• Children of Winter• || NamMin

5. Nest of Secret of Horanghi and Nunpyobeom

They hurry away from the house. The soldiers devote themselves to protecting the rest of the family. Namjoon fulfills an unspoken duty: to put Jimin first in any risky situation. Not only does his status within the royal family make his existence a problem, he is also vital when it comes to destroying the most important thing. Bad relationship or not, he is the youngest son of the late empress and Jin's younger brother. Hiding him is for the good of those around him and himself, as anyone will try to assassinate him or use him for political purposes. The tiger is unaware of Jimin's importance in that regard.

Namjoon gets a small elevation, having as a key point hollow and huge logs in which they can sneak. The shadow provided by the elevation together with the logs prevents anyone from perceiving the albino character in the darkness. Namjoon holds him close to his chest, breathing deeply to calm his troubled heart. A thin, translucent layer of snow forms at the opening, shielding them from the storm that begins to happen.

"Will they come to kill me?" asks Jimin in a low, trembling voice. Namjoon presses him to his chest.

"I would not allow them to harm you, my lord." Namjoon promises without a hint of hesitation.

Jimin snuggles into him, the tiger curls his tail with the opposite one and rests his chin on Jimin's head. The weather worsened significantly. If they were chasing them, no matter how close they were, they must have lost the trail by now. Jimin breathes through his mouth and tries not to think of the worst: What about his family? Did they survive? Will they survive? The concerns are not much different from each other and in all of them, Jimin's enormous love for his relatives is exposed.

"Are you still afraid my lord? My lord.

"A little. I'm hungry too." He pouts and Namjoon lets out a laugh.

"I'll look for food for you later, my lord."

They stay hidden for hours. In the course of those, a couple of people passed by, notably looking for Jimin and with them they carry big red ribbons manifesting which side they belong to. Namjoon hugged him tighter and with his stench, caused any suspicion of his presence to vanish.

They are looking for an Omega with the smell of snow. Not a spring-scented Alpha.

"Is there no one left...?"

Jimin shivers in terror. If they're looking for him, it's because none of his family survived. Namjoon covers his mouth to keep him from speaking. They were beastman, they could hear him. He released him only when he considered that enough time passed and he doesn't detect any of the smell. Jimin lets out a broken sob.

"They didn't smell blood. Not from your family" Namjoon, Jimin sniffles, tears still streaming down his face. "When the sun goes down, we'll go back. Unlike them, I am able to move through the night without difficulty."

"b-but there may be nothing left by then."

"You'll be left, my lord."

Jimin covers his face with his hands, frightened that it might be the reality he must face.

~ * * * ~

"Ah! You're good!"

Jimin lets go of Namjoon to go towards Jin, being welcomed into the Alpha's arms. Jin pulls him away for a moment to check him for any damage and hugs him tightly to his chest again. The dwelling is pretty bad, but there are workers taking care of it, even with faint candle lights.

"We thought they had caught you," Hoseok says in distress. Namjoon shakes his head. "You two disappeared so suddenly."

"Looks like they didn't kill anyone. Or not many." Namjoon comments looking at the pair of bodies covered by a sheet.