Third person pov

Jungkook was sitting on the couch of the same room, looking at the body of the male on the bed. 

He couldn't sit anywhere near the male because just being near him made him feel even more guilty as the thought of his wolf hurting a fragile person like him would come to his mind. 

He didn't know what he was even supposed to do in this situation. He stayed as far as he can from the omega, but it still ended up with the boy getting hurt. 

He wanted to ask the younger to leave because letting him stay would be very harsh and rude of him as he knew that Taehyung was getting hurt and still didn't take any steps to stop it. 

He sighed, remembering what Yoongi told him before leaving.

"He is completely fine, but have you seen his body? It's so freaking frail and weak! Does he even eat one proper meal a day?" Yoongi asks after treating the male's ankle.

Jungkook just continued to look at Taehyung with concerned soft eyes, his eyes raking over his lanky body.

"I... don't know."

Yoongi scowls at him.

"What? Why don't you know? Isn't he living with you?" He kept his voice low though he was really angry. There was no point in yelling at him. 

He had to be soft with him. Rather, putting in better words, he couldn't be harsh or rude to him.

"He is, but--"

"Shut up. Don't give any bullshit like you didn't notice or didn't care. Even if you don't, he's still your responsibility. He's still a child, an eighteen-year-old for god's sake! How could you let this happen?"

Yoongi was taken aback when he wasn't met with an unbothered look. He was surprised that Jungkook was even listening to him. 

It was hard to believe that the boy who doesn't take care of himself was worried about someone else. 

He wanted to believe that he was getting better but remembered that he was brought here because Oberon had hurt the boy.

The wolf's behavior made him disappointed . After all their efforts... 

Maybe Oberon hurt him because he was an omega but wasn't the omega he loves? 

"H-hyung... he w-was Jungho's slave--" Jungkook didn't even know what he was talking about.

 He doesn't see the younger as just a slave. Never did.

He didn't see him as anything but knew that there was something about the blond that made him want to care for him and made him feel concerned and worried. 

So it would be a lie to say that Taehyung didn't mean anything to him.

Taehyung wasn't the only one he has hurt or injured before, but he hadn't ever felt this bad when he hurt them. He didn't understand himself.

Receiving only hits, yells and harsh treatment in the past had made him like this. And this wasn't a reason he could give for hurting people, but it was the only cause of his behaviour. 

He didn't take interest in hurting people by ignoring them. He was just like this, closed off and introverted. He hadn't learnt how to speak softly and calmly. 

Hell, even though he considered Hoseok and Yoongi  as a very close family, he couldn't speak to them properly until now. He still growled and got annoyed when they tried to come close or get too friendly. 

He wasn't used to it. It made his skin crawl and left him in a disgusted and sick state. 

As a result, he ignored Taehyung. He does that to everyone and didn't have a special reason to treat him any differently. 

Jungkook always gave Taehyung a cold shoulder and acted mean by throwing orders at him but he never enjoyed doing it. He just wished to keep the boy away from himself by doing all this. 

"So what?! Does he not have a life, or does his body not need nutrition because he's a slave?" Yoongi growls.

Yoongi didn't know Taehyung much, just recognized the younger and knew that he was the same person that his mate, Hoseok, and his brother-in-law, Jimin, love and adore oh, so much.

 It was the first time he wasn't seeing a picture of the younger but was seeing him in person. 

Hoseok didn't even know about Taehyung being here, and Yoongi knows that if his alpha gets to know about it, then he'll immediately come here and take Taehyung away.

They weren't fools to not know about the way Oberon behaves. They all, at some point of time, have experienced the destructive side of the wolf.

It was all because of that one incident.

They knew the reason he became like this. It was a nightmare for all of them.

Yoongi didn't want Taehyung to be taken away from here as he noticed the way Jungkook was looking at Taehyung.

The tears in the corner of his eyes and the concerned look... he was sure that there was some bond between both of them.

Call him selfish, but he wanted Jungkook to become normal again. He wanted the younger to smile again and be happy, so he decided to not tell Hoseok about Taehyung being here.

He was sure that this boy will be the one who will change Oberon, a work none of the others could do. Something which seemed impossible. 

"This..." Yoongi points at the bandaged foot and continues, "Oberon did it, didn't he?"

Jungkook doesn't respond but Yoongi got his answers.

He just left the place in a distressed state, leaving a greatly guilty male behind.

Jungkook hadn't slept the whole night, just stayed awake to make sure that the younger was doing alright. He felt a huge burden on his heart, sadness eating him up.

It was around ten in the morning when Taehyung finally stirred in sleep and groaned.

Jungkook's heartbeat got terribly fast, wondering how the male will react when he apologizes.

Taehyung suddenly gasped--now completely awake--as the images of the previous day came to his mind. He jerked into a sitting position, lower lips wobbling as he pushed the blankets away to see his feet.

Please be a dream. He wishes but as soon as he remembered how Oberon had been hitting the floor right beside his face, and had slapped him, he knew it wasn't a dream. The feelings he felt were so horrible that he couldn't even explain them in words. 

Oberon had crossed all his limits now.

The thought terrified him. Until now, mental abuse was too much for him to take, but his mate had hit him now.

He hated it.

He hadn't realized that Jungkook was actually in the room and started sniffling and whimpering. Fat tears rolled down his rosy cheeks, and a few moments later, he was sobbing.

Jungkook gulped when he sees how broken he looked.

It's all because of you. He tells himself, knowing deep down that it wasn't his fault. It was his wolf's condition which caused this. What he did and what his wolf did was way too different. 

"Tae?" He whispered and stood up from the couch. He gulped when Taehyung flinched and looked at him, startled.

"Tae..." He takes a step forward but the male scurried away further in the bed. He looked at him with really scared teary eyes, his shaking pupils screaming fear.

He looked so traumatized, so broken. It hurt the trueblood. Unlike his father, he didn't enjoy  seeing someone in such a sate, scared  and trembling in fear because of him. 

"No, no I-I haven't done anything! I-I did all the work given to me, a-and I didn't try to go against any rules! I did everything, I did everything."

Jungkook had no idea what he was talking about. His voice was getting wetter and wetter, trembling more than ever. He was on the verge of breaking down completely. 

"Tae--"

Taehyung gritted his teeth, eyes suddenly hardening. He stared at the floor, completely shutting all his previous action.

His behavior scared Jungkook.

"Tae, I-I am sorry--"

"It's okay," Taehyung quickly said, but his words held no genuine emotion. He felt so empty from within because he knew the elder didn't even fucking understand what he was apologizing for, All these sorrys were worthless. 

There wasn't a shy smile or cute blush on his cheeks like it always was whenever Taehyung spoke to Jungkook. And because of that, Jungkook felt a pang on his chest.

Jungkook looked at him for a while more and spoke up again.

"I'm sorry, Taehyung. I-I--"

"I said it's. Okay." This time he sounded furious. Taehyung was gritting his teeth while looking at the floor, he looked terribly angry.

Jungkook was getting more and more desperate to get his attention with every passing moment.

Jungkook wanted to apologize to him. He wanted to make the younger understand his state, conditions and intentions. He wanted to tell the boy that his wolf couldn't behave normally. 

But was there any point in trying to make him understand? Has anyone ever understood him? Well, how would anyone else understand him when he didn't understand himself. 

He life is a complete tangled mess. A broken heart--which was numb to feelings after losing its purpose to continue beating--was all he had. 

Being the highest of all ranks, he still wasn't strong. He didn't know if he broke himself because of himself or the situation broke him. 

Detaching himself from everyone was all he could do. He was breaking right before their eyes but none could see it, none could do anything about it.

He would reach his hand out to hold onto the only hope but no one could see his desperate feelings. When he screamed for them to leave, he wished to have them near; no one understood that. 

He was different from his wolf, better than his wolf in his condition because the wolf had taken all the effect upon himself to save Jungkook. 

But he still felt pain. 

He still lost everything. 

He still suffered more than anyone could understand. He didn't show his pain but he was still suffering even by seeing the numerous times Taehyung shivered in fear when he came near. 

It made him despise himself. It made him hate himself for scaring a innocent boy like him. 

When he went against his own beliefs and tried to fight against his dark fate, he was shown a glimpse of something he desired, but it vanished as soon as it came and left in a extremely pitiful state, being shown the harsh reality of living a sad and hurtful life. 

It happened several times. 

Even the strongest of mountains break when the rivers continue to smash against them. He broke too. He broke in his childhood and there was nothing to heal him back then, and there was no person to hug him and tell him that it will be okay and nor did the situations themselves improve. 

The situation deteriorated. His heart shattered more. 

What use was explaining all this of when he couldn't fucking know what everything would take him to? 

He'd destined to break more. cry more, but that doesn't mean that he had the right to make someone else cry and feel pain along with him. 

He wasn't sadistic to see happiness in pain of others.

He wanted to ask Taehyung about the reason his wolf--his other half--was being like this to him. He wanted t ask Taehyung what happens when his wolf took over because he didn't know what happened yet. 

When Hoseok or Yoongi were near, Oberon would hit them, thrash them for being near him or just scream at them for being there. 

Was it the same even with Taehyung. 

Terror filled Jungkook when he wondered if his wolf had ever hit Taehyung. He just wanted to know what the fuck was happening, but Taehyung just seemed so angry that it didn't look like it was the right time to ask anything.

"Tae..."

"Please go out."

"What?"

"I said go out! Please, just go! Leave me alone!" He suddenly snapped, pulling his hair in frustration as he let out small sobs. Jungkook dumbly nodded, wide eyes as he was startled by his sudden outburst.

He quickly left, letting the younger have some alone time.

Taehyung stopped crying after a while and just stayed there, blankly staring at the dark painted wall.

He wondered if this was all he was worth. What had he done to be treated like this? He was always cheery and had a habit of smiling through his pain because he didn't want the others to become sad by getting affected by his behavior.

He tried to remain happy always but it was all just a facade.

He wasn't ever happy. His smiles were always fake. His heart desired more. More than being abused and treated like trash but he didn't deserve it, did he?

This is what I'm supposed to be doing, right? Work and do as told without feeling anything about it? Without been given a chance to say that I don't want to be treated like this?

Then that's what I'll do. I don't expect anything from anyone now.

I won't expect Jungkook to act like a good mate and take care of me. How can someone who is so much better than me, love me? Love a person who's nothing but a servant, a slave?

He stumbled and limped downstairs to the empty kitchen, hissing in pain which spread his head once in a while. He got back to work.

---------

"Alpha," The warrior called out, flinching when he heard the loud scream of the girl who was being beaten up. "I want to tell you something." 

"If whatever you have to say isn't important then--"

"It is related to something about the ending of this year, alpha. The completion of twenty years." 

Jungho immediately stopped his attacks and let go of the whip. He left the dying omega there and left the room to speak to the warrior. The tone and way of speaking somehow managed to make him confused and slightly anxious. 

"Alpha, there were about forty omegas we brought in this year, and in addition to that, there were almost eighty of them working here already. All of this was exactly how the previous year had started but by the end of last year, we had only handful omegas left because many of them had lost their lives." 

"Stop giving me all these numbers and get to the point. What are you trying to say?" 

The warrior shifted in his spot and looked up at his alpha with concerned eyes. 

"I'm trying to say that, if this," He starts and points towards the now dead woman on the ground, surrounded by her on blood from everywhere, "...goes on, then there are many chances that there will be a shortage in the omegas at the end of this year." 

Jungho's face fell in a split second. his chest rose and fell in anger, frustration. 

"Does that mean..." 

"If you won't stop killing omegas recklessly then there will be a high chance of you losing your life. Please leave all other work aside for now and focus on this matter." 

The growl the demon wolf emitted only made the warrior sigh. He didn't want all of them to suffer because of the reckless behavior of the head alpha. 

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