who brought you into the world was abhorrent. Detestable.

And the fact that she could have lived on…

“HE LIES! HE KILLED HER! We watched him snap her neck! She was without her powers but-“

(((SHUT UP!)))

She commanded him with a powerful, reverberating hiss. Her voice was even stronger than Vilanti’s had been.

Yoongi snarled, but she continued,

(((Get off of him. Come to me. And you, lycan. Stay very still.)))

Jimin was fighting with everything in him. Yoongi whined, yelped, and shuddered.

Wait… is he affected by her? Only I can command him.

Jimin was shaking with rage as he obeyed her, unable to fight that control. He slid to the ground, slowly approaching. Likely walking to his death.

NyneChel. If I am to die, please, protect my mate. And… find a way to tell him I loved him. I should have said to him what my soul knew the moment he held me.

Silence was his only response.

Then, he stood before her war bear, his eyes full of hatred as he stared up at her.

She sighed. “When I suggested your mother leave you beside the river to die… it was because I knew she could do no better. All of those infants that came before you… she tried to hide from the rest of us… we knew she was pregnant. We knew she carried to term… and we knew that she failed to produce an Omnia time, after time, after time.”

She slid down off of her bear and approached Jimin. She smirked at him, eying him from foot to crown. “Then… you came along.”

Slowly, she placed her fingers under his chin and gripped it, turning it this way and that. “You were such a pretty little thing… The entirety of Boranthe could speak of nothing but the unparalleled beauty of the new Omnia Prince. Even as an infant, you had the face of an angel.”

She sighed in disgust and shoved his face away, then turned and walked back to her bear. “But male Omnia are so weak! The C’Altaeki should always be a female Omnia. Our Goddess is female, after all. To be as close as possible to her… to be worthy of her, only the strongest of Omnia should have that crown. AND those powers…”

She stopped beside her bear and pet his enormous head. A deep rumble came from the beast as she continued. “When you failed to present as Omnia at a certain age, I asked her to give you up and try one more time, though I knew it would be the end of her. It would just be another long string of failed brats, which would have made it easier to gain enough support to overthrow her. When she refused, I formally requested she give up the crown. I was not even asking for myself… though I was the logical choice. I proposed she hold a Moon’s Breath competition to determine the strongest Omnia of all… and she ordered my beheading for it. She denounced me before all of Boranthe, declared me a traitor for speaking ill of the next C’Altaeki when all could see he was… ‘perfection itself.’ She said it was the promise of NyneChel that you would present when the time was right, and who was I to question the C’Altaeki? She graciously did not hold my family responsible… as long as I didn’t put up a fuss.”

She snorted. “I was lucky that my sister chose to take my place in secret. No one even bothered to check if they were beheading the right person… they just took her from the dungeons, led her to the gallows, and cut off her head. It was all so, so stupid.”

 Jimin snarled. “Volunteered… you mean you used compulsion. Your voice. On your own sister!”

She laughed. “Maybe… I guess you’ll never know. She sure couldn’t say anything after cutting out her own tongue. What does it matter now? She’s dead, just like your mother.”

Jimin turned to look at Yoongi. He was panting, as if he was still trying to break free of her control… but Jimin noticed he had taken the tiniest step closer.

Jimin turned back to her. “So what is it that you want from me? You have me here… you could have killed me already, or had me kill myself. You obviously want something.”

She snarled. “I want my pound of flesh. For my daughter. My sister. The crown that should have been OURS because… make no mistake Park Jimin. Though your family has long held the crown, I would have won that competition. All was taken from us. Now? I want to watch you destroy something you love with your own hands.”

She unsheathed her sword and threw it at his feet. (((Pick it up.)))

Panic bloomed in Jimin’s chest.

No. No I will never hurt him!

His body moved on its own. He was fighting with every muscle in his body not to obey.

She laughed. “No reason to fight it. You already know I’ll win.”

Jimin moved toward the sword and bent to pick it up.

He turned toward Yoongi, and as if the heavens mirrored his pain, lightning shot across the sky. Thunder rolled, and it began to snow with heavy, fat flakes.

With every step he took, Jimin fought Peranti’s hold on him. He would rather use that sword on himself than hurt his cousin.

As he grew closer to Yoongi, his body shook. With every moment he tried and failed to drop that sword, his soul cried out for help. 

NyneChel, please!

As he neared and lifted the sword, Jimin whispered through painfully clenched teeth. “RUN!”

Suddenly, the lycan smiled. In less than a second he shifted into his half-human form, which towered over Jimin, snatched the sword from his hands and threw it with incredible force like a spear towards Peranti.

She dove to the side… and the sword pierced the thick skull of her warbear, which was still lowered for the loving pets she had been giving it.

Peranti screamed in fury and sadness, then Jimin was free.

Suddenly, there was a rumble coming from the forest they had originally come out of. They all turned to look, and Yoongi seized the opportunity to snatch Jimin up and run with him in his arms.

The bears from Minjahi’s army, which were still positioned at that side of the clearing,  instinctively backed away from the darkness of that forest.

There was a high-pitched, looping swish, and something glittered in the moonlight as it flew from the trees.

A circular blade lodged in the throat of one of the riders, knocking him to the ground.

The rumble was growing louder.

Several blades just like the first flew from the trees, and many more riders fell.

 “WHAT IS HAPPENING?!” Someone cried.

A familiar, earth-shaking roar was the response.

Algotha broke through the trees, bloody, angry, and carrying someone Jimin never even considered might know how to ride a warbear.

“Jeongguk?”

And he wasn’t alone.

A legion of shadows flew from the dark forest behind him, running and jumping lithely from bear to bear, rider to rider, slicing through necks before somersaulting off of the beasts and running to the next group of soldiers.

There were hundreds of them, all clad in the same dark robes as his brother.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ATTACK THEM!!” Minjahi shouted, a note of panic in his voice.

 Shaking themselves out of the shock and horror of seeing the black figures who, in the gray light and falling snow, looked like wraiths coming for their souls, the soldiers moved to obey. 

They moved with great confusion. They did not know how to fight these creatures made of night.

The silk cloaks of the wraithlike creatures fluttered in the wind as they moved with the unpredictable, chaotically graceful perfection of smoke, but with the terror inducing speed of sound.

The riders finally began to fight back, but the way these phantoms moved made it almost impossible. 

These were not like the unmounted, unskilled nomadic tribes that they had previously dealt with. Nor were they like the equally large, mounted armies that had tried to attack Boranthe. Not a single member of the opposing army had any idea how to defend against such strange beings.

The NorFrosts could neither get to them when they jumped onto their backs, nor could they do anything to get them off without harming their rider.

The bears roared and swiped at the shadows while trying to evade the figures… but it was like trying to attack smoke. One moment they were there, the next they were elsewhere. The lightning speed at which they moved was terrifying.

“WHAT IS THIS?!” Peranti cried. Vilanti’s father quickly joined in the fight. His bear tried to snatch one of the Unseen from the back of another, and instead ripped the rider in half, as he was still strapped to his saddle.

Minjahi stared into the accusing eyes of the Omega he had accidentally just killed as the life slowly left his body. His guts and entrails stained the snow, curling reflexively as if his they were trying to move back into their proper place.

Minjahi turned his fearful gaze to the one he had been aiming for.

The shadow-clad figure smirked, jumped into the air and moved to kill another rider.

Minjahi followed with an unhinged roar.

His roar was cut off as a line of dark red appeared on his neck, and someone whispered in his ear from behind. “I was the one who abrogated your Vilanti for trying to rape my baby brother… She would have lived, but you killed her… and now I send you to join her soul.”

Minjahi’s eyes widened as he looked around at all the black shadows moving through the battlefield, slitting throats like reapers.

Hoseok caressed his cheek. “Yessss… you see… All of us who came before our Jimin… every one of his brothers and sisters born from the C’Altaeki… We are all the Wrath of NyneChel… and this… all of these people, are Her army. These are the children of Boranthe, left to die by the river throughout the years for showing no signs of becoming Omega or Omnia. A pity your own alpha son was not the one to kill you… Couatl is quite skilled with a blade… but he lives in the Jungles of Terapah now and is only thirteen.”

Then the warmth was gone.  Minjahi was left alone with the mental image of a son he would never know, strapped to the back of his bear.  As he sat there his neck pouring out blood, staining the white fur of his mount in crimson, he knew that his entire family, except for the one he had tried to kill, had lost.

A few meters away,Yoongi stopped running. He had reached the center of the clearing, holding Jimin close. He shook his shaggy white wolf head, sending snowflakes flying as he looked around, trying to decide quickly on a course of action.

“These are like the ones who took me… but they are defending us. Who are they?” He adjusted his hold on Jimin and ran toward Algotha.

“One of them is my brother. They are from the Tribe of the Unseen Moon.”

“Your brother?! I thought… never mind, explain later!”

Jimin was holding onto him like a toddler on his mother’s hip. Yoongi protected him with one meaty arm around his waist as the other clawed through the bodies of the confused attackers who were now off the backs of their bears.

This was making it more difficult for the Unseen to attack without getting hit by the beasts, but easier for Yoongi to send the unmounted riders flying with one swipe of his claws.

Jimin caught sight of Jeongguk up ahead. He was off of Algotha and using his enormous greatsword to cut through some of the warriors who were now unmounted. 

He sliced through bodies easily, swinging that heavy weapon as if it was just another appendage. The placid calm on his face belied the storm of emotions Jimin knew he had to be feeling inside in that moment, for every successful cut was accompanied by a shout of furious triumph.

Then a warbear was running at the back of his love. 

Jimin cried out, but the sound was lost in the wind of the snowstorm. 

Then, Algotha was there, barreling into the body of the beast who had been seconds away from biting the head off of his love. She tackled him onto his back and ripped out his throat. Then she turned directly to Jimin, nodded with the bloody string of flesh still hanging from her muzzle, and threw herself back into the fray. 

Jimin nearly fainted when he saw Hoseok suddenly appear behind Jeongguk, as if materializing from within the shadows of his fur cloak. 

Jeongguk also turned in surprise. Then, seeing who was fighting beside him, he returned to his battle. 

Hoseok pulled his double-bladed scimitar from his back and began spinning it like a Bō staff at insane speeds. He was cutting people down now, fighting back to back with the Enigma as more and more unmounted soldiers ran at them.

It was complete confusion and chaos.

There was a loud humming noise filling the air, adding to the steadily increasing havoc.

Jimin turned to the east, toward his castle, and that strange sound.

A tiny company of unmounted men appeared in the pale robes of his own scholars. They were picking their way through the trees, looking harried but determined.  Both Yoongi and Jimin were distracted by their sudden appearance, and they did not see the enormous bear running toward them, ready to attack.

The smallest scholar, a man with huge spectacles, raised his little hand and cried out as a large blue mana bolt shot from his palm.

Mimms! Holy fuck!! He left his tower for me!

The mana bolt seared through the chest of that bear, leaving a gaping, cauterized hole the size of a cannonball through its entire body.

Jimin, stunned, watched the bear fall, and turned back in awe to watch their approach.

They advanced in silence, shooting mana-bolts, and fireballs. They were siphoning life from their attackers as they went, adding their energy to their mana pool. The hum they'd heard was a magic shield around the small company of magi, keeping all physical attacks at bay.

And they were led by his furious little tutor.

More and more men ran at the tiny army of Magi. Some on foot, some on the backs of bears. Their attackers were quickly dispatched… but then their forms would rise again and pick up their weapons. They turned on their own kind, fighting their former comrades as their bodies reanimated.

Fuck. That is a forbidden use of necromancy…

Jimin would have to address that later… or look the other way. Minjahi had done far worse, after all, to gain complete control of his army. At least this army of revenants was temporary, and those being used to fight against their will were already dead.

War is never pretty.

Peranti was hissing orders trying to use her voice, but the cacophony from the battle, combined with the increasingly powerful cracks of thunder from an extremely rare weather phenomenon, was all so loud that it held no effect.

She looked around, fury and confusion warring in her heart as she saw decades of planning fall apart in the space of such a short time. 

Then, she saw a figure coming toward her, walking calmly, feet bare in the snow. He was wearing a simple blindfold of linen and the brown hemp robes of a beggar. He did not wear anything against the cold as he spun a simple wooden staff in his hands, fighting off all who approached with the calm ease of gentle ripples on the surface of a pond. With precise jabs and carefully landed blows, his attackers fell around him, twitching like swatted flies.

More of the dark warriors who had come with Jeongguk sprung from the shadows of nearby trees, coming to the old man’s aide, but he did not need their help. It was simply a show of solidarity. 

Her terror grew as she watched even more of those warriors spring from the shadows beneath his garments, popping up from the snow like giant flowers made of smoke and attacking their enemies.

“No… what the fuck is he?” She whispered to herself as she backed away. 

She turned and ran from the old man who seemed to be important to those shadows of death and destruction.

Finally, Jimin snapped out of his stunned haze. “Get me to my mate! Go to Jeongguk!!”

The Enigma fought on, roaring, trying to take control of Peranti’s army with his voice, but as they were all bonded to an Omnia, there was no way for it to work.  Then, there was another attack through the trees from the side of the forest closest to the Perale. It was the army from Vilanti’s camp by the river.

Jeongguk smirked and ran back to Algotha with Hoseok at his heels. He scrambled up onto her back as she lowered herself for him, offering a bent foreleg and her lowered head as footholds.

The men on Peranti’s side cheered as they caught sight of Vilanti’s army. 

The cheers died on their lips when they saw who was riding the bears leading that enormous legion.

Their sun kissed skin contrasted sharply with the white coats of the NorFrosts. Their crude fur and leather armor was nothing like the elegant white, silver, and silk of their own armor.

Namjoon and Taehyung smirked, gave a warcry, and charged.

 Jeongukk gave an answering roar, and every last rider from Vilanti’s… now Jeongguk’s army obeyed the call to fight.

Yoongi ran toward Jeongguk and skidded to a stop beside Algotha, who was ripping the throat out of one of the attacking beasts. He tossed Jimin up onto her back, and as if magnetized, he flew right into Jeongguk’s arms.

Where he belongs. Where he will always belong.

Jimin closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of his mate, basking in the words of truth that echoed in his soul.

This is home. This is what belonging truly feels like. This…. This is more than power. Conquest. Gold… nothing can compare to…

Love.

Destiny.

Forever.

Jeongguk yanked him closer, crushing his small, delicate body to his own as the Enigma buried his large hand in Jimin’s tangled, silky locks and claimed his lips. He kissed him like a man drowning, finally tasting the sweet, life giving air that gives him another chance at life.

Jimin moaned and gasped in the kiss, clawing at him possessively and licking inside his mouth.

They did not see the figure approaching them on foot, a look of rage on her beautiful face as she moved through the battle.

She used her voice. (((Kill him! Kill the Enigma!)))

Jimin froze, shuddering as his hand went to the dagger at Jeongguk’s waist.  “J…. Jeong...guk, p…please.”

Jimin was shaking as Jeongguk put a hand over his, preventing him from pulling the dagger free. “How? I did not think anyone could be stronger than you, my beautiful little Shard of Moon.”

Jimin was shuddering. Fighting to yank his hand free, his body trying to obey. “Y… you have to c… claim m..me…”

Jeongguk smirked, then leaned down and whispered in his ear, “I will do this… but you owe me a proper ceremony when this is over.”

He kissed him again with a ravenous desperation. Then, gently, he tilted his head to the side. With a loving, worshipful kiss, and a reverent graze of teeth to his scent gland, he whispered, “I love you” and bit him.

A blinding light filled the meadow. Everyone was clutching their eyes as if slapped with a faceful of thorns. Humans and bears alike were crying out in fear and distress… all but the Unseen, who wore their metal half masks and were unaffected. They continued to cut down the opposing army, killing any who had the mark of binding on their necks. 

It was a mercy killing. Without a complete bond, when their master dies, they would also perish, but it would be a slow and agonizing death.

As soon as the light died down, the fighting stopped, but Jimin was no longer in Jeongguk’s arms. He was, quite possibly, not even Jimin any longer.

He rose above the meadow, high above Jeongguk, who watched his love in awe.

He was glowing, surrounded by light in rings that swirled around him in the shape of a heptagram. Each of the 7 rings was a different color, and all were made of the runes of the divine language of NyneChel.

His eyes were like two silver moons. His hair floated around him as if he was suspended in water. His voice, though soft as a caress, boomed across the battlefield as he spoke with a double set of vocal cords.

He spoke with the voice of NyneChel, as well as his own.

(({{{ This is not what I intended for my children. This is not what I wanted for my people. You were meant to lead with LOVE! To PROTECT each other! NOT to use the power I bestow with a heart full of hatred and a lust for conquest. I have watched centuries fly by like the blink of an eye, and now, you will KNEEL! }}}))

Everyone dropped to their knees, realizing they were no longer seeing a prince of Boranthe, but the Goddess herself, channeled by him.

 (({{{ Listen well, my lost little pups, for the next time I must return to right such horrendous wrongs, I will bring a curse instead of loving forgiveness!} }}))

Jeongguk held his breath as Jimin rose higher, and the runic bands began to spin.

(({{{ No longer will you arrange a bond for your pups when they are grown. At the age of majority, every one of you is now to travel. You will follow the stars for three years, and in that time, I will lead you to your mate, even if that means leading you back home. }}}))

Jimin continued to rise as he continued, and Jeongguk’s heart pounded with fear. Was he going to keep rising? Leave him? Become one with the moon?! 

No, please NyneChel. I love him. Do not take my mate from me…

An answering warmth and calm filled him in response. It felt like an attempt at reassurance, but his heart was still full of trepidation. 

NyneChel/Jimin continued. (({{{You will not FORCE a bond on another, and you will mate only for love, not power or connections. If there is NO love… and you force a bond for yourself or your grown pups, it is YOU who will perish, and the bond will fail. Do not seek to hold power over your mate. Those who do so with malicious intent will be cursed.}}}))

NyneChel/Jimin then turned to a small group of the Unseen who had gathered around the old man he now knew was their Grandmaster. They went to their knees, and the goddess smiled lovingly at them.

(({{{My special ones. You may remove your blinders and gaze upon me.}}}))

The Grandmaster responded. “We cannot,” and the rest of the Unseen, from every side of that battlefield as well as that small group, responded in unison as if reciting a prayer memorized at temple. “We are unworthy. We follow you, Nynechel, without requisite proof of your existence.”

She waited, sighed, then slowly turned to the rest of those present.

 (({{{ Henceforth… I will smite those who abandon their pups… all that I create is sacred. Do NOT think to erase what I have brought forth. Now GO! Leave these to their peace. They have my blessings. Those who work against them shall suffer my wrath! }}}))

Jimin’s body jerked, arching back as a beam of moonlight shot from the center of his chest. It pierced the dark clouds, burning them away in a wide circle, leaving an orange, pink, and purple sky at sunset as the storm disappeared. His long, pale hair was flying about him like living, chaotic moonbeams as the light from within him intensified, then another blinding explosion followed, and a powerful wall of wind shot outward in all directions, touching everyone on that battlefield.

All left alive who had been marked by Minjahi felt a sharp sting over their scent glands. The one-sided mating marks flashed white and burned away like ash. The Goddess had given those who had been bound against their will a clean slate.

Jimin’s light dimmed then, and he fell from the sky. Jeongguk swiftly stood on Algotha’s back, caught him, and clutched his unconscious body close.  He rocked him, looking down into that ethereal, delicate face as his eyes welled with tears.

“Love… mate… my precious little Shard of Moon. Please wake for me.” He kissed his lips and buried his face in his neck, inhaling his scent deeply. “Give him back to me, NyneChel. Wake him for me. I need to see his beautiful eyes.”

Jimin’s lashes fluttered then, and he was looking into the sweet star-filled gaze of his Enigma.  His voice squeaked out, rough as if he had been screaming for hours. “Jeongguk… hi. I missed you…”

Tears fell onto Jimin’s face as his mate barked out a laugh and clutched him close. “You… you scared the living hell out of me. I thought the Goddess intended to keep you.” He kissed him again and sunk down on Algotha’s back. He cradled his Omnia close and rocked him like a baby. “Gods... there is so much to do, but right now, I just want to hold you in your nest. I want to make sure every finger and toe is attached, and you are fed and comfortable.”

Jimin’s lips quirked. “We cannot just go back into hiding the moment we return. We must address our people.”

Our people.

The lump in Jeongguk’s throat threatened to choke the life from him.

A figure in black jumped onto the back of Algotha and removed his hood.  

Jeongguk was left confused as Jimin shoved him away, trying to get to the man. “Hoseok!”

Jeongguk let him go. “Hoseok? Not ‘Hope’?”

Then, the Enigma’s eyes really took in the messenger. The flicking tail, the twitching ears, the white hair… those vibrant blue eyes… “Holy fuck. Are those ears for real?!… Are you a hybrid?! You lied to me? Are you a Boranthean?!”

Hoseok smirked. “I did not lie to you. I gave you the name the goddess told me to give you. It is what I was meant to represent to your people. I was the Hope of NyneChel. The Hope that would guide the two souls who, together, will help her people heal. I, and the rest of our siblings, Jimin…”

Jimin’s eyes widened, and he turned to look at the sea of people still surrounding them. 

From the mist and shadows, from every side of the battlefield, more dark figures came, separating from the others.  

They approached and stopped before Algotha, looking up at him. There were 11, and Hoseok made 12.

His mother’s children. His siblings. Jimin was the last, and he brought them to 13.

They all slowly went down on one knee but kept their heads held high with small smiles on their lips.

Hoseok flipped from the back of Algotha then and walked to join the group of his brothers and sisters. He nodded, and they began to remove their hoods and masks.

Namjoon was now standing beside Algotha, a look of desperate longing in his eyes as he gazed at Hoseok.

They all had the white hair of Boranthe, with eyes the shade of blue only present in Jimin’s family. His mother’s eyes… Like the wings of a blue morpho butterfly.

They looked a great deal like Hoseok, as they were all snow-leopard hybrids. Their ears twitched and flicked. Jimin noticed their tails now moving beneath their cloaks, sheathed in black silk to match their armor.

Jeongguk slid from Algotha with Jimin in his arms. He set him on the ground and gave him a gentle push toward Hoseok. “This is… your family, Jimin. Go. I will be here. I’ll not leave you ever again, not unless you make me.”

Jimin smiled at him, then turned and approached Hoseok, who was again giving him a gorgeous, heart-shaped smile.

He cupped Jimin’s cheek, “Hello again, little brother. I say hello, as never will there be a goodbye between us, now that we are home.”

Jimin sniffled back tears and threw his arms around him. “I know. I know everything now. I know why she left you. At least… I think I know. Mimms told me a great deal of it. I know she made a promise to the Grandmaster.”

Hoseok hugged him back tight, scenting him. “She had many secrets. His teachings intrigued her when she met him as a child.”

Jimin stared up at him. “You'll tell me? All of it?”

Hoseok laughed. “Of course I will. And you were created just as special as each and every one of us. We will talk more when the time is right. For now, come. Meet your brothers and sisters.”

Jimin looked around at the other Unseen who were not part of this small group. “And them?”

“Members of our tribe. They are my family as well, brothers and sisters of the faith. One… actually… you might recognize.”

He beckoned one over. She came forward with a wide, familiar smile.

She removed her hood and took off her mask.

She had short-cropped hair, a rough, clumsy sort of pixie cut, but… there was a long braid hanging from one temple with a slender strip of white woven through. One of her eyes was moon-silver.

Jimin choked out, “Lamika!” at the same time as Jeongguk.

Her head jerked toward Jeongguk, and her eyes widened.  The two moved toward each other and stopped a few feet apart, staring.

Their faces held awe and a sort of shattered love that had been pieced back together after being ripped to shreds.

She sobbed, then ran, closing that small gap as she threw herself into his arms. He caught her, hugged her, and cried into her neck. “My… my baby sister. I thought you were dead! I’m sorry! So sorry! I should have looked for you! For proof of your death, but all were ashes!”

She shook her head. “You would never have found me, Gukkie. I was with the Unseen. The Moon of Pure Intention healed me. I would have died had he not laid hands on me and prayed. He gave me a part of himself then… this is why I am alive… and why I will forever have this.” She reached up and flicked the strand of white, then tapped below her silver eye.

Jimin turned back to his own siblings with a smile. They came forward, one by one. All wanted to hold him. Hug him. Scent him.

He eagerly returned the affectionate gestures. They were all so deserving of it. He swore to himself that he would shower them with all the love they did not receive from their mother. All the love he himself had never received.

A scream broke through these beautiful moments, and his brothers parted as Peranti was dragged forward by the Grandmaster. He threw her unceremoniously at Jimin’s feet. There was a festering bite over her scent gland, like the one that had been on Vilanti’s neck. 

She had been abrogated, and it was with shock that Jimin noticed the thin trickle of blood dripping from the mouth of the old man. 

A natural Abrogant.

She was screaming at Jimin. “You… you!!!… this is so WRONG!!! This cannot be real! That cannot have been the true Moon Goddess speaking through you!”

A few of the soldiers who had been in Minjahi’s army stepped forward angrily. “How, then, do you explain our freedom from the bond which was forced upon us?! Many died here today because of your senseless desire for power! You refuse to believe what you see with your own eyes because despite the truth being laid before you, you still want that power!”

Jimin nodded to the man, who turned and knelt before him. “Forgive us, C’Altaeki. We will owe you until the day we die. It was because of you that we are released and now free to find our own truth.

Jimin smiled down at him. “All is well now. Be at peace. We will be making changes throughout our land over time. It will be good to have supporters for what is to come.”

The man nodded, and many of those left alive in that legion nodded with him, most looking tired and relieved.

Jimin faced the rest of Minjahi's liberated army. “Please, go home and let them know what happened here today. Tell them… Tell them that those families who have a Beta or Alpha child can call them home. Those who have them going forward will not have to hide them. They will be free to love them and raise them with pride. If any are found to be allowing their children to die because of their subgender, there will be consequences.”

They beat their chests in a salute and waited.

“What about her?” The soldier indicated Peranti. “You know she is insane now. You will have to kill her.”

Jimin shook his head. “She will not die. She will live on in her wretched misery, and be watched to make sure she does not end herself.”

His brows furrowed. “Why? Why leave her to live after all she has done?”

“You heard the Goddess. She has created all. We are not to destroy what she has created. Peranti’s powers are gone. NyneChel has seen to that.”

They looked at the pitiful mess of a sobbing woman who lay in the bloody mud and snow, ready to die.

Seeking a task, Taehyung approached on foot and crossed his chest with his arm in salute. He gave Jimin a boxy smile. "What can I do to help?"

Jimin smiled and gestured to Peranti. “Take her away and get her a healer. See to it that she is well cared for.”

As Taehyung did as directed, Jimin strode back to Jeongguk and Lamika.  Taking her from Jeongguk, he hugged her. “I’m happy to see you made it. I… I am sorry I could not have done more.”

She shook her head. “Oh, my angel. I have thought of you with a grateful heart all these years. You saved me. I am so happy that you will now also be my brother.” 

She looked between Jeongguk and Jimin, then took their hands. She placed Jimin’s small palm over Jeongguk’s. “I may be the youngest, but from what Jeongguk has just told me, I am his only surviving family with a sound mind. I give you my blessing in NyneChel’s light.” Jimin hugged her again, and let the tears of happiness fall from his eyes.

Nearby, Namjoon was shyly approaching Hoseok. “Hope.”

Hoseok turned and looked up at him with large, sparkling eyes that glittered in the moonlight.

“Fuck.” The breath was knocked from the Alpha at the beauty of his long-time crush. “So…. So fucking beautiful.”

Hoseok stepped toward him slowly, a sly smile on his lips. “Oh? Am I?”

Namjoon nodded as if in a daze. “The most beautiful creature in the world.”

Hoseok placed a hand on his chest, still looking up at him. There was something warm sparking in his gaze for the larger man. “So… this is finally happening then? I knew it wouldn’t until NyneChel’s plans came to fruition… but does that mean you’re ready so soon?”

His eyes widened. “You knew?! But-“

Hope smiled up at him. “Of course, I knew. I have a connection with the Goddess. Not that I needed it, you aren’t exactly subtle. Your scent went wild every time I came to visit. Did you think I couldn’t detect your feelings? Feel the draw? I felt it budding when we met, and it only grew stronger each year.”

Namjoon cupped his face with both of his large hands, running his thumbs softly over his cheeks. “Does that mean you will let me court you?”

Hoseok looked serious for a moment, losing his smile. “There is something I must tell you first. About me. My kind. A lot, actually… but it’s necessary that you know this before you agree to be my mate.”

Namjoon’s eyes widened. “I don’t care what it is. I accept you.”

“But I-“

“I really don’t care what it is. Do you turn into a giant rat at the blood moon and go pillaging beaver dens? I’ll come with you. Do you run and dance naked every evening at dusk wearing a pork chop around your neck and fight off beasts to hone your skills? I’ll watch. Do you eat only beetles and grubs? I’ll help you harvest them and feed them to you if that’s what you ask of me.”

Hoseok grimaced. “I actually don’t enjoy bugs. At all. They give me the willies. Fine. Yes… you may court me… AFTER we have our talk.”

“C… can I kiss you now?”

“I’d be offended if you didn’t.”

Namjoon inhaled the last syllable of the words that came from Hoseok’s mouth with a deep, loving kiss. It held all the years of longing within that one, beautiful press of lips, and as he licked at the seam of his lips, Hoseok opened for him.

Jimin and Jeongguk were giving orders to the rest of those on the battlefield, not straying more than a few feet from one another. Together, they handled the clean up and organized groups to set up tents so the wounded from both sides could be tended.

Later that night, Jeongguk was holding him by the icy river. Jimin was sitting in his lap, and Jeongguk was kissing over his scent gland.

While rocking him in his arms from side to side, his cheek pressed to the Omnia’s temple as they watched the stars, he asked. “Does… does this all count as a courting gift even though I did not do it alone?”

Jimin snorted. “Need I remind you that you are the one who demanded to be allowed a proper courting? Yes. You have effectively taken a large part in protecting me and my people from utter destruction. The Goddess herself told me you are mine. What more do we need than that?”

Jeongguk’s lower lip pooched out. “I wanted to do something special though. I didn’t do this all alone.”

“Are you seriously pouting at me right now because you didn’t destroy an army of sixty thousand by your own little lonesome? Really?”

“Well I wanted to-“

Jimin turned and snatched his lips, pressing them together. “Stop. You did do something. You saved my Yoongi. That is all I needed. He told me what happened. Also… why do you smell of demon nettles and polar bear spit?”

Jeongguk sighed. “Fuck. Do I?” He sniffed himself and gagged. “Goddess… how did you even kiss me?”

Jimin laughed then, and it was a magical sound. He turned in his lap, facing him.

Jeongguk looked at his love with a dopey, lovesick expression as Jimin leaned their foreheads together. “Because I can still smell you underneath it. Let’s head home. I want to wash you with my own two hands.”

Jeongguk lifted him and began walking back to Algotha.

Curious, Jimin asked, “Hey….  HOW did you get Algotha to let you ride her? And how did you even find her?”

Jeongguk smirked. “I smell like you Jimin. You may have used something to get rid of MY scent after we made love… but I did not. Once I had control of that army, and we started to move, a few of the Unseen found me and told me what was happening. I don’t know if you are aware, but there are shadowmancers among them.  They can travel through darkness. They can also transport groups of others with them through those shadows.  I took as many soldiers as I could with the unseen, but just a few of us and your siblings were enough to save your two bears. Algotha saw that we were there to defend, along with the other bear that was there with her. She knew I was one favored by you by the scent of our lovemaking, I guess. I simply told her I was your mate and wanted to find and save you. She immediately took a knee and allowed me to clumsily scramble onto her back.”

“Did… did Miski live?”  

Jeongguk nodded. “She did, but she isn’t going to be a war bear any longer, I think. She was very badly hurt.”

Jimin sadly shook his head, then looked toward camp as they walked back to let the others know they would be leaving.

Jimin’s eyes widened when he approached and saw Yoongi holding up Taehyung against a tree with two fists full of his fur tunic. He was snarling furiously, and his eyes were glowing.

“Yoongi! STOP! What are you doing?!” Jimin ran to him, placing a hand on his arm. “This is one of the men that saved you!”

Yoongi’s answer was full of quiet menace. “I’m taming a brat. He doesn’t know his place!”

Jimin was about to intervene when Taehyung moaned… and a strange smell began emanating from him. It smelled of petrichor, vetiver, and…. slick…

Jimin blushed. “Oh… um… Yes, well… We’ll leave you to it! Just… don’t hurt him okay?”

“Hurt me… please hurt me…” Taehyung begged while staring into Yoongi’s eyes.

Jeongguk snatched Jimin up in his arms.“Okay then, time to go!” He carried Jimin back to Algotha like the devil was on his heels.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Chapter Text

✩˚⋆☽✧VI✧☾⋆˚✩

✩˚⋆☽✧The Peace of Still Waters✧☾⋆˚✩

When they arrived back, and the guards on the city walls saw Jeongguk proudly riding on the back of Algotha with Jimin on his lap, the bells were sounded. Shouts of “He is safe! Our Prince is safe! He has returned!” echoed from the walls, starting at the city gates and rippling through the city.

The fires atop the walls were lit, and special treated wood was added to the fires to burn blue. This was the traditional way they let all in the land know when the C’Altaeki returned victorious from war.

Coronation or not… they would know what it meant. Jimin IS their C’Altaeki. It was now indisputable.

Jeongguk dismounted and watched as Jimin followed Algotha and gave her loving scratches. She rumbled affectionately and pulled him close again. She breathed in his scent and turned to go back to her ice cave.

They watched her shuffle home, tired. She had a bit of a limp and a few wounds, but compared to many of the battles in her past, she was mostly unharmed.

“Will she be alright?” Jeongguk asked, concern lacing his voice.

Jimin chuckled. “Do you realize how old that bear is?”

Jeongguk shook his head.

“My grandmother rode her to war. They live quite a long time and can survive some very hellish injuries. She won’t let healers anywhere near her. We’ve tried. The only time she allowed it was when she nearly lost her eye.”

Jeongguk’s jaw dropped. “I had no idea they lived so long.”

Jimin nodded. “She loves to fight… but I pray we only need to fight to keep order from now on. She’ll likely retire when our grandchildren are grown.”

Jeongguk rumbled deep in his chest. Visions of Jimin round with his child dancing through his mind. His scent grew spicy.

Jimin’s grew sweet in response as Jeongguk lifted him and kissed him hungrily.

Jimin kissed him back, and he was carried into the castle, past every ogling servant and councilor. They were rushing after them, asking questions, begging for a word until Jeongguk turned with a roar and ordered them to return to their duties.

He had just kicked open the door to his bedchamber and headed to Jimin’s nest when the Omnia stopped him.

“Wait just a minute, Skunk-gguk… aren’t you forgetting the smelly situation you have going on? You are not getting into my nest smelling like this. I need to bathe you.”

Jungkook could get behind that idea completely. He carried him into the bathing chamber and set him down. He began undressing himself, but Jimin slapped his hands away. “Let me do it.”

Jeongguk smirked. “As long as you don’t undress me like last time… I don’t have another change of-“

Jimin ripped his pants open.

Jeongguk sighed and facepalmed. “It’s always my pants…”

Jimin smirked and held up a scrap of leather. “I like my way better… besides. These are unsalvageable. The stink is atrocious.”

“It can be cleaned with fragrant oils. You don’t have to destroy-“

Jimin ripped out another swath.

Jeongguk groaned in defeat. “Fine.” He spread his arms wide. “Do your worst.”

Jimin smirked and gripped his furs, rending them in two. “You once said I was like a glass cannon… I can be strong.” He then tore into the leather breeches with his claws.

Jeongguk smiled down at him as Jimin ripped the rest of the clothes from his body. “Yes… I know, love, but physically speaking, I would be more likely to survive a blade in the chest than you. I have more muscle, and I’d be willing to bet my skin is thicker than yours.”

 Jimin got behind him and gave him a hard shove into the bathing pool.

Jeongguk came up sputtering and stood in the chest-deep waters.

 Jimin slowly stripped, watching the eyes of his mate. A soft smile touched his lips as he noticed the smoldering gaze following his fingers down as he worked his buttons, revealing a slivering peek at the flesh beneath. 

Jimin could see the enormous erection rising beneath the clear waters.

“Enjoying the view?”

Jeongguk rasped back, “I’m going to destroy you in the best way… fuck. Please… stop teasing and get in here.”

Jimin giggled and shrugged out of the top half of his gown. Then he turned his back to Jeongguk as he slowly slid the bottom half of his gown down with his silk pantalettes. The satin skin of his plump rounded ass was already glistening with slick close to the junction between his thighs. His pretty, pink balls were soaked with the heavenly-scented fluid, making the Enigma’s mouth water.

As Jimin stepped out of the gown pooled at his feet and turned, his cock was flushed red and standing at attention.

With maddening, deliberate slowness, he moved to the glass decanters and linens beside the pool and began pouring oils and other liquids onto a cloth. He slowly walked around to the steps of the pool and began his descent.

Jeongguk met him there, pulling him into his arms and burying his face into his neck. He sucked greedily on his scent gland, making Jimin moan.

Jimin pushed him back a bit, eyes already hooded with lust. He reached up with the cloth and began washing him. He started with his face, gently running the cloth over the sharp line and rounded curve. He kissed his beautiful nose and lips as he slid the cloth down his neck. He was gentle, moving with soft swipes, creating silky suds. He noticed the rash on his scent glands when he moved his hair off his neck, and his brows furrowed. “What happened here?”

“Demon nettles. They tried to destroy my scent glands so I couldn’t control them. That was why I smelled so terrible. I washed in a water trough.”

Jimin’s eyes grew teary. “I’m sorry. I’m glad I can still smell you, but I would have found a way to heal you if-“

He placed a hand over the rash and felt power surge through him.

Jeongguk gasped and hissed. “Love… what did you do?” When Jimin removed his hand, the rash was gone. 

Jimin’s eyes fluttered, and he swayed.

Jeongguk caught him, concern in his voice. “My love. My little Shard of Moon. Are you alright? Please, sweetheart…”

Jimin looked up at him with eyes glowing a soft silver. “I’m… okay. I think… I think when I feel emotional about wanting someone to be well, I can heal. I th… think I may have always been able to and not known it. Like when I healed your sister, I did not want her to die. I remember feeling tired when I prayed over her, but I didn't know why. I thought it was just the fear.”

Jeongguk lifted him and carried him to the steps. “Sit, love. My precious. I can wash myself while the dizziness passes.”

Jimin sat and watched as Jeongguk slowly lathered the rest of his body with the cloth. Where the Enigma stood, a few feet from the steps where Jimin sat, the water only reached his buttocks.

Jimin’s eyes watched him hungrily. He rested his elbow on the top step and stared at the feast of flesh before him.

Jeongguk smirked when he had washed most of himself, then slowly moved closer so his cock was above water, standing proud and thick. He ran the suds over it and slowly stroked them into his skin. He let out a sinful moan and tilted his head back.

Jimin bit his lower lip. His hips were barely above the water line, and the head of his cock was weeping with precum.  He slowly reached down and stroked himself as he watched his lover do the same.

Jeongguk felt the need to tease his mate a bit, drive him crazy with need, so that when he tasted of his slick, it would be thick and plentiful, like honey dripping from the comb.

He rinsed the suds from his body and moved closer, climbing the stairs. He propped a leg up on a step, his throbbing cock at eye-level with Jimin. “Excuse me… I just need to wash my leg.”

With maddening slowness, he began lathering his thigh. His little mate’s breaths were quickening.

Jimin was licking his lips, staring at the thick, crystal bead of precum that was now collecting precariously at the fat head of Jeongguk’s cock.

“C… can I… P… please can I um…”

Jeongguk smiled indulgently. “What’s wrong, love? Do you want a taste? Is that it? I don’t know if it will fit in that precious mouth of yours.”

“It will! I’ll make it fit!” Jimin whined and leaned forward, but Jeongguk held him back with a hand to his chest.

“So impatient… we have forever, don’t we?” The Enigma swayed his hips from side to side, making his cock move hypnotically. His scent was powerful now, this close to his raging erection.

He moved back, and Jimin protested with another whine, reaching for him, but Jeongguk was just switching legs. His cock was back in his face now, closer this time. The gorgeous bead of precum was threatening to fall onto Jimin’s chest.

Jimin started to growl in petulance. “I want-“

Jeongguk reached down with both hands, dropping the cloth into the water and cupping his face with both hands. He tilted his face up and bent down, plunging his tongue into his mouth.

Jimin moaned and reached for Jeongguk’s cock, gripping it possessively. As their tongues danced over each other’s, Jimin whimpered and writhed, touching himself with his free hand.

He broke their kiss and whispered against Jeongguk’s lips, “Mine… You’re mine! This is mine!” He gave the cock in his hand a possessive squeeze. His fingers could not close around the enormous girth, which was thicker than his wrist, so he used both hands to stroke him.

Jeongguk chuckled and moaned. “Yes, love. No one else’s.”

Jeongguk released him and started to move back, but Jimin held his cock firm. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Jeongguk paled slightly. “Not far, love… can you release my-“

“I just told you. It. Is. Mine!” He growled, his eyes shifting with dark rapacity. It was as if his wolf was serious about it not being taken from him—a threat. 

Jeongguk gulped. He was both a little afraid and possibly the most turned-on he had ever been in his life. True, their first time was absolutely mind-blowing… but Jimin was now marked, and a bond was running beneath their skin that connected them in ways indescribable to those who had never experienced it. Every emotion was amplified, and every loving, sexual, physical touch was heightened.

He tried to push down his emotions. He still wanted what he had thought of before. That sweet honey dripping on his tongue. “Let me taste you first.”

The growl calmed, becoming a purr instead. “Very well… I need to wash your hair anyway. Get on your hands and knees. Kneel. Now…”

Jeongguk’s cock twitched, pumping a thick string of precum from the head as his eyes grew hazy.

He obeyed, kneeling before his love and kissing his belly as Jimin reached for a glass decanter, uncorked it, and poured a spicy-scented liquid into his black locks.

As Jimin began to scratch the soap into Jeongguk’s scalp, the Enigma began licking at the head of Jimin’s pretty, petal pink cock.

Jimin moaned, watching him as the wet tip of his tongue ran back and forth over that swollen flesh.  Cute, tiny whimpers escaped his throat while he watched. His brows furrowed, plump, wet lips hanging open with his little moans and gasps, enthralled by the absolutely delicious sight before him.

Jeongguk met his eyes, and sucked him into his mouth, rolling his tongue over the head as he took him in deep, then pulled back and released his cock with a pop. “Mmm,” he purred. “You taste so fucking good. I can’t wait to see what the rest of you tastes like.” He went down again, sucking him in all the way to the back of his throat, coughed, and Jimin moaned.

Jeongguk found himself wanting desperately to hear more of those pretty sounds. They were making him painfully hard, and in this position, there was no way for him to rub against Jimin.

That was okay. He wanted to savor that sweet, torturous pain. It was exquisite.

He found his rhythm, bobbing his head, taking Jimin deeper and deeper. The scent of his slick was powerful now. It was leaking out of his mate profusely, scenting the waters directly around them. 

When he could take no more of that sweetly scented torture, he popped his lips off his cock. With a growl, he stood and lifted Jimin, taking him to the top step and laying him on the floor. He pushed up his thighs and dove his face into that sweet honey mine of slick and love. He lapped at it like the starving animal he was.

Jimin keened, his mind going blank, purging itself of anything besides the feelings he was now experiencing. The hot tongue licking, lapping, and then slurping at his rim, the feeling of being so vulnerable and on display, the cold air combined with the sucking pressure and soft flesh as Jeongguk devoured his hole… that was all that existed.

Jeongguk was growling like a feral beast. He had never tasted anything as sweet and perfect as the slick coming from Jimin. The more he tasted, the more he wanted. He felt like a man starved, now presented with his first hot meal after weeks of deprivation. His wolf was pushing his way forward, demanding they mount him. 

The words “Mine, Mine, Mine” echoed in his head, sending possessive vibrations through his entire being. His cock pulsed painfully. He wasn’t even close to being inside of him, and the base of his cock was tingling and beginning to swell slightly.

Jimin was mewling, panting, “AH! Please, please, love! I need you! I need you inside! Please!” His skin was scorching hot, and he was beginning to drool as his eyes rolled back in pleasure.

Jeongguk’s wolf was growing more insistent. A savage growl was rolling from him as he imbibed in that succulent flesh. His human side was more concerned about the temperature of his mate, though. Namjoon had tried to verbally educate him on intimacy a long time ago. Things like prepping and what to expect, and he ran through his mind, trying to find the possible cause.

His wolf knew the answer, though. His wolf knew much more instinctively than Jeongguk could have ever been taught.

The mating bite… has triggered his heat, and our rut will soon follow.

The growl that escaped him now was completely primal. His eyes were glowing gold, and he felt his teeth elongating in his mouth. He wanted to mark him again… but he would not do it… not until he was claimed with Jimin’s bite. He wanted them to be totally equal, so that when Jeongguk submitted to his wishes, Jimin would know it was out of love and devotion.

His eyes rolled back in his head as he forced his tongue to open that wet heat even more. His wolf was ravenous, cock dripping and ready to claim what was his. He gave an untamed snarl as he ravaged that hole with wild abandon.

Jimin cried out and gripped his slippery, soapy locks. He stared down at Jeongguk, who had him nearly bent in half, holding his ass up like he was eating a quartered melon, golden eyes boring possessively into him as he licked inside his hole. His teeth were pressed into the surrounding flesh, and his rumbling growl was vibrating through Jimin, making his cock jump and spill even more precum with the violent movements of the tongue inside of him.

He sobbed in pleasure, “Jeongguk! Oh! Goddess! Fuckkk!” He kept carding his fingers through his mate’s hair, in awe of the loving possession and absolute ownership he knew they both felt for one another.

“Fuck! Please! Please! Want to taste you too!”

Jeongguk snarled, but it was with incredible passion. Without removing his mouth, he slid both of his meaty arms beneath Jimin’s back, gripped his shoulders, and stood. He continued eating him out like this, with Jimin crying and screaming in ecstasy. The show of strength had Jimin gushing slick like a waterfall. It was dripping down the enigma’s chest, abs, coating his cock and balls before sliding down his legs. By the time Jeongguk removed his mouth, he was standing in a puddle that was more slick than the water from their bodies.

 He carefully maneuvered Jimin, cradling him close, and slowly moved him to a standing position.

Jimin’s legs felt like jelly and would have given out if not for the strong arm around his waist.

Jeongguk kissed him again, and Jimin tasted his own sweet slick on his lips.

He moaned. It was filthy and insanely arousing, but he wanted to see what they would taste like together. He let out a tremulous, broken whisper. “I want to taste your cock. I want to taste your cum.”

Jeongguk stilled, then growled, bent, and lifted him around his waist. He spun him upside down, maneuvering him so Jimin’s face was hanging right in front of the aching, swollen cock that was flushed red and dripping with need. 

Jimin whined and inhaled the deeply concentrated scent of him. With one hand, he grabbed his cock and licked at the precum, which hung from the tip of his fat girth in strings. He moaned at the taste of him, then rubbed it on his lips, cheeks, chin… he moved it aside and buried his face in the coarse patch of hair while sliding the warm shaft against his neck. He buried his nose into his curls, grinding his face into him, collecting his scent and growling.

Jeongguk whimpered at that loving, extremely possessive act. He rewarded him by holding him tight with one arm around his waist, sucking Jimin’s shaft back into his own eager mouth, and plunging two thick fingers into the hole he had partially prepped with his tongue. He pumped and scissored his fingers, reveling in the squelching sounds as Jimin wiggled and moaned at the intrusion.

Jeongguk pulled out those wet digits and slapped his ass, leaving a pretty red handprint. “Stay still.”

Jimin growled and squeezed his cock, then began sucking it with sloppy gusto, bobbing his head while he stroked what he couldn’t get inside of his mouth with two hands.

The warm, satin feel of Jeongguk’s thick meat on his tongue made Jimin want to cum on the spot. The Enigma’s mouth relentlessly pleasuring his cock was beyond what he had ever imagined that would be like.

He sucked him in deep, reaching back to claw his fingers into Jeongguk’s ass to give himself additional leverage. He set his own pace as he tried and failed to swallow the enormous cock several times. He slammed it again and again into the back of his throat. His stomach clenched, and he gagged and choked around the intrusion, but he could not get enough of him.

His mind was growing hazy. His body was growing hotter and hotter.

He knew what was happening and welcomed it.

Finally, he pulled his head off Jeongguk’s cock and whimpered. “Too… too hot. ‘M too hot. Please!”

Jeongguk took one last, long suck, then allowed Jimin’s cock to slip from between his lips. He gently righted Jimin, kissed him, and picked him up bridal style... and carried him back to the water.

Jimins whined, eyes going large and liquid in desperation. “What? Noooooo! Please! I need you!”

Jeongguk rumbled, voice raspy, “Love… do you want soap in your nest? I want this to be perfect for you. You are nearly in heat, and I will soon be in rut. Neither of us will be thinking about anything other than mating in mere minutes. I need you to wash this from my hair so we do not ruin your beautiful nest.” 

Jimin’s wolf preened at the praise of their nest, and softened at the loving care their mate was showing them. The respect and love was more than any wolf could ask for. He purred and kissed his shoulder as the enigma walked him over to the chest-deep center of the pool. He set him on his feet, and tilted Jimin’s head to the side. He licked over his raw mating bite, making Jimin whine.

“Ready, baby?” Jeongguk kissed him softly. 

Jimin purred at the pet name, and nodded through the thick haze beginning to settle over him.

Jeongguk knelt and was completely under water. He mouthed Jimin’s perfect belly while the delicate hands worked all of the soap from his hair.

Jimin moaned again when he felt Jeongguk suck his cock into his mouth and bob his head as if he couldn’t get enough of tasting him, even while unable to breathe.

Concerned, Jimin bit his lip. Intending to make him come back up for air, he grabbed two fists full of his black locks and pulled him off of his cock.

Or tried to.

Jeongguk gripped him by the back of his thighs and yanked him in deep all the way to the back of his throat.

Jimin cried out in pleasure and let Jeongguk have his way until he eventually let go and came up for air on his own.

When he did, Jimin was breathing fast and heavy. A fine sheen of sweat was on his brow and his cheeks were very flushed. Jeongguk tenderly picked him up and held him close. He leaned him back and rinsed his hair gently with one hand. There was no soap for him, and now no more time for it.  Luckily, very little blood from the battle had made its way to that beautiful mass of moonlight and silk.

The Enigma felt his control slipping, so he decided it was time they left the pool. He carried Jimin to his nest and asked him, while he was still lucid. “May I enter your nest? Or… should I dry you first?”

Jimin stared at him with the silver eyes of his wolf and smiled. Breathily he responded, “You remembered. Yes, you can come into my nest. Don’t worry about the water. Here, set me down first. I need to make it ready for you.”

Jeongguk did as he was told, and Jimin crawled onto the bed to rearrange.  

The Enigma rumbled, his wolf pleased to see his mate so diligently making a place for him in his sacred space. His chest swelled with pride as he watched the Omnia carefully yank some furs and items free, moving them to outer parts of the nest, his pillows and cushions being arranged so very carefully.

He watched him with hungry eyes. It was mesmerizing. The way he was moving his perfect body, his smooth, beautiful, graceful limbs and perfect hips, his rounded, heart shaped bottom jiggled with his movements… it was making Jeongguk’s mouth water for another taste.

Finally, Jimin turned. High spots of pink were staining his cheeks, running across the bridge of his perfect little nose.

He lay down then, and opened his arms to Jeongguk, inviting him into his nest.

Jeongguk carefully crawled over the pillows and furs at the edge and moved to cover Jimin’s body with his own.

His warm body pressed down on Jimin’s, making him moan and immediately open his legs to accommodate his large form. The very wet sound that came from between his thighs when they opened made Jimin blush.

Jeongguk chuckled. “No need to be shy, I love hearing how soaked you are for me.” He reached down and plunged his fingers into his hole again. making Jimin cry out. He curled his fingers inside of him, adding a third. He made short work of finding that bundle of nerves and rubbing into it.

Jimin sucked in a moan and bucked his hips.  “Now! Please! You have teased me long enough!” He had tears in his eyes, both emotionally overwhelmed with love for his mate and beginning to feel the severity of the cramping of a sudden, triggered heat.

Jeongguk silenced him with a ravenous kiss. He was ready to claim his mate. Had BEEN ready for some time. It threatened to rip him apart from the inside if he didn’t stop playing and take what was his soon. 

He thrust in a fourth finger, a deep, powerful rumble emanating from him as he worked his fingers inside of Jimin. The slurping, sucking, wet sounds harmonized with their moans, whimpers, snarls and growls until neither could wait any longer. 

Jeongguk removed his fingers and positioned himself at his entrance, but Jimin shook his head. He shoved Jeongguk back a tiny bit and rolled over onto his belly. Then he lifted his hips and arched his back, leaving his wet, fluttering hole on full display.

Jeongguk sucked in a breath as he reached out to caress Jimin’s perfect apple bottom with both of his rough, calloused hands. He growled and squeezed each globe, spreading him more.  He licked a fat stripe over the pink, quivering flesh of his rim. “Mmm… You… you are presenting so beautifully, so perfectly for me, my little Shard of Moon. My little piece of heaven… my perfect mate.”

Jimin’s heart swelled with pride. And he began to purr, the delicate rumble coming from deep within.

Jeongguk bit one of his ass cheeks. Then sucked on that pink, slick-soaked, winking flesh one last time, pulling at the edge and licking inside, making Jimin insane with delirious want.

Jimin sobbed, “P… please. Need you inside. Want you! Stop this! I need you!”

Jeongguk lay a worshipful kiss on one of the fleshy, peachy globes and righted himself. He lined up his cock, gently pressing in. “I love you, mate.”

Then he pushed the head of his cock into Jimin’s tight heat.

Jimin mewled and gasped, “More! Deeper, please!”

Jeongguk pushed in the rest of the way, bottoming out. He leaned over to cage Jimin with his arms, a fist on each side of his body as he began thrusting into him.

He ravenously gazed at the beautiful form below him, back so beautifully arched, chest pressed to the furs. Jimin’s angelic face was turned to the side, surrounded by hair like spun moonlight, and his plump lips were open wide as he panted and moaned, his eyes were hazy and hooded with lust.

His perfect mate was making little whimpering sounds between moans, and Jeongguk felt his control leaving him.

He pulled his hips back until only the head remained inside of him, then slammed back in hard, making Jimin scream with pleasure. 

Jeongguk continued this, pulling out slowly and then sharply snapping his hips forward. He sped up, the sounds coming from Jimin egging him on. Their skin slapped together wetly, droplets of slick spraying on impact with each clash of their bodies.

His wolf began to take over then, and he felt the powerful, possessive aggression that demanded he not only breed his mate, but satisfy him. There was a powerful need to make sure he smelled like him for weeks. Felt him for weeks.

His hips moved faster and faster, fucking into him with so much force that Jimin was slipping, losing his knees as he was viciously railed into the furs.

His moans became shrill little cries of ecstasy, and Jeongguk growled in his ear, “Is this what you wanted, mate? Hmm? To be fucked and bred so well that you never forget who you belong to?” He snapped his hips into Jimin so hard that the Omnia could no longer form coherent thought.  He was falling apart. His eyes rolled back and he could only answer with disjointed, nonsensical babble. Half formed words fell from his lips as he gasped into the bedding with each powerful thrust.

Jeongguk smiled, eyes glowing golden as he moved Jimin’s long silky hair away from his neck to suckle at that tender flesh.

He bit into his shoulder as he increased his speed, making Jimin even more delirious with pleasure.

 Jimin was completely flat now, his bones like jelly. His body was nothing but a quivering mess, scent drunk, and reveling in that intoxicated bliss.

Not wishing to hurt Jimin with his heavy frame, Jeongguk lovingly gathered him close and rolled them both onto their sides. He hooked an arm under one of Jimin’s knees, and continued slamming into him.

This new position gave Jimin the ability to turn and seek his mate’s lips. He whined, not having words to express what he wanted. Jeongguk growled and grabbed his chin. He plunged his tongue deeply between Jimin’s wet, pliant, bite-swollen lips.

As Jimin was so deliciously penetrated on both ends, he had a sense of intense and perfect fulfillment. It gave him such a powerful surge of pleasure that the heat that had been coiling in his belly took him by surprise as it rocketed to the surface and exploded. His orgasm shot through him so hard that slick gushed from his hole on an outstroke, splattering across Jeongguk’s cock, balls, hips, thighs, and stomach.  Jimin’s cock exploded all over the furs with thick, pulsing spurts of his hot, creamy seed.

Jeongguk didn’t stop. The wetness only added to the climbing euphoria that Jeongguk was swiftly ascending into. The obscene squelching sounds and the slap of skin against skin accompanied his words. “Ahh, baby, pretty baby… look at you. So messy, so perfect. You’re perfect for me, aren’t you? Made just for me and I for you.”

Jimin gripped him by the hair and pulled him into a rough kiss, then he turned more as he pulled Jeongguk’s head to the side and sank his teeth into his scent gland, completing their bond.

The powerful feelings that shot through the Enigma pushed him towards the edge so quickly that his hips immediately began to stutter. He roared in triumph as he felt his knot swelling.

With each sharp snap of his hips, it became harder and harder to pull back out. Finally, with a guttural cry, he snapped into him hard, knot locking into place, and filling him with rolling waves of his hot seed.

Jimin cried out as the knot locked into place, and a thin dribble of more cum shot from his cock.

Jeongguk’s eyes rolled back. He growled as his movements slowed. He continued gently rocking his hips into Jimin, making him whimper.

He slowed to a stop then, as Jimin sighed. His eyes were hazy, blissed out, and he was making  involuntary little satisfied chirps in his throat.  

Jeongguk pulled him closer, releasing his leg and wrapping one around his lower half instead.  He made sure Jimin was wrapped protectively in his limbs as he ran kisses and nibbles over his neck and shoulder.

As Jeongguk watched Jimin fall into a euphoric, sated sleep, he thought to himself that he could have never dreamed of a mate more perfect for him than his precious Omnia.

His mind was a haze of love and possessive, protective desire now. The fact that he had been able to knot without Jimin’s help told him that his rut had also been triggered. Soon, Jimin would wake and need him again. They would both be lost to the world for a few days… he hoped they didn’t kill anyone who tried to interrupt. With a soft chuckle, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

It was only two days later that their heat and rut came to pass… and they both knew that Jimin now carried a pup. Heats normally lasted three days to a full week. They only ended early if conception was achieved.

When they finally emerged, Jimin arranged with his council to begin the coronation. It would happen that week, though he was sure he had already received NyneChel’s blessing. It would be followed by the formal mating ceremony he had promised Jeongguk.

The day of the coronation, the Enigma asked to only be named as his consort, but Jimin refused. Jeongguk would be King, with Jimin as the C’Altaeki. They would have mostly equal authority, with Jimin of course, having slightly more as the Moon Goddess’s vessel. He felt different. He honestly felt like nothing and no one could harm him. Invincible.

He, of course, had no wish to test this theory, especially not with a pup on the way. He was informed that since many of the bloodlines had been expecting his mating to Vilanti to occur, and had come to the city for that purpose, they were now camped outside the city gates.

Jimin gave his permission for only the head families of each bloodline and their personal attendants and guards to enter. There would be no additional troops allowed in, but as it stood, no one had brought any more than that. The only ones who dared to bring an army were Vilanti and her parents.

Jimin’s own army, having been sent for the night of Jeongguk’s invasion had returned home and been told of all that happened on the battlefield. No small detail of that battle was left unaccounted for, especially the sacrilegious act of Vilanti’s father, and the origins of the C’Altaeki’s new royal guard.

The Tribe of the Unseen Moon was created to serve the Goddess… and as the Goddess had been channeled by the next C’Altaeki and gave a new set of laws to live by, they would now protect Her vessel.

Jimin.

The two Unseen who had gone rogue were captured and thrown into the dungeons to await trial… but Jeongguk wanted their heads. As it turns out, they admitted to allowing Vilanti to “gift” them with a one-sided mating bite when she took them in many years prior. They were both her lovers and guardians, but they claimed they would never have gone against the C’Altaeki had it not been for that bite. Still… Jimin would give the leader of the tribe, Grandmaster Kaido, the choice of what to do with them.

Jimin had to wonder why Vilanti had not enslaved her own army like her father, but it was often said that it took a lot out of the subjugator. Vilanti had always been a bit spoiled and lazy. 

As Jimin sat in front of the looking glass, preparing for his coronation, Hoseok sat nearby. For the occasion, his brother wore silver silks and white leather. He now had a crest of Jimin’s own design on his chest piece. It was a crescent moon, held aloft by the rays of the sun, for Jeongguk was his sun, his light, his everything. Side by side, they would rule for as long as the Goddess willed it.

Hoseok was speaking softly, filling him in on what was happening and how some things came to be. These were previously secrets of the tribe, but as Jimin was seen as the earthly incarnation of NyneChel now, it was necessary for him to know.

“We were named the Tribe of the Unseen Moon by NyneChel herself. She gave us this name when the first of us, Grandmaster Kaido, refused her offer to cure his blindness, proclaiming he would follow her loyally and did not feel worthy to gaze upon Her divinity. She was deeply touched by his humility.  Our Grandmaster is generous, though he had little. He would give his last mouthful of food to a child or aging stranger before he would take it for himself. More than once on his travels, did he defend strangers from attack. Although he would have been left alone, being seen as nothing but a blind transient, he chose to protect. To others, he seemed someone with little value to society, and was often treated accordingly. Even so, he felt called to protect those who could not protect themselves. This is why She chose him to lead. The Grandmaster taught all of his acolytes that they do not need sight, that the lack of it hones all other senses.  Slowly, as more and more joined him, and knelt beside him in prayer every night under the moon, they began to feel NyneChel’s Blessing. It is something only our tribe has been granted. She took Grandmaster Kaido’s natural abilities to measure distance and placement of things based only on sound, and amplified it to what we now call the ‘Godsight.’ If there is sound, even the lightest whisper of air, we can see.  It is only achieved with true devotion. That is why the two who attacked you did not have the same masks as I or your other siblings.  The tribe continued to grow when Master Kaido began finding more and more infants abandoned beside the rivers. Few people could stomach drowning an infant… so they left them with only a prayer that the Goddess’s will be done. She led us to them.”

With eyes full of sorrow and anger, Jimin spoke. “I will never understand how anyone can abandon a pup like that. I would not be able to do it… I was prepared to kill my own mother if she tried to force me. I… I don’t know how I would have survived. Had she forced me to hurt my own pup, or took matters into her own hands, I might have thrown myself from-“

“Stop. Do not even speak such thoughts. Besides… the Goddess made sure that would never come to pass with your mother’s death. Through Her servants, Her will shall be done.”

Confusion stole over Jimin’s face. “Are you saying… that one of you were responsible for her death?”

Hoseok shook his head. “No. A star from within the same sky. One chosen by NyneChel did the deed. The death planned for her by your true enemies would have taken long and caused her much suffering. You would not have been in a position to accept your current mate had that come to pass. Thus, the Goddess moved against this. I can say no more. That truth must come out at the proper time.”

Hoseok then continued his story, “NyneChel used each and every infant abandoned by Boranthe in Her plans.  None but myself and your siblings were Gamma, who then became Abrogati, and not all of the foundlings joined the tribe. Some were delivered to neighboring villages to fill a purpose untold by the Goddess. A few are in the Jungles of Terapah. Your mate refers to them as ‘the brats’ because for some reason, you Borantheans seem to produce little mischief makers.” He smirked.

Jimin smiled. “It must be in the blood.” He leaned back, his face growing serious. “Hoseok, you mentioned that mother made a promise to the Grandmaster. That she was intrigued by his teachings. It doesn’t seem at all like her. She was… cruel…”

His brother’s face was grave.  “The Grandmaster taught us that everything has a purpose. I once saved a precious little rabbit from a panther, and brought it back to the temple. I was angry at the panther for trying to kill the sweet little rabbit. It was only a baby. It seemed unfair.”


“He explained that the panther was just that. A panther. A carnivore. It killed for food and could not change its nature to suit my wishes. He explained that while we, as people, were created in NyneChel’s image, and therefore could change as easily as the phases of the moon, we were still who we are meant to be at our core. We each have a purpose, and even our mother, in her cruelty, served it in her own way. She met our Grandmaster as a young girl. I know not how old… but she was at least a teenager. She had been out hunting and came across him on Boranthean soil. She was supposed to kill him. Any who were not of Boranthe, found on your lands… it was the law.”

Jimin sat forward, eyes wide as he imagined the scene Hoseok painted.

“She tried to use her voice on him, but he was a natural born Abrogant. Instead of angering her… she was intrigued. She asked him about what he was and why he could do what he did. He shared some information… not all, but mostly spoke of NyneChel and Her teachings. The way your priests at the temple here preach the word of NyneChel is different from our teachings, Jimin. Boranthe cut out many of the things they did not agree with to support the former way of life. Anyway… She arranged to meet him in neutral territory every so often. He was the only Non-Boranthean she tolerated on your soil.”

“Somehow, she got more information on Abrogati. When she grew up, she had still been visiting with the Grandmaster on occasion. Then, one day, she presented him with the first hybrid pup… me. She told him she could not keep me, but wanted me raised in NyneChel’s light, and that I was a Gamma, like he was before he presented. She told him that I, and those who would come after me , would need to be raised with care, as we had a purpose in the Goddess’s plan.”

“She promised the Grandmaster she would not kill any of her own pups who were not born with signs they would become Omnia, as her mother demanded, and would find a way to change things forever. There was no easy way, however. Had she just tried to change the laws as C’Altaeki, there would always be those who still wanted the old ways. She did not feel strong enough, but it became an obsession. She was sure that the actions she was taking would be used by NyneChel to bring your people back to the way the Goddess intended.  Grandmaster Kaido said that over the years, she seemed to lose her mind a little more. That by the time she had you, she had only a sliver left of the woman she had once been... It drove her deep into madness. She had thrown herself so heavily into the mindset that no matter what, NyneChel’s will would be done, that she risked even YOUR life… the one she was supposed to be doing everything to protect to ensure you would one day take the throne. She became mind-sick, doing things to you that would incur NyneChel’s wrath. But everything, good or bad, serves its purpose. NyneChel lets nothing go to waste. She used your mother’s madness and actions, just as your mother planned. It was, in a way, both diabolical genius, and unbelievable stupidity. We just so happen to be lucky that NyneChel is real, and loves all of her children so fiercely.”

Jimin shook his head, tears in his eyes. “I wish I had known that woman she once was. The one that met your Grandmaster back then. The one he knew before the madness took her. I think… I might have loved her.” He wiped away his tears as a memory of her last hours flashed in his mind. “Actually, I think… I think I may have met her at the end. She held me like she loved me. She held me like I was precious. I saw remorse in her eyes before she left me, and while she could not speak, I think, now knowing what I do, that she was telling me she was sorry for the way she had become.”

Hoseok pulled him into his arms and rocked him gently. He kissed the top of his head and whispered, “I believe that, Jimin. It is said that just before death, those with lunacy are granted lucidity to look back on their life as it plays before their eyes. Years in moments. I believe the woman she once was may have been there with you at the end.”

Jimin sobbed softly, and Hoseok held him until it finally passed. For the first time, Jimin truly mourned his mother for the woman she once was.

They moved onto lighter topics afterward, Hoseok blushing and telling him of Namjoon’s courting rituals. The flowers… which turned out to be pretty winter weeds that caused rash to bloom all over his hands from picking them because he is unfamiliar with the flora of Boranthe. The meats he had cooked for Hoseok, which were spiced with things that would have made his mouth burn unbearably… and his favorite, the nights they spent looking up at the starry sky after making love under the moon.  The other silly things mattered so little when there was so much love and good intentions behind the actions. Rashes heal, and Namjoon had been the only one who suffered from those weeds. The spices were washed away… and Hoseok was deeply in love.

They laughed together as a servant came to let them know it was time.

Yoongi met them in the hallway, wearing the heavy silver armor and white leathers he had been fitted with.

Jimin smiled broadly and lay a kiss on each cheek.

Yoongi looked nervous. “Jimin, are you ready? I will lead the way into the throne room. I wish to be flanked by your mate and Hoseok. It will send a message. I want your brothers and sisters to flank you in a line on each side, five and five, with one behind you to protect your back.”

Jimin frowned. “There will be no trouble. I will not allow anyone to speak against my family.”

Those words did not seem to make Yoongi feel any better, but he moved to the front to lead.

As Jimin neared the throne room, a strange, euphoric anxiety filled him. It was a very odd, contradictory feeling. A combination of dread and excitement that he could never explain even if he tried.

The throne room had never been so full in Jimin’s memory. The head families from every Boranthe bloodline were present, and seeing them all staring made him uneasy. While all had been told what transpired that day on the battlefield, he was half expecting someone to object and challenge his right to the crown. After all, he was changing practically everything about life in Boranthe.

Jeongguk, catching Jimin’s mood in the bond, turned his head with a tiny, almost imperceptible growl. He sent calming pheromones Jimin’s way, and the Omnia sighed in relief. He smiled and nodded to his love.

Jimin drank in the sight of his mate with a powerful thirst. He loved him so much it felt like his heart would burst, though he still had yet to tell him. He did not want to do so in a heat-induced daze, and there had not been a time since he came out of it that felt right.

Jeongguk looked fucking delectable in his new gold and leather armor. A cloak made from the fine pelt of a large, spotted jungle cat covered one side of his body. A new black, volcanic steel greatsword was strapped to his back.  His broad shoulders made Jimin feel small and delicate, but also incredibly powerful, for he knew that Jeongguk was now a part of him.

Yoongi led the way as they entered, with Jeongguk and Hoseok on each side in an arrow formation.  Yoongi stopped before the throne, facing the congregation with a stern frown.

Jeongguk moved to stand to the right of the throne. Hoseok to the left.  

Jimin, flanked by his siblings, slowly walked to his seat on the dais. His siblings waited until he sat, then split off into two lines, five and five behind Jeongguk and Hoseok. The last stood behind the throne, symbolically protecting his back.

The priests, who only left the temple for events such as this, came in next, walking up the center aisle in two straight lines. At the end of the aisle, they split off and formed a wide semi-circle on each side, all facing the throne.

The high priestess swathed in silver silk, came in last, shuffling her old bones up the aisle until she was standing face to face with Yoongi, surprising him.

Her old, cloudy eyes bored into his, reading deeply into his soul. She whispered. “So many secrets you hold. You know what you must do. Be not afraid, child of NyneChel, for you are beloved.”

Yoongi stiffened as guilt stole over his features. He then turned brusquely away and walked back to stand beside Jeongguk.

The High Priestess watched him go, then turned toward the congregation and began the opening prayers to NyneChel.

Everyone responded accordingly at each refrain, renewing their vows with fervent devotion. Most had heard what happened at what they were calling “The Battle of NyneChel at Falanth’s Reach,” and for those who had lost faith that the Goddess was listening, they rediscovered their beliefs.

When the prayers were over, the Priestess called forth for anyone who wished to dispute Jimin’s right to take the throne as C’Altaeki.

Instead, everyone knelt. She smiled, and the coronation went on as planned. 

Jimin had been correct. He already had NyneChel’s blessing. He had gained it on the battlefield when he allowed himself to be claimed by the one She had destined for him, breaking the dark tradition of prejudice.

When an intricate crown made of white gold and moonstones finally sat on Jimin’s brow, the priestess called for all who had sinned greatly against the C’Altaeki to come forward, beg forgiveness, and renew their fealty. It would be a clean slate for them, and all would be pardoned.

As a few people in the congregation stood and began moving toward the center aisle, Yoongi surprised them all by turning with teary eyes to the throne. He moved past Jeongguk, and knelt before Jimin.  

Yoongi bent, pressed his forehead to the silver carpet laid out for the ceremony, and let out a loud, broken sob.

Jimin moved to stand, but Hoseok placed a hand on his shoulder. With a reassuring smile, he whispered, “Wait. He needs to do this.”

Jimin settled back down with wide eyes full of concern as Yoongi began in a deep, trembling, raspy voice. “I have sinned against you, C’Altaeki. More than anyone else in this room. I have sinned against you, and our people.”

Gasps and murmurs rippled throughout the throne room.  The high priestess turned and  hissed, then everyone fell silent.

Jimin’s eyes began to swim with tears, seeing his beloved cousin in such pain. He could not imagine what Yoongi could have done to feel he needed to confess, but a niggle of a memory from when Yoongi had returned from capture poked at him.

The words, “I would do anything… Have done some unspeakable things to make sure your reign would be absolute and free” replayed in his mind.

Yoongi lifted himself, sitting on his heels, shoulders slumped in misery as he stared at Jimin. He went on with a shaking voice, tears rocketing down his cheeks in fat droplets, falling from his chin onto his heavy silver chestplate.

“It was me. I did it all. Not only did I seek to kill Vilanti because I could not bear to see you tied to someone so cruel… but… I killed your mother. I broke the vow of complete loyalty I made when I joined her army at thirteen, and killed her.”

Now the people of the congregation were speaking loudly, some stood, a few argued with one another.

“I procured the fire mountain scorpion from one of the alchemist’s suppliers. They knew not what it was for. I forged the order. Once I had it, I slipped it into her bed. I was the one who caused her death!”

Outrage was taking over the people, and when Jimin stood to go to him, he had another shock.

Mimms came forward from where he had been standing with the scholars lining the wall. He knelt beside Yoongi. “Actually… I was the one who killed her.”

He spoke with not a lick of senility. His eyes were clear and bright as he stared up at Jimin.

Yoongi gasped and turned to look at him. “Y… you what? No. I did it. It was me. Mimms, don’t try to save me. I know that you don’t have the-”

Jimin held up a hand, and Yoongi was silenced. “Go on, Mimms. Please explain.”

Mimms chuckled. “Yes, yes I know. Everyone thinks I am nothing but a mindless old has been… but I can’t let your young guardian believe he was the one who struck the killing blow. No… I did that… I killed her along with that viper of a maid who served Vilanti while pretending to serve you loyally.”

Jimin swayed on his feet, and Jeongguk quickly moved to steady him with an arm around his waist.

Jimin stared down at his beloved tutor, but it was Yoongi who spoke. “What? What do you mean? I know what I did. I was the cause of her death.”

Mimms shook his head. “When the scholars came to me asking about the sting of the fire mountain scorpion, I gave them the book they sought. There is no cure for such a sting… but I also knew that an Omnia is immune to the venom.”

Jimin and Yoongi shared a look. Jimin walked down the steps of the dais and pulled Yoongi close. “Be at peace. Go back to your place. I will speak on this all momentarily.”

“But-“

“Do not question me, Yoongi. Do as you are told.” Jimin commanded firmly.

Yoongi stiffened, but he smiled softly and moved to his place beside Jeongguk.

The Enigma smirked. “He’s scary sometimes. I love it.”

Yoongi shook his head. “He is magnificent when he takes control. His rule will be the stuff of legends. It has already begun.”

Jimin approached Mimms and pulled him to his feet. Mimms was barely chest-high to Jimin. He blinked up at him owlishly through his thick spectacles, smiling as if he had not just confessed to murder.

“Mimms… can you explain further please? How did you know about the scorpion? What did you do to kill my mother. Why?”

He chuckled. “My daughter asked me to. She made me promise a few years before your coming of age, actually.”

Jimin shook his head. “Mimms… who is your daughter? Why would you kill your C’Altaeki because someone, even your own child, asked it of you? You know that is high treason. Even on a day such as today… I could have you beheaded for this.”

Mimms nodded. “Of course, I know… but my daughter gave the order. She said that if she ever became a danger to you, that I must kill her and set into motion all that would bring your brothers home to protect you."

Jimin was staring into his eyes.

HO-LY FUCK.

“Mimms… are you my grandfather?”

The old man chuckled. “Of course I am. Do you think I would let just anyone into my tower? You may have procured it for me, but I can’t stand people being near my things. You, my precious darling, were forever the only exception. You have always been so very pure of heart. I knew from the start that you would be the greatest C’Altaeki of all time.”

Jimin was torn between wanting to embrace the old man and wanting to shake him for never telling him before, but he had to hear the rest.

“How, then, did you kill her, and why?”

Mimms pushed his spectacles back up his nose. “She would not listen to me. I told her of Vilanti’s plans. I am a Seer, Jimin. You know this, though few have listened to me for so long that I stopped trying to give counsel. I did try to tell her of Vilanti, and she ignored it. She again spouted those cruel lines from your childhood. That if you were meant to take the throne, the Moon Goddess would protect you. She did. Through me.”

Jimin was again looking dizzy, so Mimms took his hand and led him back to the dais. “Please, sit my darling boy. You can just as easily punish me from the throne.”

Jimin nodded and sat. Mimms went on. “I used a chemical compound that would mimic the sting of a fire mountain scorpion, and kill over a short time. I wanted to give you time… time to say goodbye.”

Mimms moved back and knelt before the throne again. Then he yelped, shrugged, and sat on his rump instead, crossing his legs. “I’m sorry… I’m too old to kneel. Hurts my old bones.”

Jimin almost chuckled. He sat staring at Mimms for a time, thinking.

People were starting to murmur when Jimin just continued staring, before finally standing and pacing as he spoke.

“I am just as guilty… I may as well have killed her too. Although I didn’t know it until recently… I have the power to heal, but I have to truly wish for it. The truth is, her impending death would set me free from the obligation to marry Vilanti, and would also ensure she would not seek to make me give up my pups born of the wrong subgender in the future. The fact that she held me in her arms for three days, that I lay on her chest and still hoped for her death… makes me just as guilty.” He returned to his throne, standing before it and facing the congregation as he made his final decision.

“I pardon Yoongi, who sought only to protect me. His was a misguided, desperate attempt to save me from a short life filled with cruel malice. Make no mistake, Vilanti did plan to murder me. She told me as much before she died.”

Several people were nodding. Agreeing with the verdict, especially since Yoongi had not actually killed Jimin’s mother.

“I pardon Mimms… by a technicality. He was actually following the orders of the one whose life he took. He was fulfilling a promise made to his C’Altaeki.” Jimin looked at the congregation. “Does anyone have anything to say against this?”

Everyone looked around at one another, but no one came forward.

Jimin looked down at Mimms. “I do NOT pardon you for not telling me all these years that you are my grandfather… I’m afraid I must punish you for that. You will just have to leave your tower once a week to come and keep me company in the gardens.”

Mimms scoffed. “Bah! I don’t like outside! What if it rains on my books?!”

Jimin chuckled and moved back to his throne. “You will just have to endure, I'm afraid.”

Mimms was led away by Yoongi then, back to his place among the scholars.

The rest of those who wished to swear fealty and confess their sins against the C’Altaeki did so. The worst anyone had to confess was that they had been siding with Vilanti and her family, offering their support to their plans against Jimin. Everyone else was just there to confess they had doubts as to whether or not he was fit before.

In the grand scheme of things, it was very few people. Only twenty people or so of the hundreds present.

The last was Seokjin. Harban’s brother. Jimin’s face lit with joy, then sadness as he realized he had something to confess as well. “Jin! I… I did not expect to see you with this group. Did you also hold doubt in me?”

Jin scoffed. “Not even once. No. I’m here to confess the sin of cowardice. I was in the forest that day.  I saw you in the meadow. I was on the western edge, returning from a hunt. I saw you tearing across that empty field, and was in awe for I have never before seen your guardian in that form. Then, I saw what was chasing you. The sheer numbers… Instead of rushing to help you, my team and I went back with the intention of gathering our troops to assist, but my father forbade it and commanded that we not interfere unless you made it to our gates. He gave the order that only you and your wolf be allowed in, but our army has only ever been used to defend Falanth. He used his voice on Harban and myself to keep us from going back into that battle. I am so sorry. I should have just aided you when I saw you fleeing that forest atop your guardian.”

Jimin smiled. “There is no sin here. Not even your father sinned against me. Our first duty is to our people, Seokjin. Most likely, you would have died had you interfered. Your men as well. There were so many of them.”

Seokjin looked down. “Thank you, C’Altaeki. You are kind and benevolent. I believe the people of Boranthe will flourish under your rule.”

Jimin nodded as he walked away.  “Wait!”

Seokjin turned back around quickly. “Yes C’Altaeki?”

“You are the second Omnia born of the Kim line, correct? Harban is to take your father’s place when he can no longer serve to rule over Falanth?”

Seokjin nodded. “Yes, of course. He is the rightful inheritor of that position.”

Jimin smiled. “The Baek clan has been exiled. I found no support from them at all. No repentance. Only their armies, who repented on the battlefield, have chosen to follow my rule. I need a new family and Omnia to lead that territory. Would you like the position?”

Seokjin smiled broadly. “I would be happy to serve!”

The coronation ended, and directly after, all stayed and witnessed the mating ceremony of Jeongguk and Jimin.

They took their vows, forgoing the scripted, cold, traditional lines, and spoke from their hearts. At the end of it all, many of those present were crying. The clear and complete devotion between their C’Altaeki and his Enigma King was evident.

Jeongguk was named King directly following their mating ceremony, and was given a simple circlet crown of gold etched with the phases of the moon, with an eclipse at the center. 

Jimin had wanted to make him something much more intricate, something to reflect his magnificence, but Jeongguk had refused with the words, “You say I am your sun. A sun is boring. Something painful to look at, even. It only becomes magnificent when the moon stands before it in the sky, making an eclipse. I would rather the attention be always on you, my beautiful little Shard of Moon. I do not need a fancy crown to draw attention when I stand beside you.”

Jimin had been so touched, he demanded to at least be able to have that eclipse etched into the band.

There was a feast, at which Jeongguk held Jimin in his lap and fed him by hand. Jimin giggled the entire time, thrilled with the attention.

That night, as they lay together on the balcony atop a pile of furs, Jeongguk looked up at the stars as ran his fingertips up and down Jimin’s naked back.

Jimin was laying atop Jeongguk, his knot firmly lodged within him.

Jeongguk chuckled. “I love that you can do that… but why? You are already carrying our pup.”

Jimin’s ear was pressed to his chest, listening to the satisfied rumble coming from deep within. It was a purr of contentment.  He traced one of his Enigma’s dark nipples with delicate fingers as he answered, “I love feeling stuffed completely full of you. I fear I will never grow tired of it. Never stop wanting it. I will be an ancient lech, still chasing you about the bedchamber, demanding your knot and tearing at your clothes.”

There was a snort, and Jimin looked up at Jeongguk. The Enigma was smirking over at a pile of scraps, all that was left of his new pants. “You really must stop tearing my clothes. I really liked those pants. You had them made special for our mating ceremony and now they are just tatters.”

Jimin pouted. “But it’s so fun! It makes my wolf and I very, very happy… please don’t take away my additional playtime activities!” His eyes were huge and pleading.

Jeongguk reached down and cupped his face with a sigh. “My love… I could never deny you anything…”

Jimin smiled.

Jeongguk went on as he squished Jimin’s cheeks together, making fishy lips. “Within reason! Stop tearing my pants!”

Jimin giggled and snuggled back down onto his chest as they argued over clothes.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

A few weeks later, Jeongguk was shooting up into the canopy of green in the Terapah jungle. A shrieking, terrified Jimin was clutched close to his side, and several more vines were zipping alongside theirs as Hoseok, Lamika, and a few others followed.

Namjoon and Taehyung had been sent ahead, with a nervous Yoongi. Jimin’s guardian had been spending quite a bit of time brooding about Taehyung, whom he insisted was nothing but a thorn in his side… but Jimin noticed the protective, possessive gaze of his cousin was often on the Alpha. He had even heard Yoongi snarling quietly to himself when Omegas tried to gain Taehyung’s attention. To Jimin, it was quite clear that the pair wanted one another. He hoped Yoongi would give in and stop fighting his desires soon.

As for Taehyung, he was doing his best to irk Yoongi. It seemed he wanted to be put in his place. Often.

Yoongi had confessed to fucking him into submission that first night Jimin had caught him holding the Alpha up against a tree… and a few nights since, always following a punishment. Sadly, Yoongi did not believe it was anything more than sex to the Alpha.

Jimin could sense the biggest stumbling block, however, was Yoongi himself. His guardian felt bound by his duty to Jimin… but Jimin was safe now. Jimin not only had his siblings to protect him, but Jeongguk, and the powers of NyneChel to protect himself. Yoongi could have his freedom.

He had told him as much, but Yoongi had refused to leave his side.

So he and Jeongguk had come up with a sneaky little plan… Sending him to the Terapah with only Namjoon and a small company of soldiers. 

He had not wanted to go of course. He was almost whining with big, desperately sad eyes the day Jimin had given the orders, thinking that he was punishing him somehow by sending him away from his place at his side. Jimin soothed him, explaining that this mission was very important and close to his heart. Jeongguk’s mother was back in the Terapah. She was the only mother figure Jimin would have in his life now. He needed her safe, and he trusted none but Yoongi to keep her that way.

If he made sure to coordinate with Namjoon and the rest of their company to ensure that they got a ton of alone time and maybe a little forced proximity a time or two in their travels… well then… he was just being a good wing man. It was his duty!

As they arrived at the platform of Jeongguk’s enormous treehouse, they were greeted by the sounds of distant laughter.  

A grumpy looking Yoongi stood and went immediately to hug Jimin when he saw him. “They are in the next room. She is lovely, Jimin. I adore her.” 

Jeongguk took Jimin back from Yoongi with a growl, scented him, and placed a hand over his lower belly possessively. “Are you okay, love?”

Jimin nodded, smiling up at him, eyes sparkling with devotion. “Yes, and so is our pup. Relax, it’s just… I feel strange being up here. It doesn’t feel as solid as our castle. I feel like I’m going to go hurtling into the trees below.”

Jeongguk shook his head. “We build things to last here, and take maintenance very seriously. Our builders inspect each home twice a year, or sooner if we have a major storm. We have not lost so much as a pup up here.”

Jimin looked sick. “Y… you raise pups up here? What if they climb over the railing, or toddle off-“

Jeongguk laughed. “They are only allowed in a certain part of the village until they reach an age of responsibility and understanding. I’ll show you soon. First… I would like you to meet my mother. She might not understand, but… I feel very strongly about doing everything as close to tradition as we can, even if it’s after the fact. Although she will probably forget within the hour… I want to at least be able to say you have met the Omega who brought me into this world.”

He cupped Jimin’s cheek, ran a thumb over his plump lower lip, and kissed him.

Jimin inhaled deeply, taking comfort in his calming scent. 

Another laugh came from the next room. This time it was Taehyungs. Jeongguk had explained to Jimin that Tae had long been a favorite of his mother when she was lucid, for he was attentive and amusing.  

He was led to a large room where an older woman with greying hair was smiling as she sat sewing atop a mound of furs. Taehyung, who had been laughing with her, stood and nodded to them, leaving the room.  All manner of finished garments made of fur, hemp, and leather were laid out on a table nearby. Baskets held shiny stone and wood buttons, and laces made of leather strips were in a pile nearby. She was humming softly.

Lamika, behind them, moved forward, and Jeongguk took her hand. “Are you ready, Mika?”

She shook her head, her lower lip trembling. “No, but I don’t think I would ever be. This is surreal. I never thought I would see her again, though the Grandmaster always said I would, in the fullness of time.”

The woman startled them all by speaking suddenly to a smaller mound of furs beside her. “Lamika, dear. Won’t you set down your dolls and bring me a few of the lighter wood buttons? I must get these tunics done before we lose the daylight. I have no wish to waste lamp oil again.”

She went back to humming after a moment. Of course, the buttons didn’t move on their own. Finally, she sighed. “You never listen, s4ewilly girl.”

She stood, shuffled over to the table, and scooped a handful of buttons from a basket into her pocket. She shuffled back, not even noticing them in the room.

Lamika had tears streaming down her cheeks. She whispered, “She never let go, did she? You said she was lost in time, but…”

A few more minutes passed, and she did it again. “Lamika. Please, fetch me some black laces for this tunic.”

Again, she went back to sewing. This time, Lamika tiptoed to the table, snagged a handful of black leather laces, and snuck around the back of her mother’s seat. She crawled onto the smaller mound of furs and timidly, carefully held the laces out to her mother, staring at her the entire time.

Her mother stilled. Slowly, she turned and gazed into the grown up face of her daughter.

Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh. I… hello, little one. Are you through playing with your dolls, then? Ready to help Mommy? Goodness… NyneChel gave you a new eye. When did that happen? No matter. Thank you. You can go back to your dolls until I need you again, sweetling.”

Lamika looked down at the strange scraps tied into a crude doll and picked it up. Something that her mother had made for her phantom daughter that had been haunting her all these years.

Jeongguk called her back, but she shook her head and lay her cheek on their mother’s lap instead. The old woman chuckled and stopped sewing to stroke her hair softly. “Would you like another story then? Fine. Let’s see… perhaps the one about the beanstalk that led to the heavens so the maiden could visit the moon prince? Yes, I think so.”

Their mother began prattling off the tale, and they left Lamika there. Jeongguk knew that she would not be rejoining the Unseen. This was where she belonged now.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

When Jeongguk took Jimin to the section of their village that housed the smaller pups, he was amazed at the organization and lengths they went through to ensure the safety of the little ones.

Jimin was also surprised to see so many who clearly were from his own lands. There were many unpresented Boranthe pups. Most showed signs of becoming Alphas and Betas, but there were even some who would become Omegas. They had been incorrectly predicted in infancy. All had been abandoned.

A lump formed in Jimin’s throat. “Did you know? Did the unseen tell you we were fated? Is that why you took so many of my people in?”

Jeongguk stared at him, confounded. “N… no, Jimin. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I did it because they did not deserve to die. They were innocents, infants… those here in the village that you see that are your age or older were originally with the Unseen as servants. When I came to the Terapah Jungle, it was to rebuild a safe place for my mother. She was the last of my family… I only wanted to hide and keep her safe. The Goddess had other plans for me, lighting within me the desire to lead. We have been spreading many of your people out among the tribes of Terapah over the years.”

He continued showing Jimin all there was to see. Jimin had to admit… the city may have been far from the immaculate, white and gold walls of his castle, but it felt no less like home.

They stayed three days, and on the fourth, bid farewell to Lamika and her mother before promising to visit often and returning home.

Jimin had tried to heal her mind, desperately wanting it for the little family, but it seemed that his healing only worked on physical wounds. Those left on the mind and soul by life’s experience… he could not mend.

They returned to their castle, leaving behind Yoongi again, who seemed extremely relieved to be able to watch over someone so beloved of Jimin and Jeongguk… 

Sure. That was why. 

Jimin’s life was finally, completely and totally happy. He had everything he needed. Friends, a loving family, his best friend and cousin was finding his own happiness, and soon, they would welcome a pup into their lives. 

He was fulfilled in the most magical way imaginable.

As they lay cuddling in their nest that night, Jeongguk was layering kisses all over Jimin’s face. The Omnia giggled, grabbed his face in both hands, and finally whispered against his lips, “I love you, mate. Forever and always.”

Chapter Text

✩˚⋆☽✧Epilogue✧☾⋆˚✩

✩˚⋆☽✧Eternal Eclipse✧☾⋆˚✩

*12 years later*

“Papa! Riri is cheating again!” Crown Prince Jian put his hands on his little hips. His bright blue eyes flashed, and he tossed his black silky locks over one shoulder.

Jimin smirked as he read his book. He did not even look up from the words on the pages. “Is he now? I don’t think using one’s natural abilities is cheating Jiji.” Jimin didn’t want to give away Rianthu, aka “Riri’s” location. The 9-year-old snow leopard hybrid had dashed into the study, dove into the shadows beneath Jimin’s bookshelves, and popped back up behind his ottoman.  The boy had natural shadowmancer abilities. It was one of the gifts from NyneChel to his siblings of the Unseen, and apparently, their offspring.

The first time it had happened, Namjoon had lost his mind, thinking he had lost his son the very first night Hoseok had left to visit the Grandmaster.

Luckily, only Hoseok and two other siblings had gone. Jimin’s other siblings immediately went into the shadows and brought the giggling toddler out.

Jian was now complaining, “It’s not fair! We cannot play a proper game of hide and seek like this! How can I possibly hone my strategic tracking skills if he is doing something most others cannot?!”

Rianthu came back out then, giving Jian a heart-shaped smile with deep dimples in his cheeks.

Jian positively melted.

He went to stand in front of Rianthu, and Jimin smirked as his eldest pup quibbled with the little hybrid about fairness and what does and does not count as cheating during a game of hide and seek.

Their relationship was much like what he and his Yoongi had.

Yoongi… Jimin missed him so much, but he and his mate, Taehyung, now helped Lamika and her own mate rule over the Terapah in Jeongguk’s stead.

Jimin could see that Riri was just as devoted to his elder cousin as Yoongi was to Jimin.

Squeals and giggles coming from the hall broke the lecture short. Jimin smiled wider, his eyes in happy crescents as he finally threw the furs from his lap and shifted his heavy bulk into a standing position with a hand supporting his lower back.

Jeongguk burst in with six little girls of varying ages hanging off him like barnacles. One was hanging from each shoulder; both had black hair, and they giggled with their skinny little arms around his neck, dangling down his back like a cloak.  Another was sitting atop his head with two tiny fists gripping great handfuls of his hair, her long, white curls poofing all over like wild clouds, and her little legs were clamped down on each side, like riding a horse. The smallest pup, an exact duplicate of Jimin with her little white topknot and huge, worried-looking blue eyes, sucked lazily on a soother as she clutched her Appa like a tiny koala. She was a little over a year old now.  The last two, one with white hair, one with black, were clutched to his side with his other arm. All but the infant were flushed with pink cheeks and sparkling eyes.

The enigma walked up to Jian and Rianthu. “What do you think? Could I fit you two somewhere? Maybe Papa, too?” Jeongguk looked over at Jimin and winked.

Rianthu, always ready for a challenge, rushed behind Jeongguk and began climbing up his back like a cat, his sharp little claws making ripping sounds as he made his way up his back.  The claws on his back feet caught a little too deeply in the material of the enigma’s pants, and he felt a light breeze on the back of his thigh.

Jeongguk sighed in mild, good-natured frustration. “I think you ripped my pants. Watch those claws, Riri.”

A trilling purr was all that answered him as a little head with white hair and gray spotted ears popped up next to one of his daughters.

Jiji put his hands on his little hips. “No, Appa. I shall not engage in such infantile shenanigans. I will lead someday, and I must keep up appearances. Besides, I would like to help Papa make his way to the throne room. It’s almost time for grievances, and I enjoy hearing the complaints and offering my advice.”

Jimin laughed. “Some of your punishments are quite… creative.  I particularly enjoyed when you made old mister Choi walk and squawk like a chicken for an hour in front of everyone as punishment for accidentally stealing his neighbor's chicken.”

Jian crossed his arms. “Accidentally, my foot! You and I both know he did it on purpose because his own are never so fat! That old miser never feeds them enough! I should have made it 2 hours! And the coin he paid should have been more! He ate the animal, after all! Miss Laila’s best laying hen!”

Jimin shook his head. “The coin amount I calculated is two years' worth of eggs. I don’t know if the chicken would have lived beyond that. Remember Jiji. We are firm but fair.”

Jimin tossed his book aside and strode to his mate, smiling with love and devotion. He placed a small, soft hand on his infant's back, rubbing small circles on it as she leaned her head against her Appa and stared with love at Jimin. “Let me take Jiaella. You have too many. I can carry her.”

Jeongguk arched a brow. “Do you think I’m not strong enough to carry you all?” His gaze traveled down his pretty mate’s body, a possessive rumble coming from him. “I could carry each and every one of you, plus three more, with no issue.”

Jimin facepalmed. “Don’t say that. Were two sets of twins not enough for you? Now you must jinx me with triplets? I am already much larger than I was with either set of twins.” Jimin pulled at Jiaella, who turned in her Appa’s arms and reached for Jimin.

Jeongguk sighed and let the infant go. Jimin smiled and took her, cooing as the baby’s eyes squinted into happy little crescents, nose scrunching as she giggled around the pacifier and then lay her head on his chest. Jimin turned away and began walking toward the door. Then, just as Jian opened it for him, Jimin was scooped up with one powerful arm. He found himself seated on a meaty forearm while Jeongguk had a tight grip on his thigh.

Jimin sighed. “You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

The Enigma grinned. “Nope, my strength was challenged. My wolf is unsettled.”

Jian looked up at them, rolling his eyes. He turned, led the way into the hall, and entered the throne room.

When they arrived before the throne, Jeonnguk muttered, “Ride is over, everyone off!” and the pups all hopped down. They stared up at him like a herd of little sheep waiting for direction.

He still held Jimin, who had the baby in his arms. Jeongguk turned, sat on the enormous new throne Jimin had made shortly after their mating ceremony, and settled his mate comfortably in his lap.

They only needed one throne. Jeongguk had argued extensively with Jimin over this when they first began speaking of the design. Jimin had disagreed, wanting Jeongguk to rule at his side.

Jeongguk had won…. He almost always did. His primary and winning point of that battle had been, “We do not need two thrones because I will be your throne.”

Jimin smiled at the memory and settled Jiaella more comfortably in his arms.

Jeongguk then invited the rest of the pups to sit with them with a sharp jerk of his head.

With giggles and squeals, they climbed the throne to settle in his lap. He held all the warm, squirming little ones close snuggled up like bunnies in a warm little den. 

Rianthu went to stand beside Jian instead, choosing to be his shadow, as always.

The warm smiles and happy laughter of those congregated who witnessed this warm, familiar spectacle as they waited to air their grievances gave Jimin a profound sense of fulfillment. 

For the most part, the people of Boranthe had easily changed, accepting the edicts based on the words of NyneChel.

Their people were, overall, much happier.

After the first hour, a new group of people, led by Hoseok, approached.

Jimin’s brows furrowed. These people were not Boranthean.  They were covered head to toe in the fabric of desert nomads. Their skin was varying shades of deep tans, some a bit red, and they had many beautiful ornaments adorning the intricate braids in their hair.

Hoseok spoke softly to them in another language, and the leader, an enormous alpha with a barrel chest and a large, genuine smile, greeted Jimin.

“Hello, C’Altaeki of Boranthe! I am Kharmadon, leader of the Nianthi tribe from the desert south of the Terapah. We are seeking to open trade with you. We have much to offer by way of minerals, gems, and spices.”

The man turned, and a few young pups walked forward, each with a woven basket of items for trade.

Jimin gasped.

Jeongguk chuckled. “Those raw opals are breathtaking, I agree.”

But Jimin was not looking at the raw opals. He was looking at the young, lovely girl who was carrying them.

Her skin was like redwood, and her eyes were like onyx beads. Her beautiful smile with straight, white teeth was warm and showed the beautiful soul within.

The most shocking feature, however, which caught Jimin’s eye, was the lazily waving string of moonlight coming from the area over her heart.  As she grew closer to the throne… thus closer to Jian, a matching string came from the crown prince’s chest.

Jian’s eyes were wide as he stared at the girl, stunned by what was likely a new and extraordinary feeling Jimin knew all too well.

As the girl’s eyes met his, she halted, mouth dropping open slightly.

Kharmadon cleared his throat, and she shook her head, clearing it. Her face darkened with a blush, and she continued her approach, but as she passed very close to Jian, Jimin watched as those two luminous strings lightly caressed over one another.

He smiled.  It was another blessing of NyneChel that Jimin had discovered after his coronation. He could see the connection between fated mates.

Jimin immediately accepted the offer of trade on one condition.  They were to leave at least one family of their tribe behind in Boranthe to stay and live permanently. They would handle the arrangements on this side of the tradeline.

Kharmadon happily agreed, and Jimin chose the young girl’s family. They were more than happy to be so jovially welcomed.

They held a feast to welcome their new friends, and Jimin made sure that Jian and the young girl, whose name he learned was Phaelani, sat beside one another.

Jeongguk whispered in his ear. “You are staring quite hard at Jian, my love. Did mini-me do something amiss?”

Jimin shook his head. “No. I have not had time to tell you. Phaelani is his fated one.”

Jeongguk’s head whipped in their direction, and it was then that he caught the lovesick expression on the face of his pup. “Well… we have a few more years before we have to worry about that… Their bond won’t mature until they reach their majority. At least it’s not one of our princesses. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to let them go.”

Jimin coughed, “About that…”

Shaeza, their eldest daughter at 10, was staring across the table at a lovely young boy who was only around seven or eight. He was the son of Couatl, one of the Terapah “brats” that Jeongguk had helped raise, and who came to Boranthe to live with his little family, hoping to learn more about his blood heritage.

Shaeza and the boy were not close enough to the age of presenting for Jimin to see the bond with his eyes, but he knew it was there, nonetheless.

Jeongguk growled. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

Jimin laughed, and with his heart full at such a promising future with their new friends, he knew that nothing and no one could ruin his perfect happiness ever again.

Jeongguk would not let them. Their love was a powerful force of nature, and it alone seemed enough to repel all negativity from their perfect little bubble of life.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆