Ma Moitie

Chapter 29

||Flames

The last embers of sunset painted the jagged peaks of the Lost Mountains in fiery hues of orange and purple, casting long, dramatic shadows across the clearing. 

The air, usually smelling of pine and damp earth, now throbbed with something different – thick, heady, and heavy with the potent scent of Taehyung's heat.

Jeongguk felt it in his gut, a tight knot of anticipation and something else… a war raging between wanting him and needing to protect him. 

The scent washed over Jeongguk first, a wave of potent, musky sweetness that slammed into him with the force of a physical blow, stealing his breath and momentarily blurring his vision. It wasn't just Taehyung's usual scent of roses and vanilla; this was something amplified, intensified, a thousand times stronger, utterly intoxicating.

  It was a heady mix of vanilla and something deeper, richer, more primal – the unmistakable, overwhelming scent of Taehyung's heat.

The sweetness was laced with a musky undercurrent, a potent pheromone cocktail that sent a jolt of pure, instinctual desire straight to his core. 

He could almost taste it, feel it vibrating in his very bones.  It was a scent that promised pleasure, a scent that demanded attention, a scent that threatened to unravel him completely.

Then he saw the whole picture, and the full impact of the situation hit him with the brutal force of a punch to the gut.

The casual, almost carefree expression he'd worn moments before was gone, replaced by a subtle tremor, a barely controlled flush creeping across his usually pale skin.

His eyes, usually soft and captivating, were now a swirling vortex of silver and deepening blue, reflecting the internal storm raging within him. The inked marks on his arm pulsed with a frantic intensity, a throbbing beneath his intricate tattoos. 

There was no mistaking it; Taehyung was in heat, and the sheer unexpectedness of it, the sudden, overwhelming intensity of it all, sent a fresh wave of panic through Jeongguk.  He hadn't expected this, not yet. 

Their relationship was still so new, so fragile.

And then, a voice, low and guttural, resonated within him, a voice that was both familiar and terrifyingly primal. It was his wolf, Jeongguk's inner beast, suddenly resurfacing, its voice thick with barely contained excitement.

  He's in heat, Jeongguk!  Finally!, the wolf snarled, its voice a low rumble that vibrated through Jeongguk's bones.

The Luna is in heat!  Our chance!  The wolf's excitement was raw, untamed, a potent force that threatened to overwhelm Jeongguk's human restraint.

This is it, Jeongguk. This is what we've been waiting for.  The wolf's voice was a seductive whisper, a dangerous promise of fulfillment, a primal urge that threatened to eclipse all else. 

Jeongguk fought to suppress the wolf's exhilaration, his human mind struggling to maintain control amidst the storm of conflicting emotions. 

He had to be careful.  He had to protect Taehyung.  But the wolf's insistent voice, its primal desires, were a powerful force to contend with.  The battle within him had begun.

He took a step closer, then another, each one a battle against the primal urge clawing at him. The fire crackled, pups yipped in the distance, but all Jeongguk heard was his own pounding heart. His wolf, usually unbothered, was a snarling mess inside him, growling a constant reminder of the overwhelming desire threatening to swallow him whole.