There is a divide in society.
Protectors and humans.
Protectors are those who are able to shift between their human and animal form. At the ceremony they become bound together till death takes them both.
The world I know and the world you know are l...
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"Normal" - Speaking
"Italics" - Sign language
~*~
Author POV
Both Jimin and Jin gave a grunt of both pain and relief all in one. The loosely tied piece of string that was once their bond becoming a tightly knit rope that tethered them together.
Sung Park watched on, as his singular statement about the Choi heir not having a bond caused the room to descend into chaos. His elderly lion shifter, Chun, watched on as well, muscles tense in case he needed to step in to defend his human connection.
Thankfully Jimin gasp of pain was enough to draw people away from a potential fight. All the Nobles in the room and the sign language interpreter turned their heads to look at the young Park heir and the snow leopard shifter who was standing in an aggressively protective stance over the human.
Jin was in a deeply primal mindset, his instincts on high alert. Since he just completed the bond with Jimin it was new and they were in a potentially threatening environment.
"What is this?" Han-gyeol demanded, looking to Sung Park who looked just as confused as the head of the Choi house.
Clearly Han-gyeol had a lot of experience with shifters due to his line of work, so it took no effort for him to command his shifter to scruff Jin and pull him away from the human. Jin would have been able to fight back in other circumstances but with his head muddled due to the new bond he was easily overpowered.
Jimin could barely fight back when Han-gyeol grabbed his arm and pulled up his jacket sleeve. His eyes widened, before he pulled up Jimin's other sleeve.
"Why does you heir have 6 bonds, 5 of which are incomplete?" Han-gyeol's tone was frosty as he turned accusing eyes upon the head of the Park house.
"I assure you I knew nothing of this" Sung Park was genuine in his response and Han-gyeol must have been able to sense that.
"You said he was Jaymin's boy right?" Han-gyeol looked pensive.
"That is right" Sung Park confirmed.
"Then that scandal that happened a while back that got him arrested what was it again?" Han-gyeol inquired. His steely grip still clutching Jimin's forearm, holding the younger man at an awkward angle.
"He housed illegal shifter that a rebel group broke out of a camp" Sung Park knew the situation well, as it impacted his house regardless as to whether Jaymin had been denounced as his heir.
"Could he have-" Han-gyeol trailed off. He seemed to be connecting the points in his mind, he was far from an unintelligent man.
Jin let out a loud yowl of irritation.
"Jin stop" that made everyone in the room freeze into silence. Jimin having spoke before them.
"You know the shifter?" Han-gyeol pressed when he saw the young snow leopard grown silent under the command.
Jimin hesitantly nodded his head, there was no use denying it now. They knew regardless of whether they were asking for confirmation.
"Was he one of the ones your father illegally housed?" Sung Park inquired.
Once again Jimin nodded, though it was reluctant.
"So these other bonds must be from the others your father housed" Han-gyeol connected the final dot in the sequence. Jimin's head dropped he had come up with a plan if anyone found out his secret. So he lay froze on the Choi's manor floor, his wrist gripped in the head of the house's hand, head dipped to the floor in despair.
"For someone to have 6 bonds and be underage is revolutionary" Han-gyeol almost sounded manic as he talked.
With his field of work he grew excited at the new prospects of the science he studied.
"Ittana walk back" Han-gyeol commanded his own snow leopard shifter who still had Jin scruffed in his mouth.
The snow leopard obeyed, but soon stopped at the scream of pure pain that came from the newly bonded pair, they couldn't go father than a few metres from each other like the standard bond permitted.
"That is a full bond, completed without the requirement of the bonding medicine" Han-gyeol sounded full of awe as he commanded his shifter back to his side, which left both Jimin and Jin shaking at the pull of their bond lessening.
"It would seem my son's shifter is now your heir's shifter" Han-gyeol turned to look at an equally shocked Sung Park.
Beom-gyul looked on in anger, though he was too scared of his father to speak out.
"But what of your son he is vulnerable now?" Sung Park asked.
"Evidently he has been vulnerable all this time without the bond of this shifter, he can survive until I get him a new shifter" Han-gyeol stated dismissively.
Beom-gyul got up and stormed out of the room in anger, the rest of the room barely batted an eyelash at his departure.
~*~
Jimin didn't know what happened after that, he was too out of it to be able to pay attention, the new bond had taken a lot of of him. Jin was allowed to crawl into the human's lap after being release from Ittana's grip.
"I will sign this deal with you Sung Park" that is the last thing Jimin was able to focus on, as he watched the two older men shake hands, smiles on their faces. Evidently they had struck a deal that pleased them bond, signifying the union of their houses as allies.
They turned to look at Jimin who was clutching at Jin's fur like a scared child.
"We will help you Jimin Park, Heir to the Park house" Han-gyeol stated, his face was wearing an ecstatic smile.
"Help me do what?" Jimin found his hands working on instinct almost like a defence mechanism.
"Find all your shifters of course"
~*~
Are you ready for the next few chapters? The last line gives away what is going to happen.
