HOBI POV:

The sound of the front door hastily being opened, slamming into the wall and bouncing off has my head rising with alarm from the living room, the smile dying on my face and the electronic beeps of Jin hyung's game heard now that our laughter has faded off.

I exchange a look of alarm with Jin hyung as we hasten to our feet, move to the doorway just in time to arrive at a scene that tugs at my heartstrings, fiercely yanks at them, eyes roving over each one of our mates present there to try and get a read of the situation.

Jiminie looks distressed, the smile frozen on his face and sliding off, eyes wide and a bright red as he looks at (Y/N), her posture stiff and harsh- rigid and tense and behind her Yoongi hyung who moves close, face shattered and aching as he looks at the back of (Y/N)'s frame. I watch as (Y/N) toes off her shoe, movements stilted and uncoordinated as she moves towards the stairs, each step both hurried and yet jerky- as if she's got no connection to her body, as if she has to compel herself to move.

"(Y/N) what's wrong?" Joon's voice appears as he moves down the stairs, likely having heard and sensed the commotion and followed the noise to the landing. His hand reaches for     (Y/N) as she climbs the stairs, face soft with concern, voice sharp and yet steeped with worry.

At his approaching hand, (Y/N)'s own hand moves to clutch at the railing, her other hand fists tightly around a wet crumpled brown package, the scent of blood beginning to seep into the air.

She's hurt, I realise with a growing pit of worry, the scent so unmistakeably hers as it begins to grow stronger, the blood flowing more heavily, staining the edges of brown with wet crimson that darkens it. 

I don't realise a sound has bubbled past my lips, concern and alarm as I jerk forward, move towards the way her figure curves away from Joon, the sight so startling it has my body freezing, it has Joon's face shuttering with confusion and hurt for her as she leans away.

"Don't. Just don't..." she pleads, breath shaky and wheezing, trembling puffs of air that she tries to suck in, body roughly moving past his, stumbling in her haste to get away.

She vanishes from sight, leaving behind a frozen scene of the rest of us trying to figure out what just happened, I hadn't even realised that Tae and Kookie had followed Jiminie out the kitchen until I feel their bodies press close, bodies stiff with distress and hurt and eyes pooled with crimson sorrow.

"Hyung what happened?" Tae asks, to who I'm not sure.

Jiminie's staring intently at Yoongi hyung, who's hands tremble as they go to clutch at his sides, to anchor himself; a habit that had been so frequent when we'd first met, had been something I'd forgotten the sight of until it appears once more now. Joon doesn't move from the stairs, Kookie clings to Jin hyung and I gently extract myself from Tae's hold, drawing him close to Jin hyung's other side as I hasten towards the stairs, the scent of her blood ringing in my head.

"I messed up. I knew something was off and I didn't do it right. She's hurting because of me." Yoongi hyung confesses, voice a pained, wavering whisper, head bent but not before I see the glossy sheen of tears in reddened eyes, see Jiminie move immediately to his side and Jin hyung and the maknaes move close, immediately jerked forward by the instinctual need to soothe our hurting mate.

My eyes go to the landing, knowing that right now (Y/N) doesn't need to be crowded and overwhelmed so when I hurry up, I pause by Joon to gently nudge him down.

"Stay with the others, I'll take care of (Y/N)." I say softly, watching his face flash with uncertainty before he nods, walking down as I walk up, feet hastening as the panic grows stronger, as the overwhelming hurt drowns the mating bond, through the tether where (Y/N)'s mark is on me, a fierce burning that has me rushing forward.

And feel my heart shatter when I rush towards her room and find the door partly closed, hear the shaky breaths, deep and harsh, hear the way her hand slips and grips at the handle for purchase.

I can't bear the sound of our mate hurting alone, of her alone on the other side of the door, shut away from everyone, trying to hide her hurt away and herself from us.

"(Y/N)...sweet mate will you let me in?" I ask, hand resting on the other door handle, separated by the door between us, body tilted forward.

My own voice comes out pleading and soft, beseeching because I didn't know what I'd do if she said no, if she turned me away or closed the door and shut me off.

I didn't know what I'd do with the scent of her blood so strong from this distance between us, so blatantly telling me she was physically hurting too and she turned away, left me without a way to take care of her.

But the door falls open slightly, a small thud from inside that has my heart clenching and I move forward, hand pushing the door open carefully in case she's close to the door.

And the agony I feel when my eyes fall on her crumpled figure, her limp hand, bloody and torn open with the discarded package I find my feet hurrying forward and legs buckling to sink on my knees beside her, hands fretfully reaching out.

She looks at me with wide eyes, too hazy and unfocused for all that they hone in on me, lips parted as she exhales, rough shakiness to her breathing, inhaling thin wisps of air, body shaking.

"Sweetheart, keep your eyes on me." I murmur, hands going to cup her cheeks, tilting her head to look me in the eyes, seeing the detached, unrecognising look in them. Her eyes are on me but she doesn't see me, she doesn't seem to be focusing on me.

And it's worrying, downright terrifying to hear the unstableness to her breathing, to have her sitting there but so unresponsive even as I tap her cheeks lightly.

"(Y/N)...focus on me, focus on breathing properly." I say urgently, voice low and soft- trying to remain level and calm for her.

Her hands tremble, bloodied palm that had been lying flat on the ground slowly rises, a flare of hope in my chest as I see her move, but I watch as it clenches into a fist, blood beading and spilling out of deep cuts as that wavering fist goes to rub at her chest, head bending down as she sucks in air.

I feel my own panic flare at seeing her trying to get a grip on herself, recognise the irregular breathing, the distant, detached look in her eyes and the trembling as signs of her having a panic attack, pushed by whatever had happened between her and Yoongi hyung.

I move to hold her properly, hands gentle as they rub at her arms, feel the trembling of her body as I whisper to her.

"Just breathe for me my love, I've got you." I whisper, hand holding her other to bring to my chest, to let her feel the rise and fall as I breathe with her, count her through each inhale and exhale.

And for far too long she can't. She can't match her breathing with mine, can't hear my words getting through to her, eyes blinking too slowly as she looks at our intertwined hands. For far too long she remains a shaky trembling body in my arms that doesn't respond, is unable to.

But I don't stop talking to her, don't stop telling her just how much she means, that she'll get through this, that she has seven mates that'll do anything for her happiness.

And slowly. Painfully slow does her breathing even begin to try and follow mine, becomes forceful in her attempts to breathe in deeply and exhale lightly before it eases into a natural rhythm. And slowly her breaths level out, her fisted hand that had been rubbing at her chest in attempt to alleviate the pressure falls away and her head falls forward to rest against my collar.

My hands move to wrap around her properly, finally being able to draw her close. She sags against my chest, energy drained and weak as she breathes lighter now, head resting against me.

She doesn't speak, silent as her body begins to unlock from all the tension, slowly unstiffening.

"How are you feeling now baby mate?" I ask, brushing my lips across her bent head.

She doesn't raise her head, it remains bowed and unwilling to meet my eyes.

But then.

"Better. Thank you Seokie." She mumbles.

My hands tighten around her, at the hoarse rough quality to her voice and the tone of vulnerability still in it.

"Always sweet mate. How did visiting the Ims go? I've never seen Eunwoo and Yugyeom so eager and frantic to steal you away." I say lightly, trying to avoid mentioning Yoongi hyung and whatever had occurred between them.

But yet she still tenses up in my arms, head stilling and I immediately realise that it wasn't something that had sprung up between the two, but something that either the Im coven or her bloodmate and Eunwoo knew about.

That meant it was something beyond an argument between Yoongi hyung and (Y/N), it was something deeper if he was berating himself so harshly when I left, and something deeper if the Ims knew about it.

It meant we were out of the loop on something.

"Want to talk about it darling?" I ask softly.

"Talking makes things worse." She mumbles.

My heart aches at her admission. At her thoughts that speaking about her hurts wouldn't help.

That's why she shut herself away, that's why she wanted to be away from all of us when she got back, partly anyways.

"Talking is meant to make things easier. But emotions can get the best of us. We're only..." and then trail off, not humans.

Her head lifts off my collar to peer at me with reddened, tired eyes.

A sad, empty laugh.

"Can't say human. That saying doesn't apply to us, can't apply to me anymore." She says dejectedly.

There's something bitter in her words, a dull, bland red that flickers into her eyes.

"Is this about being a vampire? Because it's normal to not truly accept that for a really long time." I say, remembering just how hard it had been for me to adjust, for Jiminie and Kookie too.

She just nods listlessly.

"So I'm not meant to treat these past three years as a blink of an eye?" she asks.

I shake my head quickly, startled and alarmed.

"Of course not! It'll be maybe decades before you stop processing time as you did as human, these changes don't always happen so quick. And sometimes it takes the physical reminder that you won't age, the proof of it that makes us understand." I say.

She just nods again.

I frown.

"Did one of the Ims say that? Eunwoo? Yoongi hyung?" I ask.

She doesn't give a response but the sinking, swooping sensation of hurt and guilt that transmits through the bond when I say hyung's name is answer enough.

Yoongi hyung.

It explains the distraught state he'd been in and explains the panic and fear that had consumed her.

Unintentionally he'd tried to get her to accept a change that deep down she wasn't prepared for. Unintentional because Yoongi hyung was the most sympathetic of souls, he would never try and hurt any of us even accidentally.

"And what brought this on? What happened?" I try to prompt.

Her face shutters, trying to hide her emotions.

She shifts.

"Didn't Yoongi oppa say?" she tentatively ask.

"I wouldn't know." I say easily. 

Her face expresses surprise.

"But...I hurt him. Why aren't you with him?" she asks, sounding genuinely confused.

"Because...no mate of mine should ever have to suffer alone. And can I get a look at the poorly hand now?" I ask, gently.

She lets me take that loose fisted hand and draw it onto her lap, peering over her shoulder as she shifts slightly, allowing me to look down.

My fingers gently uncurl hers and wince at the sight of dried blood on skin and fresh blood still beading at the cuts.

"What was in that package?" I ask, horrified as I bring her hand up close, fingers grazing lightly across the shredded skin to feel how deep the cuts are.

She winces but doesn't move her hand away, stilling it under my touch as I check, biting my lip when I detect how raw the cuts are, how they'd deepened from her fingers closing into themselves.

I'd asked the question unconsciously, fingers stilling over the cuts when she mumbles a reply back.

"Tonics and balms. MJ oppa and Jinyoung oppa gave them. But they're all wasted now." She says.

My eyes drift to hers, her head bent down as she watches me and mine tilted up to look at her. She shifts on my lap, legs moving and fidgeting as I raise my brows slightly.

"What for?" voice forcefully level.

Because if she needed tonics and balms then there was something wrong, something that very clearly we as her mates didn't have a single clue about. And the fact that she'd needed them, when she resisted them for as long as she could endure was just another indication just how far she'd reached the end of her tether. And that too was something we didn't notice.

"I...I've been having nightmares. And Yoongi oppa found out." Her eyes meeting mine.

Shame and hurt curls into the tendrils of red of her eyes.

Shame at being found out, at him knowing about her hurt.

Shame that her mates knew.

It makes my soul ache to see that look in her eyes.

I nod, murmuring a healing charm as my fingers brush over the cuts, watch the blood stop and the skin turn a soft pink. It'll still be tender to the touch even if it's healed the cuts.

"You don't need to be afraid of us finding out." I say after a long pause, arm going to slide under her thighs and the other supporting her back as I rise to my feet, balance steady as I keep her close to my chest.

And move to set her down in bed, drawing blankets around her as I tuck her in, slowly draw them over her legs and move to take her hand.

Reach for the first-aid kit I'd kept in each room and begin to bandage up her hand, hiding away the pink lines, covering up the hurt and putting a different sort of balm on it.

"I'll talk to Jinyoung and get some more. You sweet girl need to sleep, need to rest without waking up in a panic." I say, pressing my lips to our intertwined hand.

"I get scared to sleep. I don't want to keep being scared still." She confesses.

I look at her with understanding, heart twisting itself into knots.

I'd do anything to take her fear away.

"Your fear is logical sweet one. But you need to rest, your body is so rundown, so exhausted. Let us take care of you, I'll stay with you." I promise.

She dithers, face torn.

"Sometimes even that doesn't help." Her voice is aching. Full of pain.

I bite my lip.

"We can try. I can try a sleep charm if you want it. It'll help you rest more easily." I say, a sad smile on my face when she nods quickly, frantically.

And true to my words when her face relaxes with sleep after the charm takes effect, I remain beside her, her head resting on my chest, body tucked close.

As she sleeps I continue to hold her, continue to send healing energy through where our bodies touch, where my hand rests flat against the curve of her back and the other cradling the back of her head.

And it's as she sleeps, that the pain through the bond begins to lessen, begins to ebb away, the mating bond that ties all eight of us no longer searingly hot with agony. As she sleeps her hurt leaves her and as she sleeps does another teary mate enters through the threshold of the room.

Gently knocks on the door and makes no move to enter straight away, eyes drifting to the bed and stilling himself there.

"Come in hyung." I say, hand reached out towards him.

And still he doesn't enter, even as Jin hyung gently nudges him forward and Jiminie tightly grips his other hand to take the first step in.

"I shouldn't be here." Yoongi hyung whispers, eyes filled with longing but voice equally tormented.

"You should be here. There's no other place you should be now." I insist.

He takes small, slow steps forward as if fearful of being shunned, of being told to leave, but when he's met with no resistance and just encouragement instead his feet hasten and rush the last stretch, carefully clambering into bed to curve around her.

I meet his eyes over her sleeping form.

And meet troubled red eyes.

I smile softly at him.

"Whatever it is hyung, it's nothing the two of you can't overcome. And we as a coven won't get through." I reassure.

I just hope that my words ring true soon.

I didn't know how much hurt mate I could endure the sight of.

(SO!! I DIDN'T PLAN FOR A PART THREE TO THIS ANGST....BUT I GUESS IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT WHEN I WRITE ANGST, IT'S HIGH LEVELS OF IT AND IT'S SLOWBURN SO WHOOPS? BUT!! NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE RESOLVING OF THIS ARGUMENT, I LIKE HOBI CAN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF A SAD YOONGI AND BABY MATE HURTING SO THEY HAVE TO MAKE UP! NOT THAT THEIR ARGUMENT IF IT CAN BE CALLED THAT WAS ANYTHING BAD, THEY WERE RIGHT ON THEIR OWN ENDS...BUT ANYWAYS! SOFT HURTY COMFORTING FLUFF NEXT AND IS ON THE AGENDA! AND POOR YOONGI...HE WAS JUST TRYING TO PUT IT INTO PERSPECTIVE BUT HE CAN'T RELATE AS A FULL VAMPIRE SINCE BIRTH BUT HOBI UNDERSTOOD STRAIGHT AWAY! POOR LOVES! ANYWAYS...I'M ALSO WONDERING WHETHER TO DO MORE PAST CHAPTERS BUT LATER ON IN THE BOYS' RELATIONSHIP IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'RE INTERESTED IN! SO LET ME KNOW YOUR REACTIONS TO THIS CHAPTER AND THOUGHTS AS TO WHETHER THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO SEE! TAKE CARE, ENJOY AND STAY SAFE LOVES!)

Sometimes the knocks we take and fall down from, sometimes the blows we are inflicted and hurt and bleed from, sometimes the things that hurt us most, the things we carry scars and wounds for are the ones that make us the strongest, become badges that prove we survived, that we endured and we healed. So take each bump in the road, each hitch and each stumble as something we will move on from, as something that will help us become stronger as people.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3