Mythical

86. Smoke

"Yeah. This is live," Marie responded. Tears welled in my eyes as I watched the video like thing playing. Albeit, it was black and white, and a bit hazy, I could clearly make out what the video consisted of. A whimper left my mouth at the sight of my mom and my hyung cowering under the gazes of three werewolves. They were both bleeding profusely, holding on to each other tightly as they tried to move away from the monsters in front of them.

I moved closer, reaching out to the smoke. But it hazed away just as my only family fell limp. They were no longer breathing. "No!" I shouted in denial. Yoongi held me from behind, making me step back from the cauldron. "T-that's impossible! T-t-they were being protected!"

Hoseok stood in front of me, pulling me out of Yoongi's hold and into his. He ran his hand through my shoulder, as I struggled in his grip. "Let it out, bubble," he whispered, tightening his hold on me. I sobbed into his shoulder as the video replayed in my mind. "Can you get it up again, just to be sure?"

"Yeah I can, but I need his..." Marie trailed off. Namjoon gently took my hand from Hoseok and offered it to Marie. I didn't even feel the needle prick my forearm. My emotions were in abundance, first hitting me one by one and then all together. "Jungkook, come watch." Hoseok moved to allow me to see as well.

"Now what? We broke the damn law by killing them. What the fuck do we do now?" One of the werewolves asked.

"We hide them, obviously. They brought it upon themselves," another responded.

"The lady bumped into you, and the boy protected his mother from the werewolf who was going to raise his hand on her. How on earth did they bring it upon themselves?" the third questioned, his voice was loud.

"Keep it down. We can't let anyone know. The second suspicion arises, we leave for Seoul," the second one said. "For now we lay low."

I buried my face in Hoseok's shoulder as he picked me up and started carrying me to the car, leaving Yoongi and Namjoon to say their goodbyes to Marie. Hoseok ran his hand through my hair as I whimpered into his shoulder, sniffling. He handed me a tissue with which I wiped my nose.

"I-I thought t-they would be prot-tected," I hiccupped. "They didn't do anything w-wrong."

"No, they didn't, bubble. We will find those men, and we will not let them get away with this," he promised, kissing my shoulder.

"I watched my family die again," I whispered, knowing everyone in the car could hear. But they said nothing. What could they have said to make it better?

-

I numbly walked into the house, ignoring everyone in the living room and making my way to Jimin's room. I knew better than to be alone right now. I made a cocoon in Jimin's bed, claiming it as mine as I inhaled his scent.

I was planning on running away to my family. That's what I hoped my mates would forgive me for. My family never really forgot me, their memories were simply suppressed. I was sure I could help those memories front. I was sure I could protect my family. But I couldn't do that anymore.

The door opened after a while and Jimin and Taehyung walked in. They shuffled their way to the bed, lying down on either side of me. I looked at Jimin with tearful and exhausted eyes as he opened the blanket for him and Taehyung. Taehyung pressed himself up against me from behind, his hand on my hip and his breath hitting my nape. Jimin shuffled only a little closer, wiping my tears with one hand, and trailing his other hand up my shirt. Skin-to-skin contact. One of the most effective ways to comfort someone.

"I'm tired," I mumbled.

"You can sleep if you want. You can eat lunch later," Jimin said. I hummed. Not that kind of tired.

"We're right here, baby. I know you're tired, you don't deserve such a harsh life. We're all here for you, little one. You can lean on us whenever you want. You don't always have to be strong," Taehyung said, moving his head to bury his nose in my neck. He licked and kissed the area where he bit me just two nights ago. "We're here for you."