WHELVE | TK

FOURTEEN

Long time no see

Sorry for any mistakes and typos!!

Enjoy

***

"Can I get some help?"

Taehyung turned around, meeting Jimin's eyes. A soft smile appeared on his face as he watched his friend walk towards him, a few lanterns in his hands as he struggled to hold them all. Taehyung hurriedly walked towards him, a chuckle leaving his lips as he took a few lanterns out of his hands and watched as Jimin let out a sigh.

"Got all that alpha muscle for nothing, huh?"

Scrunching his nose at him and growling softly, Jimin pinched his side, making Taehyung squeal. He then turned around, preparing to leave, but was met with the hard stare that always awaited him when he was with Jimin.

Jeongguk was sitting nearby, his friend circled around him as they discussed about things he couldn't now. However, even if his friends seemed very talkative, Jeongguk was simply staring at Taehyung, his brows furrowed. In the past few days, every since Taehyung has met his spirit wolf, Jeongguk seemed to look even worse. His eyes were circled by dark patches and his skin was paler than usual. There was a certain weakness to his body that didn't seem normal, not since he was such a powerful alpha.

"You're staring." Jimin singsonged as he walked past Taehyung, bumping his shoulder a little.

Offering Jeongguk one last glance, the other smiling sadly at him, Taehyung turned around and followed Jimin into the woods.

They were organizing a party — courtesy of Jeongguk's mother idea — for his 24th birthday which was two days away. Jeongguk didn't look particularly excited but Taehyung didn't see him a lot anyway. His mate was always either in his room or in the forest and, no matter how much he tried talking to the other again, Jeongguk wouldn't allow him to come close.

Taehyung knew something was happening with Jeongguk. There was something wrong with him, has been ever since he's come back, but no one wanted to talk to him or explain what was happening.

So, Taehyung, in a moment of panic, did the only thing he could think of.

He sent Yoongi a letter, asking him to come visit since there was a celebration coming up. Taehyung knew he couldn't ask him about Jeongguk in the letter because he was sure other people from the royal guard read it before Yoongi so he simply stuck to the minimum, deciding he'd ask his supposed to be mate all the questions he had once he'd arrive.

If he would come because there was no certainty that Yoongi would follow one of Taehyung's requests.

"So," Jimin's voice echoed as they worked on arranging the lanterns around the pack grounds, their eyes meeting once Taehyung turned to look at him. "have you talked to Jeongguk these past few days?"

Taehyung shook his head, putting on the best fake smile he could master at that moment. "He doesn't want me near him. I tried but he stared me down and walked away. He seems," there was a pause, one in which Taehyung's fingers trembled as he tried to tie a knot to a branch "weaker than usual. There's something wrong but I guess I'm not allowed to know."

Jimin's lips quirked at that — a sad but understanding smile — before the other avoided Taehyung's eyes. "He's fine, Tae. He's the strongest shifter in this pack, alright? You don't have to worry about him."

"Even stronger than you?"

His tone was skeptical, something that didn't go unnoticed by Jimin who, after hearing his question, turned his head away once again.

"Yea," he whispered. "stronger than all of us."

They kept working around the pack afterwards, hanging lanterns in the trees and making sure everything looked peaceful and worthy of a celebration, Jeongguk's mother barking orders at all of them because she wanted everything to be perfect. Taehyung was glad Jeongguk was getting such a nice celebration for his birthday, he deserved it, but he couldn't help but feel like something was getting worse as hours passed.

The following day he barely caught a glimpse of Jeongguk, the only time he was able to see him being in the afternoon, when he walked outside and shifted midair before running into the forest behind him. Taehyung stared at his disappearing silhouette, wanting to follow but not being able to since he was aware the other — or at least the spirit wolf inside him — didn't want him anywhere near. However, as he stared, he saw another person running after Jeongguk, not shifted but in its human form. Even from the distance, Taehyung could see it was Jimin, which made him wonder how the two actually got to know each other.

He chose to ignore that, even if he truly didn't want to, walking towards the center of the pack instead, where children were gathered around baskets of flowers. They were trying to make flower crowns but from the mess on the ground and in their hair Taehyung could tell it wasn't going well. He stalked towards them and, once they noticed his presence they all stopped messing around and pretended they were actually working.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked, petting a little girl's head once he finally arrived. Crouching down so that he was on her level, Taehyung smiled, then took a few flowers out of her blonde hair. "You're all such a mess and you have no more flowers. Who wants to come with me and gather some more?"

A few of them raised their hands so, with a smile on his face, Taehyung asked them to take their baskets, then took the little girl's hand and walked towards the edge of the pack. He turned around, brows furrowed, searching for a few of Jeongguk's friends in order to ask them to follow and make sure the children are protected.

Once he spotted Seungyoun, Taehyung signaled for him to come over, then watched as the other ran towards them.

"Did something happen?"

With a glance towards the girl holding her hand, Taehyung smiled. "We want to gather some flowers and I was wondering if some of you could follow us and make sure we stay safe."

"Of course, let me gather a few men."

After they were finally ready, Taehyung finally walked inside the forest, the three large wolves following them carrying children on their backs that were playfully tugging on their fur. The girl Taehyung was walking with was slowly balancing their hands while humming a song. Once she felt Taehyung's gaze — courtesy to her alpha genes — she looked up, her blue eyes gazing at Taehyung with such softness that he felt his heart melt.

"Tae?" She asked, the smile on her lips falling in time with the one on Taehyung's. The children on the wolves' back got down, the three large shifters walking until they were standing around them, circling everyone and softly growling. "Do you smell that?"

Taehyung did. He tightened his hold on the girl's hand, then asked everyone to gather behind him. Seungyoun turned to look at them, his red eyes meeting Taehyung's.

"It's alright." Taehyung said, trying to assure everyone that it was indeed alright. "I know him."

Seungyoun gave a soft nod, making everyone stand put as they waited for the source of that scent to arrive at their destination. Still, when a large black wolf emerged from the forest, red eyes focused on Taehyung, the three shifters resumed their growling and tensed their bodies. Once the shifter ahead of him got close enough, he turned towards the other three wolves and stared at them, forcing them to submit.

Taehyung was surprise to see them do so, bowing politely in front of him as they let him pass, like they knew each other.

Once the wolf was in front of him, Taehyung smiled softly, then bowed as well. He raised his hand, touching the shifter's head, the other leaning down into his palm as well.

"Hello, Yoongi." His whisper made the other three wolves turn towards them, probably curious as to why Taehyung knew such a powerful man. "My mate."

In the depths of the forest, Taehyung's true mate was trashing on the ground, preparing to accept his end, another man standing there and waiting for it to come, just like he has promised.

Jimin has promised Jeongguk that, once his time would come, he would make it look like he died in battle against rogues, like a true warrior.

And so, as two mates were forced apart, another fated pair was just waiting to meet each other.