𝐎𝐦𝐞𝐠𝐚'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝 [𝗄𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗏]

Chapter Three

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The darkened forest passed by in a blur of shadows, the trees like silent sentinels watching over them.

The road stretched out before them, long and uncertain, much like the path he would have to walk with Jeongguk.

Nothing about this was simple. It wasn't the way he had imagined meeting his mate, and it wasn't a bond he could fully embrace yet.

Taehyung's heart tightened as he thought about what lay ahead.

He couldn't act on the bond, couldn't let his feelings consume him or drive him to take what Jeongguk wasn't ready to give.

This would have to be slow, an agonizingly slow burn that might test his patience, his strength, and everything he thought he knew about himself.

But Taehyung would wait. He would hold himself back, give Jeongguk the space and safety he needed.

He had no choice—because the thought of breaking Jeongguk's trust, of pushing him too soon, was a risk Taehyung could never take.

Jeongguk deserved so much more. He deserved to be cared for, nurtured, protected from the world that had already shown him so much cruelty.

And Taehyung would give him that—he would be the one to shelter him, to guide him, to make sure he never had to face the kind of heartbreak he had already experienced.

For now, Taehyung would watch over him, his hand gently resting against Jeongguk's soft hair, feeling the rise and fall of his small chest as he slept.

He would carry the weight of their bond silently, a secret he would guard with his life until the time was right.

And when that time came, when Jeongguk was ready to see him not just as a protector but as something more, Taehyung would be there—waiting.

Because love wasn't something that could be rushed. And if anyone deserved love in its purest, most patient form, it was Jeongguk.

The boy stirred slightly, his small hand unconsciously clutching Taehyung's shirt in his sleep, and Taehyung's heart softened even more, a slow warmth spreading through his chest.

After hours of travel, the carriage finally reached the familiar territory of the pack. Taehyung had barely blinked throughout the entire journey..

Taehyung's eyes fell to the boy's small face.

He let out a shaky breath, his gaze wandering back to the world outside, watching the shops and homes of the pack come into view.

The life he had always known suddenly felt foreign, like everything had shifted the moment Jeongguk had entered it.

The carriage came to a halt, and Taehyung's chest tightened as if the air had been stolen from his lungs. He wasn't ready.

How was he supposed to explain this to his father? To his appa, Seokjin? Or was it better to keep it hidden, to protect Jeongguk from the chaos that was sure to follow?