Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Jisung awoke sometime in the early morning, the sun barely peeking in through the small cracks between the drawn curtains. His head pounded, the room spinning as he blinked, attempting to remove the blurriness that clouded his vision. He sat up slowly, raising a shaking hand to his head, sucking in a deep breath. He jolted when his fingers came into contact with rugged bandages wrapped around his forehead.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not seem to remember how he'd gotten himself in the infirmary, nor why he adorned bandages. He swallowed thickly, squinting against the growing light in the room, eyes quickly sweeping his surroundings.

There was only one bed that was still occupied; his eyes widened as he recognized Minho's serene face peacefully sleeping on the bed next to his own. Slowly, he slipped out of his own bed, bare feet coming into contact with the cold linoleum floor. However, he did not feel much of a chill — it was a feeling he'd always taken for granted.

His eyes widened as he hesitantly approached the small mirror at the far end of the room. He reached up and tugged on the bandages. Crusted blood peeled off with it, but he felt no pain. With a trembling hand, he ran his fingers through the hair at the back of his head – no pain there, either.

Closing his eyes, he focused on his ears, his nose; dull, white noise echoed inside his mind, and a beautiful blend of scents met his nostrils. A grin broke out on his face as his eyes snapped open again; he was back to normal. Thank the Goddess for that, he thought, exhaling shakily.

It wouldn't have gone well if the Allied Packs had arrived to find the Sun Pack's Alpha was a human. He scratched the top of his head as he turned around, taking slow steps to reach Minho's bedside. Strands of hair had fallen into his face, tickling his eyes.

With a quiet chuckle and a gentle smile, Jisung gently brushed them aside. Minho's skin was frigid, but it didn't bother him anymore. The restored warmth of his own body evened everything out. Again, a pang of sadness shot through his heart as he stared at the beautiful boy's resting face.

He traced the shape of his eyes, his nose, his lips, with his thumb, forcing himself to feel the coldness. That chill was there because he'd failed; he'd have to live with that for the rest of his life. At least Minho was still with him; he could have died instead. He closed his eyes, head bowed as he clenched his jaw, anger replacing his pain.

The Vampire King had forced their hand. He'd pay – for everything he'd done. Once this war was done, Minho would be able to live freely, away from the horrors the King had subjected him to. Soon, it would all be over.

Minho's eyes fluttered open, glittering in confusion. He blinked away the fog that seemed to have settled over him as he blinked several times before his eyes landed on Jisung. Something in his expression changed, then, as he sat up quickly, eyes wide and alert. "Jisung?" he breathed, gaze inspecting every inch of him, searching for something.

The wolf merely nodded, eyebrows drawn in confusion. The hardness of his expression melted away as he reached out and locked his hands around the other's neck, tugging him down with a strength that momentarily stunned Jisung.

The next thing that stunned him, however, was Minho's lips tightly locked with his.

He sat there, hands supporting him on either side of the other to prevent him from toppling over, eyes blown wide, heart racing. He'd hardly had the time to react when Minho pulled away, pale cheeks flushed. Averting his eyes, his expression grew increasingly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me–" The truth of the matter, however, was that Jisung shared that sentiment as his eyes glazed over, reaching down and pulling the other in for another kiss. This one lasted longer, both of them eliminating the space between them.

Minho reached out, threading his fingers through the wolf's hair as he tugged him closer, body arching to mold itself to fit. Jisung's muscles went taut as one of his hands rose to caress the other's waist, the touch sending goosebumps flying across his skin.

Simple snippets of words drifted through his mind, his thoughts utterly consumed by nothing at all, and yet everything all at once. He focused on the way Minho felt against him, and he knew, deep down, that he'd never get enough of it. This feeling was–

The door opened, and he only had half a mind to pull away, despite his body's immense reluctance. He looked up to see Felix, who stared with wide eyes, something brewing behind his eyes, a look he'd never seen on his friend's face before.

It was gone as quickly as it had come. As Jisung straightened himself out, standing to his full height, he wondered if perhaps he'd imagined the look. He shook it off, smiling sheepishly at his friend who quirked a brow at him, lips tilted in a smirk.

"I knew you two would f–"

A hand came out from behind him to clasp against his mouth, keeping whatever word he'd been about to say where it belonged – unheard. Jisung's neck flushed as he chuckled awkwardly as Changbin stepped into the room as well, eyes light.

"You probably weren't paying attention to the link," he said, somewhat pointedly as Jisung's face flushed furthermore despite his best attempt to remain composed, "but they're back." His eyes widened as he immediately tuned into his link – a familiar voice had joined the mix, and before he could so much as utter a word, he'd bolted out of the room, running down the hallway, bare feet slapping against the pack house's floor.

It took him a few moments to remember that he was no longer just some wolf, but the Alpha; he could not show any preference over his packmates. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he slowed his pace to a fast-walk, keeping his face as composed as possible.

He made it to the pack's courtyard in a matter of minutes, only to see a crowd gathered. His wolves made way for him – though some certainly didn't bother to hide their reluctance to do so. Hyunjin's eyes snapped to his the moment he stepped through the crowd, his face serious.

They walked up to one another and clasped each other's shoulders. Jisung smiled slightly, though it was very subdued; he'd have time to speak with his friend privately later when this situation was resolved. For now, however...

"What happened?"

A/N: Soooo Sundays have now also been secured off from work (WOOHOOO), which should ensure a guaranteed minimum of two updates a week. I'm starting to make writing a priority again. Honestly y'all my life ain't doing too great, time to keep at least some good habits

Q: Would you rather be stranded in the middle of the sea on a cruise ship or trapped in a classroom during the holidays? (courtesy of ninetillmylastbreath)

A: Classroom, hands down. My anxious ass would lose my shit if I was stranded out on open water. Besides, just because I'm in a classroom doesn't mean I have to learn, I can always write (hell, I do that during ACTUAL school sometimes, sue me) ;))

Lots of love,

~Emilie