𝐎𝐦𝐞𝐠𝐚'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝 [𝗄𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗏]

Chapter Twenty Nine

~~~

A week had passed since the rogue attack.

It hadn't been a large-scale assault—just a small skirmish at the forest border. No real damage, no casualties. But the pack was still unsettled. Wolves talked. They always did. And lately, their whispers had started circling around Taehyung.

He could feel it everywhere he went. The pack's eyes on him, their whispers just quiet enough to be discreet, but not enough to stop him from hearing.

"Did you see how Jeongguk reacted that night? He tore through the forest like a madman."

"He was furious. I've never seen him like that."

"Why was he so desperate to find Luna?"

"Maybe our Luna has a secret."

"Jeongguk is avoiding him. Did something happen?"

The words clung to him, seeping into his skin like an ink stain that wouldn't wash away. He tried not to let them bother him, tried to pretend he didn't notice the sideways glances, the lingering stares.

But he did.

And worse—he agreed with them.

Because Jeongguk was avoiding him. Or maybe Taehyung was avoiding Jeongguk first. It was hard to tell now.

Taehyung forced himself to focus on the papers in front of him. He sat at the long wooden table in the pack's meeting room, going through reports on patrol shifts and border security.

The pack had moved on from the rogue incident, but the same couldn't be said for him.

He bit the inside of his cheek, staring blankly at the reports in front of him. The pack's meeting room was quiet except for the occasional rustle of papers and the scratch of his pen against the surface.

But he wasn't focusing.

Because unlike everyone else, Taehyung knew exactly what had changed.

Jeongguk knew the truth now.

The way Jeongguk had looked at him that night. The desperation in his voice, the raw fury in his eyes, the way he had stepped between Taehyung and the rogues, not as an Alpha protecting his Luna, but as a mate claiming what was his.

But now? Jeongguk was avoiding him.

The once natural presence of Jeongguk in Taehyung's life had disappeared overnight. No stolen glances, no teasing remarks.

Taehyung swallowed hard, gripping the pen in his hand.

Jeongguk wasn't just distant. He was absent.

At first, Taehyung had told himself that Jeongguk was just busy. That he was processing things. That maybe, after the chaos of that night, he needed space.

But the truth was, Jeongguk's silence was louder than any words he could have spoken.

Taehyung had spent his whole life preparing for this moment.

And now that it had happened, now that the truth was out, Taehyung was finally facing the one thing he had never prepared for.

Rejection.

Jeongguk did regret it.

He regretted knowing they were mates.

Taehyung pressed his lips together, his chest tightening. It made sense, didn't it? The silence, the avoidance. Jeongguk hadn't wanted to know about their bond. He hadn't asked for it.