YOONGI POV:

Jin hyung furiously stabs at the soil, not so much as gardening but more so just venting his anger and built up emotions at the poor dirt. But I let him be, until he's considerably calmer, when the tightness in his body has loosened and his head has lowered- tension gone, and now he's sad.

Sad I can help with.

I pluck the small spade out of his hands- his grip unrelenting until he finally relinquishes hold and tug him up, sitting him down on the bench- one that I remembered seating Jimin down at not too long ago.

I sink onto my knees in front of him, and gently grasp his hands seeing the way his hands tremble slightly in my hold.

I don't even need to prompt him, rather he speaks himself, as if he needed to confide in someone before the burden became unbearable. I'm glad that he chose me.

"I messed up so, so bad Yoongi-ah." He whispers dejectedly, eyes filled with shame as they slowly almost apprehensively meet my own.

I squeeze his hands gently, raise them so I can brush a kiss across his knuckles- allow some calm to flow through the touch too.

"What happened?" I ask, voice warm.

He ducks his head into his broad shoulders, as if trying to make himself a smaller target- and the vulnerability in the gesture makes my soul ache for him. To well with a strong and insistent need to reassure him.

"I found our final mate." He whispers, almost as if he's confessing a sin or some deep shame. But his words stir up a tempest of emotions- hope, overwhelming relief, excitement, and eagerness all bubbling and fighting to get out, pushing at my heart making it clench.

But his expression doesn't shift. And alongside those emotions, confusion, and wariness slips in.

Is our final mate injured, hurt or....? I shake the thought out of my head, unwilling to go down that negative train of thoughts.

"Isn't that a good thing?" I ask uncertainly.

"I couldn't control my emotions and I snapped at her, said hurtful things and she stormed out. And even though I wanted to go after her, to reach for her and apologise, my feet were stuck- and I couldn't move." He chokes out, tears falling down his cheeks, body shuddering and shaking as he leans desperately towards me.

My hands automatically go to wrap him an embrace, even if my mind is trying to make sense of what hyung has just told me.

Surely there's a reason he acted like that. Hyung is always the calm level-headed one, always the glue holding us together- for him to act like this, I just know that something happened.

"Because..." I gently pry.

"Because I was hurt and confused. Because I saw a mating mark on her wrist. Because she was with the Ims like she belonged and my soul ached for her." he says, words coming out as a torrent- hurt apparent in each word.

And it felt like my soul had been crushed, squeezed into a vice- and for a moment I can't breathe.

But when his eyes look at me, there's a sort of frantic desperation.

"But she will give us a chance right? She won't reject us before we all even meet her properly?" he says, hands twisting out of my grip to clutch at my shoulders.

And then he says the final thing that makes my heart sink in despair.

"She's the human nestling with the Im coven."

And just like that I feel that spark of hope flicker out.

TAE POV:

I don't know why I rush to assure (Y/N) that the mating mark she sees isn't mine, why I want to confide in her that Kookie is one of my mates- why I divulge that information to her, but it seems natural, a normalcy in sharing some of the intimate memories and stories that I have obtained after being mated. It's as if a part of me wants to see how she responds, wants her to be as intrigued and awed by them as I am. As if seeking a companionable bond from her- someone who feels similarly.

I don't know why but I do know that a part of me hums happily when I see her come out of the lost look, when her paled face becomes animated and those silent lips open up to answer, to ask. Something so deeply rooted had been afraid of what I had seen when I'd entered and saw her, something that urged me to make her feel better. And now that she looks at the two of us with a glittering expression- I feel oddly soothed by the way her eyes gently graze over the two of us. As if it's normal.

And when the staff member comes up to her with a phone in his hands, lip being worried between his teeth- I see the silent exchange, the fond and intimate term of noona he uses for her. For the way that even though he's a vampire, he easily leans into her caress, allows his cheeks to be gently tugged. And I shrug off the feeling that it bothers me.

Because why would it?

She hands back the phone with a slightly grim expression and minutes later a tall male comes crashing through the door, long legs almost tripping over each other in their haste as he approaches us.

I recognise him as the Ims nestling. And he doesn't even spare us a glance before he pulls (Y/N) harshly out of the chair, yanking her upright.

A bolt of alarm sends me shooting to my own feet- at the force in his actions. Doesn't he know she's human? He could hurt her. And next to me Kookie startles where he's been seated, also standing up.

But then something odd happens. Despite the force in his gesture, the guy's hands are oddly soft and careful as he pulls her towards his chest, muttering furiously into her hair as he hugs her. And then her arms go around him, reciprocating the embrace, melting easily into him.

The staff member smiles, clearly relieved before he steps away and my confusion deepens.

The guy parts slightly, nudging his nose into her neck and breathing deeply, his body becoming loose and when he straightens up the scarlet has bled out of his irises.

"You do that one more time without taking your coat- which not only had your phone and purse in it, but yeah- you're very much human and capable of getting ill because of the cold, then I'll, I'll—" he threatens but tails off as he contemplates what would be a befitting punishment.

"I'll stop giving cuddles and I'll finish up all the hot chocolate." He says seriously, still not having acknowledged us as he glares down at her.

Her face twists in horror.

"Not that Gyeomie. I won't." she rushes to hasten even if her lips tug upwards.

The guy sighs, hand clutching his head as if her actions have given him a headache.

And then he turns, acknowledgement and recognition before he dips his head into a bow of greeting.

(Y/N) turns to face us too, face alight- much more than when we'd been talking, and the thought leaves a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. That somehow I hadn't helped as much as I'd wanted to.

"This is Yugyeom." She introduces, nudging the taller figure with her hip, eyes sparkling.

Yugyeom's hand settles protectively on her shoulder, drawing her into his side.

His eyes narrow slightly at us, even if he throws a small smile at Kookie.

"She's my--." He starts but is cut off by a dig to the ribs by (Y/N)'s elbow- glancing down before he squeezes his lips shut.

She's his what?

And just like that- (Y/N) becomes even more intriguing. A mystery I can't wait to learn more about.

(Y/N) POV:

I stop Gyeomie because he doesn't need to force himself to say, to add an explanation that justifies our closeness. He shouldn't have to. No affection should have to be justified.

Besides, the bond between Yugyeomie and me isn't something conventional- isn't normal, frowned easily upon by either race. I still haven't forgotten the disgust and revulsion that had twisted across the faces of my human friends when they'd found out. When their eyes had widened when they saw the puncture marks and recoiled away as if I'd been contaminated, diseased.

That day had taught me the difference between friends who would truly stick by you and friends who cut ties when they wanted to. I didn't feel any reason to hide the mating mark but the whispers, stares and increasingly hostile acts had led Yugyeom to sit me down and for the two of us to decide that it was something private, something the world didn't need to know about.

Because it was something that only involved and concerned the two of us.

And now, even though Taehyung and Jungkook seem sincerely genuine in their smiles and chatter, I didn't want Yugyeom to feel ostracised, didn't want him to go through what I had largely- so I kept quiet. Because the last thing I wanted was for their faces to twist and shudder, and for them to become like the others. A part of me didn't want to see those expressions on their faces- feeling as if it would impact me more than when they'd been directed through different eyes.

But I see the curiosity in their eyes. See it and wish it wasn't there.

I've already had a bad experience today because of misunderstandings, I'd rather not add to the list.

And my attention snaps back to Yugyeom who's shrugged off his large winter coat and has draped it over me- it hangs heavily over my frame. I thread my arms through it, comforted by this mix of scents that belongs on all his clothes.

He fusses over me, glaring at my still slightly chilled fingers and the bloodless look to them- as if they've affronted him and unwinds his scarf. He doesn't feel the cold, doesn't need these clothes but the gesture is still touching. Still warming me from the inside more than the fabric can.

I twist to smile at the two of them.

"I'll get going, thank you for the company." I say, smiling at them before stepping away.

But a part of me longs that I could spend more time with them.

----

Yugyeom is unusually silent on the drive back to the nest, fingers tapping erratically against the steering wheel- eyes glancing away from me at times, and intensely staring the next. And the door flings open as if Jinyoung oppa has been impatiently waiting behind it, arms quickly drawing me in and pushing me into a nest of blankets that Youngjae oppa and Jackson oppa quickly wrap me up in- even though the deep chill has largely abated.

JB oppa and Mark oppa are serious as they approach me, eyes reassuring and they don't say anything just draw me into hugs and press soft kisses to my temple.

"It'll all work out. I won't let things go downhill for you." JB oppa says, promising me with all that he has.

"Fate can't be horrible for someone as good as you. You've suffered enough." Mark oppa says, squeezing my hands gently- hands somehow warming me as they touch my knees. His eyes are sincere and his words full of soft promise.

But I can't help but feel that maybe it's over before it began- that the male's words had made it clear I was unwanted.

"She met Taehyung hyung and Jungkook." Yugyeomie' s voice tersely says.

Youngjae oppa flinches from where he sits next to me.

"What?" Bambam asks aghast.

JB oppa looks at me eyes, searching for something.

"Why? Is that bad? Do you know them?" I ask, heart thumping in nervous anticipation.

"Jungkook and Taehyung are mates to the man you saw. They're your mates too." Mark oppa says carefully.

My mind whirls with this new information.

They're what?

Mates...mates. The word rings mockingly in my head.

Mates. Jungkook and Taehyung are two of my mates.

But why does the knowledge of that sends fear coursing through me?

Fear that once they find out, they'll react the same. Even if a part of me hopes and believes it might not be so.

But what's the guarantee that once they do find out, they won't push me away the same way the man had?

"I don't want them to know." I say words firm despite the slight shaky quality to it.

My conclusion is greeted with silence. I push forward.

"Even if it's selfish, I want them to see me for who I am. Not feel obligated to like me because I was born as their mate. And if I have to keep it a secret, then I will." I add.

Jackson oppa huffs sadly next to me, leaning closer to me and turning my head to face him.

"It's not selfish. Everyone deserves happiness. Especially you. And I'll support you however I can." He says, words serious- such a stark difference to his usual bright and humorous nature.

There's murmurs of agreement.

And I get strength from the knowledge that I have their unwavering support, their promises sending warmth through my body. I'm not alone. I haven't been for a long time. And regardless of how things turn out- I won't ever be alone again.

(SO YOONGI KNOWS AND HE IS A-FUMING! AND JIN'S BATTLING WITH GUILT AS WELL AS HIS TAUGHT LESSONS THAT HUMANS=ENEMIES, KOOK AND TAE DON'T KNOW BUT (Y/N) DOES THAT THEY'RE TWO OF HER MATES- I WONDER WHAT'LL HAPPEN WHEN HOSEOK AND THE MAKNAES LEARN OF IT TOO. WILL IT LEAD TO ARGUMENTS, DIFFERENCES WITHIN THEIR OWN COVEN? WHO'LL THEY BLAME FOR THAT? LET'S SEE! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS CHAPTER LOVELIES AND STAY SAFE! YOONGI- I GOT MY EYES ON YOU.)

Someone who can't accept and love you at your lowest, doesn't deserve you at your best.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3