Love Is Not Possession

The World In A Flux

"When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier."

~Roy E. Disney

By the time Taehyung's eyes shot open, Jimin was already sitting upright, the Alpha's whole body tense and quivering with anxiety as he stared at the door to the cabin. The Beta whimpered quietly, curled up against Jimin's side as the sounds of wolf snarls and yips filled the air. It sounded like so many of them. Taehyung could hear them, could even smell them, a large hoard of bodies and fur and strength right outside their door. There was a bang, and a rattling against the door, and then a bark. Things stilled, and Jimin's hair seemed to stand on end.

"Jimin..." Taehyung breathed in fear. Jimin laid a hand on Taehyung, the strength of his Alpha Scent oozing across the room, defensive and powerful. The smell of peppermint was so thick against him that Taehyung could almost taste it on his tongue, and he looked up at Jimin in worry.

"Stay here," Jimin said. His voice was deep, guttural and aggressive. Taehyung whimpered again, reaching out to hold him back and keep him near, but Jimin slipped out of his grasp, sending him a deep, long look. It was a promise, a reassurance and a rebuke, all at once.

"Stay here," he warned once more, then went to the door. Taehyung watched him go closer, clutching the blankets around himself tightly. The cabin had, only just the night before, been a sanctuary of safety and openness; a place to be vulnerable. The sanctity of that haven had now been utterly disrupted in a way Taehyung was sure he was not ready to deal with. He wanted to move forward, to stay at Jimin's side, but the pull of the Alpha's command left him quivering nervously on the bed.

Hoping that they would go unnoticed was impossible. They must have seen the truck outside, seen the smoke from the fireplace, smelled their Scents lingering outside. Now they knew the door was locked, and that someone must have been home.

Jimin placed his hand upon the knob, turned it, and was met with the entirety of the Rising God clan at their doorstep. He felt the light coolness of the early spring morning, his breath escaping from between his lips in a lazy fog as he exhaled slowly. All eyes were on him, a small legion of wolves that sat at the ready, postures aware but relaxed, knowing the force of their own strength. Jimin was alone, and with his freshly Mated and still delicate Beta inside, waiting for him. He didn't know what to do, and felt the hopelessness of the situation sinking into his bones like poison into freshwater.

He was totally, utterly, at their mercy.

But he wasn't about to let them enjoy that.

"What do you want?" Jimin growled, letting his voice deepen and turn thick with feigned self-assurance. He willed his mind to walk away from the anxiety, not allowing it to seep too deeply into his bones and muscles so as to reveal itself. He forced his mind to focus on the inner aggression, the defensiveness. That was his Mate inside. Futile or not, it didn't matter. He would fight to the death for Taehyung, and things were as simple as that. He straightened, his hand on the door as he frowned at the trespassers, the ones infringing on his territory, and glared at them evenly. It was a technique he had learned from Namjoon, who knew the value of putting off the right Scent at the right time, of not lying but refocusing energy into what you needed for the moment. It was coming in handy now, he felt. They may have been able to tell someone was there, but he realized that they may not attack if they weren't sure how many of the pack were present. For all they knew, Namjoon and everyone else was waiting inside for the word. "Your own claimed territory is clearly marked," Jimin continued, "So move along."

The wolves' ears twitched, and a few shifted in impatience at the tone. They looked at each other in question, and Jimin fought to keep his focus clear. He heard Taehyung shuffling behind him, and he was tempted to turn around, his head subconsciously tilting a bit toward the noise. He hoped Taehyung would listen, would understand that this was his task, his job, and he wanted to do it right.