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Chapter Nine

Namjoon moved into action without hesitation. He placed his hands on Hana's shoulders, simply holding there until she stopped trembling. "It's okay, we've got this," he assured her. With a quick glance up and down her body he assessed her state. "You should clean up. Yoongi-hyung will probably sleep for at least an hour, so you have time. Use his bathroom so you don't smell like anyone else. Let the rest of the pack gather what will be needed, you need to save your strength."

She would have liked him to be more reassuring, but during rut was the one time Yoongi might react badly to the scents of other alphas even if they were his own pack. There would be no hugs or affection to ground her. Hana did as Namjoon advised and cleaned herself as best she could, all the while hearing his voice calling out for the other members to gather the rut supplies and make the necessary phone calls. She was extra thorough about cleaning the places on her face and neck where the pack had scented her that day, even the ones from the morning. For the next few days she could only smell like Yoongi.

Jimin was waiting when she left the bathroom, holding a robe and a few pairs of her underwear with gloved hands. "I'm really sorry for getting into your clothes," he apologized sincerely. "I'm sure you would have preferred someone else, but my scent is the lightest so it was best for it to be me."

"I understand. Thank you." The robe was longer than Yoongi's t-shirt, so Hana went ahead and slipped it on, and she tucked the extra panties into one of the pockets. Her phone was already in the other, she noted by the weight, and when she looked inside there was a charging cord coiled with it. "You guys are experts," she mused aloud.

"After seven ruts a year for most of a decade, I hope so," he replied with a tired smile. He was one of the members who had the heaviest schedule for the day and had probably been fast asleep when Namjoon knocked, yet here he was just like the rest.

Seokjin emerged from the bedroom where Yoongi lay sleeping with a hazardous armload of clothing. He would be losing access to his own bed and closet for a while. From the other direction came Jungkook and Taehyung carrying a cooler and a basket heaped high with protein bars. "Ice packs and water bottles," Tae announced as he handed over the cooler. Hana hurried to set it next to the bedside, then repeated the trip for the basket. She glanced at Yoongi each time, but he was still asleep- certainly not peacefully, though. His flushed face was drawn into a shadow of a grimace even now.

As she was accepting a stack of towels from Hoseok, she heard the front door open. Who would be arriving at this time of night? She could not pause to find out, though. The towels needed to be put in the room, and Seokjin's bedding stripped to remove as much of his smell from the room as possible. It was difficult to deal with a shared bedroom in such a hurry like this, and if there had been time to do it properly, they would have actually de-scented the whole bed. Instead they had to bank on the fact that the two alphas had cohabitated for years, meaning Yoongi was less likely to react to a light amount of his scent.

Hana was sniffing herself to make sure she hadn't picked up more scent from the bedding when Namjoon came up the hall, and she realized who was visiting despite the hour. Ms. Jo was with him, likely the first person the leader had called. "Is he still asleep?" was the first thing she asked, and Hana nodded. The manager flipped open her tablet and grabbed a stylus, tapping through some unseen interface. "Good. I know we don't have much time. It is my responsibility to inform you that in the event of an unscheduled rut, you are not obligated to serve, because you have not consented in advance. I'll need your signature now if you agree to stay, but if not, you are free to go."

Hana was surprised by the offer, but it was not remotely tempting. "I promised Yoongi I would be there for him, of course I'm staying."

Ms. Jo turned the tablet around, but hesitated before holding out the stylus. "Miss Seo, are you sure? No one would blame you, we had hopes of preparing things better. I know this would be your first time helping an alpha through rut."