New Moon | Vampire TAEKOOK

3 - Heat

<Taehyung POV> 

Hesitantly, Taehyung stands next to his leader, who passes the bowl to the Jeon leader. He recognised him because of the scar on his left eye. He learned in class that this clan was known for its ambition and ruthlessness in the past. The leaders of this clan were all power-hungry and destructive vampire, with strong power and army. They have the largest territory and the most possessions, and are feared by other clans. Unlike Kims who are known to be pacifist and kind, Jeons are avoided and it is a sign of bad luck to meet one. Taehyung was not sure the extent to which these claims were true, but he made the mistake to glance at their leader and the icy glare the man gave back gave him chills. Taehyung stares at the ground nervously as the vampire performs the ritual nonchalantly and calls out his apprentices name. Still in shock, he did not pay attention to any of the ceremony.  How could he be a leader? How could he be the next one to stand in front of all the clans like this? How could he be in charge of such ceremonies or take the lead in crisis? He wasn't made for this... He clenches his fists as he starts to spiral down helplessly, lost in his thoughts... This couldn't be real. He catches his parents in the crowd and notices how happy they look, but Taehyung couldn't be happy right now. 

He can feel his heart race in his chest, his blood pumping through his veins. The same feeling as earlier starts to take over. So it was a panic attack- Not that smell again! The young vampire covers his mouth and nose and holds his stomach as he starts to feel it twist. He felt feverish and dizzy again. Instinctively, Taehyung glances at the vampire from the enemy clan who was called as apprentice and just joined him on the pedestal. Tae's whole body freezes as his eyes meet the boy's. It's like his body knew that something was up with him, he was different. What was his name? Damn it... I can't think straight... He probably thinks I'm a weirdo! He couldn't take his eyes off him, like he was hypnotised. 

Taehyung felt the dizziness take over him. His vision suddenly blurred and he felt too hot to handle it, unable to stand anymore. The entire crowd watches him fall on his knees and collapse to the ground fainting, as gasps and murmurs echoed around. Taehyung's parents watch in shock as half of the leaders hurry to carry their son to get help. The ceremony comes to an end and the remaining leaders make a quick closing speech, urging their clan to proceed to the ball. 

Meanwhile, the boy stares at Tae's body as he gets taken away unfazed, like he didn't care about what he just did. What a strange boy... What was he staring at? 

***

Much later, Taehyung slowly regains consciousness and opens his eyes. He looks around, still dizzy, and notices he is in an unfamiliar room, lying in a bed. It seemed like a clinic. There was no one in sight, except for that one woman who just walked in. 

"How are you feeling?" she asks calmly.

"W-What happened...?" he replies still disoriented. His head was still spinning a little and he felt the same warmth as before like a fever. 

"Something triggered your heat..." she starts to explain. What? Taehyung remembers from biology class how Omegas have heats regularly and Alphas go through their ruts every so often. One is a predictable cycle and the other is triggered by random events. He heard that sometimes, heats and ruts can become extreme or uncontrollable, and can be very harmful if not handled right away. He blushes in embarrassment... How could he have a heat despite being a Beta? 

"You have the rarest ranks of all. Betas are so uncommon they are sometimes thought to be superior to Alphas. They are a mix of both Omegas and Alphas which is why they are put in the middle. Vampires like you will go through both heats and ruts depending on who is around you." 

This makes sense. He was surrounded by the Alpha leaders and apprentices, which could explain... But... Something didn't make sense. Why was his heat triggered on the stage and not in the crowd? There was vampires of all ranks around him, why did this happen only when he was up there? Could it be triggered by someone specific? The nurse noticed the confusion on his face. 

"Unlike Omegas' cycle of heats, ruts and Beta heats can be triggered by a certain smell, or a certain act, or a certain feeling... But it has to be from someone specific. Like a partner or a soulmate." 

The boy's eyes widen at the word. A soulmate? Taehyung always thought such bond was a legend, or a very very rare case. It is unlikely for vampires to even have a soulmate, let along find them. Vampires who depend on their soulmate can live miserably if they don't find them or can't stay with them. It is impossible to tell if someone is meant to have a soulmate or not, but it is said that you can feel it in your guts. Taehyung never felt like "a piece of him was missing" or "really attached to a specific person" as it is usually described, which is why he never took this soulmate thing seriously like most vampires. Yet, it is the only thing that made sense, since he currently doesn't have a partner... 

Who is my soulmate? I will have to ask Seokjin and Namjoon to help me look for them in my clan... Unless...