YOONGI POV:

There's crackling fiery sparks that come with each touch, with each graze, with every lingering gaze that makes the air thicken and swell, cloying and intoxicating and heady. A mixture of each mates' natural pheromones seeping out and mingling to form the most inebriating cocktail that acts as a drug injected straight into our bloodstreams.

It's the longest car ride we ever take, each second passing like an infinity in itself, the closed atmosphere making the air harder to breathe in, each breath bringing a swirling rush of emotions to course through the bond and each nerve cell electrifying and sending delicious tingles zinging through me.

It's hard enough that my mates look utterly delectable, temptation and ethereal sin all dressed up, faces glowing with deeply-rooted instinctual satisfaction and longing, bodies magnetically drawing close to each other, instincts heightened and prepped for that final push, for that moment of finality when the mating would conclude and our souls would be intertwined and merged together in a way that transcended any living thing in existence, a corded braided tether of molten gold, of the purest finest example of love.

And I hoped that infinity would pass and that we'd always stay gold, that the molten radiance of our bond never dulled for a single instant.

It's hard to avoid being distracted when I can see how Jin hyung's hands are tight around the steering wheel- eyes molten lava and crimson pools whenever they flicker to the back through the rear-view mirror, hard to focus when I can see the way Kookie's throat bobs unconsciously when Hobi's strong firm hands grip his thighs, keeping them slightly parted and lips mouthing across Kookie's neck. It's hard to not lose control of my senses when I can see the dizzying enthralling effect Jiminie is having on (Y/N), nosing lightly at her exposed shoulder, eyes sparks of red flames as his own emotions wind around her heart and heighten it double fold- theirs mingling together. Her eyes flutter, lashes resting delicately against the curve of her cheek, flickering back and forth between her own colour and red, instincts pushing to the surface- recognising the pheromonal shift as the build up to mating.

It's hard to not pin Tae into the seat and trail my lips and teeth and tongue across the enticing expanse of skin now that he's unbuttoned his shirt, revealing golden collarbones and the top of his chest.

It's hard because I can see how the car thickens with desire, want, need and longing, see just how distracting it all is. And infinities later, Jin hyung pulls up into the garage, air suddenly silent and charged with the energy of eight mates, the silence before the storm.

The storm that'll engulf and consume us whole.

That'll sweep away everything we knew and wash away to reveal a changed better coven.

A storm that'll be the explosion, the outlet of months of seeing unmarked, unpierced skin of our youngest mate and finally be the fulfilment of the beautiful agony that came with waiting, with chasing.

And the moment the front door shuts behind us, it suddenly seems as if we've been plunged without warning, until our lungs are filled with the essence of her, with the thickened sweetness of her scent, until it's all I can smell, breathe, taste.

The air is shattered by Jin hyung.

Who's words aren't rough and laced with blinding need.

But rather with the soft tenderness he's always held for us.

"Do any of you need anything? Hungry? Need to feed? Tired?" he asks, eyes roving over us with an examining gaze- first and foremost the eldest mate of this coven, the glue that binds us together. And as the oldest he's tending to all of our mates first; this too is a subset of heightened instincts. To keep his mates in prime, optimum condition.

Because mating wasn't just blindly and consumingly being lost in each other.

There were several steps.

There was the care and tending to that came before even considering the physical claiming. And I see it in the way his hands brush over cheeks, thumbing at the visible mating marks and eyes turning gold slightly.

He blinks rapidly when the colour seeps out of his irises.

"Well...you can all go to the nesting room. I need to pick up a few things." He says, gently navigating his way through to the kitchen.

But before I begin ushering the others up the stairs, anticipation fizzing and bubbling through our veins, hyung turns.

"Namjoon-ah, maybe it's best if you get some of those plants." He says giving a meaningful look to Joonie who's eyes widen and he nods, a small flush on his cheeks.

"Taehyungie, you and Kookie get the softest, comfiest blankets and pillows from each bedroom. Hoseokie maybe those tonics Jinyoung sent over earlier and Jimin-ah, you and Yoongi-ah give (Y/N) the comfiest clothes you can find. Get several pairs actually. I have a feeling we'll need them." He says, eyes holding flickering specks of gold as he gets flashes of visions.

And then his eyes fall onto (Y/N), who looks adorably startled, eyes-wide and cheeks warm, rosy lips parted as she realises she's in the centre of all of us, peering up at Jin-hyung for an instruction too.

"And you my darling, you get comfortable little one. I'll be up in a bit to your room." He says softly, eyes softly glowing red with love.

She nods.

And this time when everyone walks up the stairs, it's with a given purpose and function- everyone given a task to occupy themselves with.

And I realise once we all diverge to carry out the tasks, small as they may be, that they've effectively pushed away the nervousness that was beginning to build in the bond, abating as we find our minds focused.

And that perhaps had been part of hyung's intention. To dispel the nervousness.

Too many nerves could be bad during mating, it could make any of us shaky or trembling- we couldn't cause her harm whilst mating her because our fangs slipped.

My face blanches at the thought of her crying out in pain, face contorted with agony. I hoped that such a sight would never become reality.

Jimin and I gather a pile of pyjamas, a small mountain in reality, given how Jiminie keeps insisting that we should have all sorts- short-sleeved, loose, thick, and it doesn't help that I keep slipping in clothes that carry our coven scent- that I know could come in handy if (Y/N) needed to be grounded and surrounded by the scent that would merge hers with it.

And after dumping them carefully into the corner of the nesting room, there's a few long minutes as we bicker which pair of clothes we should give to (Y/N).

But Jin hyung on his way to her room, pauses in the doorway.

"She'll want something that drowns her completely. So one of the larger ones my loves." He calls, waiting for us to hand over one of his shirts- his broad frame making it an immediate choice for oversized clothing. It's a black full sleeve t-shirt that we hand over and he waves off pants and heads off.

And the others slowly filter in, setting down their gathered items on the large dressing table or the chest of drawers. The pile near the large custom-made bed grows steadily larger as Kookie and Tae continue to add pillows and blankets after having added them to the edge of either side for easy access.

Jin hyung enters a few moments later, lips curving up into a proud smile as he takes in the room. The sight of his pleased smile makes my instincts flare and happily rumble, pleased to have satisfied my only older mate.

"She'll be here in a bit. I told her to take her time and that all we want is her to be comfortable." He says, as he moves around, hands scooping up cheeks of each mate as he presses kisses to each pair of lips several times, murmuring he loves us as he gravitates to all of us, hands large and possessive as they tug us into his warm broad embrace.

He looks both composed and dishevelled, suit still perfectly pressed and hugging his frame but lips mussed and glistening, eyes now fully red and hair slightly mussed up where the others had ran their fingers through and tugged him closer, unable to bear the distance..

And when minutes stretch on, I find myself growing restless- mind flickering with concern and worry at the absence of our youngest mate, at the glaringly visible lack of her makes the room feel incomplete.

"Do you think she's nervous? Or scared about mating us?" Kookie voices, his tone more anxious and uncertain- because it's his first time being on the courting side, on the side that mates. It's a new and large responsibility towards his only younger mate. His voice wavers because of the empathetic connection he feels towards her situation, towards being the only one to be included into the coven.

He fidgets, clearly torn at whether he should respect the time she needs and stay or to rush out and see if she needs one of us, if she needs him.

And just as he's straightening from against Joon's supporting frame that had been bracketing him, his hand goes out to grip something for stability- ends up clutching at the edge of the drawer- grip tight as he gazes at a point beyond the circle of us, gazing towards the door.

And with a dry mouth I slowly turn to see what it is that has the room rapidly heating up, bond a consuming fire and freeze.

Because where (Y/N) in her blue dress had been like the ocean, her beauty and allure vast and endless- gently lapping at our bond, slowly teasing and seducing, gaze soft and gentle and her entire presence ethereal temptation, the (Y/N) I was seeing now was desire personified. Oddly contradicting in a way that made my head spin. The light makeup gone to reveal her bare face, hair tumbling down and hiding the once exposed shoulders and collarbones, body drowning in the black full sleeve t-shirt, hands fiddling with the large sleeves that hid them from sight.

But once my eyes trailed down to see the hem of the shirt skimming the top of her lower thighs, I found that in all my centuries of existence I now somehow needed air to breathe. That suddenly my lungs were hollow and empty and constricting around nothing, failing to operate. Because appearing from under the cover of the soft cotton shirt is the sight of maroon stockings peeking out. Sinful allure in the way they hugged her calves and moulded to her skin, outlining the shapely figure of them.

I find that this is what those centuries of waiting and searching had been for.

To find the mate who would teach me as a fully-fledged vampire what it meant to have the breath stolen from your body and how it felt to suddenly feel as if your body was on fire and all at once failing to function. This is what it felt like to lose control over your senses. To feel as if your body was going into overdrive and brain failing to compute.

And the rushing of blood that suddenly coursed through my body was how it felt to suddenly lose control over your body, to feel as if each part of you was wired to respond so actively, so completely to someone. 

(Y/N) POV:

Jinnie oppa leaves, with a black shirt left behind on my bed and the zip of my dress slowly drawn down for me when I'd asked, his large hands skimming across my skin as he'd slowly moved the zip down, bending to press a kiss to where the zip had stopped, at the dip  of my back, lips sending a heat to trail through me, to pool low in my abdomen and body responding to the slightest touch, trying not to melt and cave under the slightest of his touches. As chaste and soft and gentle as it had been.

"Take your time little one. There's no rush. I waited centuries for you, I can wait a little longer." He murmurs, pressing kisses to my shoulders, slowly taking his time as my hands clutch at the front of my dress, to stop it from falling and revealing my naked torso.

He groans when his lips reach the curve of my neck, lips sliding off and eyes burning when he gently takes my shoulders and turns me towards him.

"I waited my entire existence for this moment. And with you I'll finally feel whole." He confesses, eyes expressing vulnerability and the pain of having endured so much, of having gotten his coven as something that was finally complete.

I lean upwards just as his head lowers down to meet in the middle for a soft kiss that slowly winds itself around my soul, a sweet loving embrace that holds promises of centuries to come, of forever like this.

And then he steps away.

"You wouldn't need anything to make us fall in love with you. We're already lost in you." he says, eyes flickering to the bag I'd shoved aside when the knock had come.

His words set my heart at ease.

That there was nothing to worry about.

That they found me desirable no matter what I wore.

But when the door closed, I slip out the dress, body bare save for the matching blue panties I'd been wearing as I reach for the bag.

I step into the ensuite bathroom- a new development that I didn't know when the boys had planned, but also it had remained largely untouched the past month or so because I didn't sleep in my room most nights, so never got to use it.

I clean the makeup off my face, staring at my bare face as I undo the intricate braided crown Eunwoo had weaved my hair into, plucking out the small blue flowers and pearls he'd laced through and setting them into a glass dish.

And then I take a deep breath, peering into the bag and pulling out the wrapped-up bundle of my mating pyjamas as MJ oppa and Eunwoo had insisted on calling them.

There's a small note on top, Eunwoo's familiar handwriting greeting me.

You're a gift to your mates whether or not you dress up. But this is one gift I think they'll love unwrapping 😉

I flush at the suggestive tone and melt at the sweet soft words he's left for me to read. No doubt to bolster courage into me and instil confidence.

And feeling bolstered, I unwrap the package, carefully setting the wrapping aside and then my mouth promptly falls open.

Surely they didn't intend for me to wear this?

These scraps...?

And yet curiosity prompts me to unfold them and hold the pieces of fabric up, struggling to clamp down on the heated rush of thrill it sets off when I imagine for a brief moment how they'd react.

And gingerly and painstakingly carefully draw the fabric on to adorn my skin, fiddling with the straps and carefully drawing the stockings on, clipping the garters on with delicate hands.

It's the most exposed I've ever felt and yet somehow a part of me wants to know how it'll feel to stand like this in front of them.

I don't look at the full-length mirror as I rush out to pick up the black t-shirt, nerves dissipating with the familiar coven scent it brings and the way it feels like I'm wrapped up in a warm hug once I pull it on and the shirt drapes itself over me.

It feels like Jinnie oppa is holding me in that moment, his scent the strongest and the fabric soft and gentle against my skin.

And when I walk out of my bedroom door, it's with nervous anticipation and thrumming excitement as I realise that after this is all over- we'll be bound in the most beautiful eternal way.

The door to the nesting room is open and the first mate I catch sight of is Kookie who stands right opposite, cocooned within Joonie oppa's arms, and he suddenly meets my eyes- eyes burning red and a small hitch of breath escaping at the way his gaze seems to engulf me whole, consuming and yet at the same time full of love and wonder.

I watch as they all slowly turn to face me, eyes seeming to caress my skin and penetrate through the fabric, making me at odds shy and nervous and part tensed up. I feel the most exposed, all of them still in their suits- dashingly maintained and kept together and covered, only one piece of fabric separating their eyes from my body.

"Stars above you look so stunning it hurts." Yoongi oppa breathes, eyes wide and looking stunned, as if he's been struck and is reeling.

"Baby mate if you look both adorable and seductive at the same time, I don't know whether I want to bundle you up in blankets and cuddle you, or whether I want to tear that shirt right off." Hobi oppa says, voice rough and laced with fiery scorching desire as he steps forward, eyes boring into me.

My body tightens in response to the roughness of his words in such a dulcet tone, hands dropping to grip at the hem of the t-shirt with thrilling nerves.

"Jagi the things you do to me...you look like sin. Delicious sin." Tae groans, eyes dark and inviting and predatory.

I don't feel threatened or scared by the way their eyes flicker with almost carnal desire, softened by the way the bond courses with love, stronger waves as it seeps into my veins.

Their hungry gazes makes me feel emboldened, desired, wanted.

They give me the courage and confidence to step further into the room, and the hands that had been gripping nervously at the hem, now tug upwards, trailing the fabric up and off my body- exposing more and more to them until I pull it free from my head, the fabric clutched between my fist as I stand there in front of them. 

And at the guttural groans and growls that slip into the air, that make it catch more heat, I realise that I'd unconsciously placed myself in the centre of their spaced-out huddle.

Surrounded by all sides, caged in. Captured.

Caught.

And this is what the end of the chase had led to.

To this.

And there's the continued fluttery feeling of butterflies in my stomach and heat seeping and pooling in every crevice of my body.

And when I see their eyes linger on me, slowly rove over me I feel my breath catch. Feeling the weight of their gazes as physical caresses, leaving pebbled skin in their wake.

And the shirt drops from my hand, falling to the ground. No longer hiding behind large clothes, no longer using it as a barrier. All my defences are down. The person that stands in front of them is the me who doesn't have a reason to hide anymore. Doesn't need one anymore. Because I'm no longer afraid, no longer uncertain.

And the shirt falling away from my grip is also a message.

A silent move. An invitation.

Here I am.

All yours.

(AND THERE YOU GO! I SWEAR I HAD NO IDEA THAT BUILD-UP COULD TAKE AN ENTIRE CHAPTER TO WRITE BUT WE GOT THERE! NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE MATING I GUESS THEN- OOPS! BUT I HOPE THE ANTICIPATION AND DRAWN OUT EMOTIONS OF THE CHAPTER JUST BECOME A REFLECTION OF HOW LONG IT SEEMS FOR THEM, HOW IT SEEMS TO BE DRAWN OUT AND ENDLESS FOR THEM TOO! YOU WON'T GET TO SEE WHAT SHE WEARS UNTIL NEXT CHAPTER! AND I AM SO EXCITED TO READ YOUR THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS TO THIS CHAPTER! AND AS ALWAYS THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT AND LOVE YOU GIVE MY WRITING!! LET'S SEE WHERE THE NEXT CHAPTER TAKES US- MATING ISN'T JUST PHYSICAL AND I REALLY WANT TO SHOW THAT, SO IT'LL BE A MIXTURE OF FEELS AND STEAM TBH! STAY SAFE, TAKE CARE AND ENJOY!!)

I've also started a short fic- a historical romance so if you're interested, head on over!

It's never possible to truly experience something without a mixture of emotions. We can't be angry without feeling the emotions that came alongside that anger, that led to it. We can't be happy without remembering what it felt to be sad and unhappy. We can't be proud of how far we've come unless we remember and see all the struggles we went through to get to that point. Every emotion is valid, every emotion connects to another, every emotion makes your life more vivid.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3