Once A Love Story [kv]❤️✓

Chapter 40

Author's pov

Jungkook's claws met resistance as Madam Joo conjured a shield of dark energy, sending him skidding backward. He barely had time to regain his footing before she unleashed a blast of black fire, the cursed flames hissing as they scorched the ground around him.

He dodged, moving like a shadow, his instincts sharp, his rage burning brighter than ever.

Taehyung was behind him, weak but alive.

And he would protect him.

Madam Joo laughed, her voice echoing like shattered glass through the crumbling temple. "Still so foolish, Jungkook. Did you think this would be easy?"

Jungkook didn't respond. He lunged.

Their battle was brutal— claw against spell, fangs against curses. Jungkook moved faster than a blink, slashing through the dark tendrils Madam Joo summoned. But she was relentless, her magic warping the very air around them, making it harder to breathe, harder to move.

Jungkook gritted his teeth.

He had to kill her before the ritual could begin.

A well-timed strike sent Madam Joo crashing against the temple's altar, cracks forming beneath her. For a moment, she seemed dazed, and Jungkook took the opening. He leaped, claws raised for the kill—

But then—

A whisper.

A forbidden incantation.

The air turned heavy, a sickening force slamming into Jungkook's chest like an iron fist.

His body locked up mid-air, his limbs frozen, his movements stolen.

His breath hitched.

No—!

He crashed onto the temple floor, unable to move and forced to shift back into his human form. Dark chains slithered up his arms and legs, binding him with cursed magic that burned into his skin.

He struggled, but the restraints only tightened, leeching his strength.

And then—

He heard Taehyung scream.

Jungkook's eyes snapped toward him.

Two hooded figures had grabbed Taehyung, dragging him back toward the altar. His body was weak from the pregnancy, his struggles feeble, but his eyes burned with fear and defiance.

"Let him go!" Jungkook snarled, his voice raw with fury.

Madam Joo stood, brushing dust from her robes as if she hadn't just been nearly torn apart.

"Oh, Jungkook," she sighed mockingly. "You never did understand the beauty of suffering."

She lifted her hand, and the hooded figures forced Taehyung onto the altar. The stone glowed with runes, pulsing with dark energy as thick, enchanted ropes bound his wrists and ankles.

Taehyung gasped as magic seared into his skin, his body arching as pain crackled through him.

Jungkook fought against his restraints, his muscles straining. "STOP!"

Madam Joo ignored him, stepping closer to Taehyung, her fingers tracing the curve of his belly.

"How unfortunate," she mused, "that such divine children belong to you."

Taehyung flinched, his body trembling.

Jungkook's heart pounded. He had to break free.

He had to— but the magic binding him was old, powerful—meant to subdue even true-blood Alphas like him.