Beast, Blood, & Soul

* 60 *

Just a couple of hours to go before noon and tensions are rising. I was in my room, strapping myself into some leather get-up looking like some anime heroine or a poor imitation of Laura Croft, I'm not sure which. I expected a fight. We were going to the cave. I figured leather would protect me from a stone wall or being dragged across a rocky floor. The witch could move me around like a rag doll with her magic. I expect her to rough me up like last time and I am going in protective clothing this time around.

A whistle sounds from the doorway. I look up to see Hobi standing there with heat in his eyes. "Looking hot!" he says with a grin.

"Down doggie," I tease.

"That's Jimin," Hobi chuckles. I can't help but laugh at the joke. I finish strapping myself into my clothing and Hobi walks over and straightens out my vest. Not that it needed it, but I can tell he is just keeping his hands busy while trying to figure out what to say.

"No goodbyes" I remind him.

He looks at me, "I love you," he simply says. I return those words and he leans in and kisses me. I lean against him and prolong the moment of intimacy. I wrap my arms around him and we hug. He gives me a hard squeeze before he lets go and pulls back, his hands resting on my shoulders.

"I hate this," he says and I nod in understanding.

"It's dangerous what we are doing," I say.

"Beyond dangerous," he agrees, "But, no goodbyes. We have to believe we can win." He slides his hands down my arms and grabs my hands in a tight hold.

I squeeze his hands back and grin at him. "Yup," His smile is not as bright as he usually gives me but he tries. I send caresses along his strand and I can see him visibly straighten up and become more resolved. He sends his love back along the strand and we both take comfort and strength from this private moment.

"Thank you," He says before he pulls on my hands and walks me downstairs to join everyone.

Namjoon is on the phone when we enter the room. "We'll be there shortly." and he hangs up. We look at him and he gives us a nod, "She's made her move."

I shake my head and sigh. This was so unnecessary. We were coming to her she didn't need hostages. "Who did she take?" I ask him.

"Who you expected. Ceren and Branden. But it seems that Mindy and Marcus are also missing." My eyebrows raise at that.

"Well, we suspected the witch could be one of them so that tracks," I grumble.

"We have to be ready for anything. We have possibly three innocent people to save." Namjoon reminds us.

"The witch could still be none of them, then that means we need to save all four of them," Jimin says.

"We also have to save Y/N, so it could get tricky," Taehyung points out.

"Trust the magic," I tell them. They all roll their eyes at me.

"When the magic is finally on our side, THEN I'll trust it," Yoongi grumbles.

"And what do you think I am?" I tell him.

"Bait," he growls.

"I'm her bait, but I'm also your mate" I remind him. "I'm not just a product of a deranged mind. I'm also part of the magic that created all this. What if I'm the answer to all this?"

"We've been over this," Jimin reminds us. "Arguing about it doesn't help us now." He glares at his friend.

Yoongi runs his fingers through his hair and walks over to me and grabs me in for a tight hug. "Feeling the strand disconnect that day was the worst. I just don't want to feel it again."