WHELVE | TK

TEN

This is the most important chapter until now so pay attention haha

It's gonna get confusing but I hope you'll be able to link everything and understand the deeper meanings of this chapter

Sorry for any mistakes

***

"What did you and Jeongguk talk about last night?" Taehyung asked once Jimin sat next to him at the table, both of them preparing to have breakfast before they went their separate ways for the day.

His friend turned towards him, his eyes squished with sleepiness. "He asked if I wanted to hunt with them since they're low on people. Apparently, not all of them are that strong."

Taehyung knew that Jimin wasn't going to tell him the truth but he still felt the need to try and pressure the other into talking more. "Is that really all you talked about?"

"Well," hope filled Taehyung's heart at that, his irises sparkling as he turned towards Jimin. "he did warn me that he's gonna snap my neck off if I ever hurt you but I thought I shouldn't be telling you that."

Nodding, Taehyung sighed. "That's not surprising anymore. I told you, ever since he's come back, Jeongguk's been different."

Jimin looked guilty when they locked eyes again and Taehyung understood why. His friend knew Jeongguk's secret but, from the looks of it, no one wanted to tell him the actual truth, which made him feel so angry and betrayed. It was about his mate after all. Even if they couldn't be together, he still had the right to know if Jeongguk was alright or not, he still had the right to care.

Not wanting to be next to Jimin anymore, Taehyung got up with the excuse that he was going to collect some fruit, then left the room and walked towards the orchard. It was an excuse but, once he got there, Taehyung actually picked up some fruit and sat down under a tree's shade, munching on an apple as he thought about everything in an attempt to sort things out himself.

There were legends about shapeshifters from all parts of the world that were told in every pack during certain days. However, not all of them were true, Taehyung knew that. Most of them were bed time stories for pups, just like they used to be to him and Jeongguk. Taehyung's mother used to tell them legends at night and they'd fall asleep together because, even then, the two of them couldn't be detached from each other.

And yet, here they were, so close but yet so far from what their hearts truly desired due to some hierarchy rules.

Feeling anger and sadness fill his chest, Taehyung threw the apple into the distance, watching as it hit a tree and fell down. He inhaled, trying to calm himself, then thought about the legends he's heard from other people, legends that seemed more real and that weren't known by everyone. Those were the true legends that were kept secret because, as Yoongi told him once, if everyone knew them, they'd seek power like that and that would lead to war.

A while after they met, he and Yoongi were sitting next to a fire, alone, in complete silence as they listened to the logs crack due to the heat. At that time, Yoongi had started talking, telling Taehyung about a legend that made his whole body shiver in fear, a legend that, even now, brought confusion on his face.

There used to be three royal clans from which all shapeshifters derived. There was the clan Jimin came from, the one Yoongi came from and there was another one, hidden in the silence of the tallest mountains, ruled by a man so powerful that no one ever dared to pass those lands. Those clans still lived on until today, ruled by the successors of those people. However, Yoongi's legend didn't revolve around those clans, but around one certain man.

"They were all powerful shifters, each of them having their own qualities. One clan was known for their controlled nature and intelligence, one was known for their unity and powerful leader while the other was known for their ferocious and lethal nature. They were all so different, but still alike. However, the unexpected happened when two people fell in love. Ironic, right? As every tragedy written in history, the story of these two people ended like one as well. The woman came from one of the royal clans and she was known to be powerful and intelligent, whereas the man came from a lineage of purebreds purely created in order to become warriors. You already know, I presume, that purebred lineages are kept in order to maintain a balance between the lone packs and the royal clans. The two fell in love and, despite everyone's disapproval, fled and hid in the mountains so that no one could find them. They had offsprings there, two boys that grew up and circled the world on their own until they found wives for themselves and made their own families. No one realized then because no one has seen those two men but, once a man from a royal clan finally found them, he realized that the two lovers have committed a great sin. They have combined two different bloodlines that were supposed to maintain balance between each other, giving birth to offsprings that were going to change everything. Do you know what happens when purebreds and royal shapeshifters become mates?"