(Y/N) POV:

It's something deeply rooted inside me that rapidly rises to the surface, has me pushing off the sofa, has me hastily tugging myself out of hands that try hold me, draw me back- head buzzing with an incessant high-pitched buzz that makes my ears twitch, drowning out any other sound as I rush out the living room, pushing past the trembling jitter to them as I slip on the nearest pair of shoes I can find. Eunwoo's I distantly realise later when I'm rushing out the house, heart in my throat, beating viciously and uncontrollably and head swimming with what the letter means. With what danger it poses to my pack if the traffickers know where I live, where my safe space, my nest is. My mind screams with the violation of them knowing where my sanctuary is- destroying the security I'd felt both at home and at work, leaving me to remain on-edge, keyed up and panic coursing wildly through my veins.

I can barely feel the bite of cold as it nips harshly at my face, whips at my body and batters it mercilessly, a small, tiny part of my brain realising that I hadn't grabbed a coat, that warm pyjamas only did their job within the heated cosiness of home but right now there's only one thing in mind. That I have to get away, I have to tell Namjoon and Jimin, that I have to distance myself from my pack to protect them, lead the traffickers, instincts pushing me into motion, snapping out of their dormant state to have adrenaline coursing through me, a nervous thrum that makes me restless, impatient until I reach the station, until I see the two of them.

As I rush, my legs continue to shake and tremble- almost giving out on me, feeling panic flare when I bump into a stranger and their face transforms from shock to worry, hands reaching out to help me up, but the touch is foreign, unwelcomed to my volatile instincts, minds screaming to flee- drowning out the buzz, the small incessant hum as I see their lips move, ask if I'm alright.

The surroundings blur and merge into an indecipherable smear of colours, roughly mixing and all I know is that I need to get to the station, to a place that resembles that last shred of safety and security, the place where I can get help, where I can feel safe within the four walls of the office I was growing accustomed to.

And when I push the doors open to the police station, the assault the countless scents has on my nose has me recoiling, shuddering and fighting the nausea that makes my stomach twist and threaten to upend itself. Trying to fight against the instincts that screech for me to flee, too many predatory scents, too many prey scents, too many humans... too much, it's all too much and yet I push on- distantly knowing that I need to find Namjoon and Jimin, that this has gone on long enough and I can't take anymore.

But they're not there. And I find my stomach plummeting to dark depths when the commanding officer steps up, face open and genuine with sympathy, scent soft and trying to soothe and words placating, trying to calm me down but it doesn't feel right. Feels wrong to tell anyone, feels wrong to share something about the way my personal life, my safety, my pack has been violated.

Tell no-one. Treat anyone and everyone as a suspect. Namjoon's voice comes slithering back to mind, underlined with hard commanding authority belied by the softness of his scent- concerned and worried for me, even as he asked again and again; each time with more and more urgency and need that I let them protect me, that I let them help, take legal action- ears and tails drooping at my incessant shake of head that no they weren't going to ruin my normal life, no I wouldn't let the traffickers threaten my schedule, my normalcy, the life I'd carved for myself.

I wish I had taken it.

I wish I had listened to that deeply-suppressed instinctual need to be taken care of and allowed myself comfort and respite in their strong scents spiked sharp with protective anger and rage, bolstered further by the badges they adorned on their chest and shoulders- an oath to protect, to offer guidance and help. I wish I'd taken the proffered hands, maybe then this wouldn't have happened, maybe then they wouldn't know where I lived, where my pack lived.

I flinch when one of the human officers try to approach, clearly intended to be much gentler on my abrasive instincts, the natural gentle scent that humans emanated- and yet it wasn't who I was looking for, it wasn't the scents I was trying to find in a sea of others.

"Namjoon and Jimin...I need to speak to them. I have to." I say over and over, curling away from the touches, from the soft words trying to calm me down.

"They're not here Miss, if we could assist you somehow, if you let one of us know..." one of the hybrid officers say, trying to approach- a gentle older woman figure but her calming soft scent makes me realise just how alone I am, just how outnumbered and lost I feel in a sea of bodies, adrift and trying to find a way out, trying to get to the two officers I needed to tell, needed to hand over the envelope which burned like a brand through my pyjama top, through my fingers which clutch at it- wanting to let go but holding on because I know the contents need to be revealed, because it could help with the case even if my head pounds with the knowledge that my safety, my privacy has been violated in the most brutal ways.

"Namjoon and Jimin. Either of them. Please." I say when the woman's face twists with sympathy and then hardens, nodding as she steps away- taking away with it the thick heaviness of her scent, trying to breathe shallowly, trying to not let myself become overwhelmed with them.

I don't realise that the cluster of scents thicken and make my head swim until my legs are buckling, an officer reaching out to help steady me and guide me down to one of the benches, hand quickly retreating once I'm slumped over. I curl over trying to block out the scents, the heavy growing wave of them that begin to batter my senses, assault my nose, ears twitching restlessly and legs jittery.

Escape. Escape. But I can't.

Legs feeling as if they're leaden, dead weights that keep me anchored, body uncooperative and stiff- unable to gather the strength to push myself up and run, run anywhere but here, run to keep my pack protected, keep my family safe.

Run.

But at some point, at some point in that impenetrable thickening fog of despair and anger and panic which grows suffocating, two familiar scents pierce through the dizzying fog, cut through and brush against my nose; comforting, familiar. And the two voices filled with authority, with concern, with sheer command and the feeling of something gently draped across my bent form, of a body shifting close to mine, warmth seeping into me from them as they curl close, not directly touching but close enough I feel the heat mingle with Jimin's spiked scent, as his body moves closer.

I hear their voices as if underwater, slightly dulled and quieter- as if pushing through a barrier, a block that had every sense numbed until Jimin's voice cuts through it, easily worms in.

"What on earth happened?" Jiminie demands, voice thick with commanding authority, heavy and threatens to have my body falling to obey, to respond to the authority by submitting meekly. His scent is sharp and heavy, pricks of sharp protective rage as they assault my nose. And at his voice I hear a set of footsteps hurry close.

"She entered the station all panicked and rushed, she won't answer any of us but said she needed to see you. That she wasn't going anywhere until she had." One of the voices say and something must be signalled, something must be indicated because the heavy cloud of scents grow lighter as distance is put between me and them, has the dizzying feeling recede slightly.

"(Y/N)... (Y/N) can you look at me?" Jimin asks in a soft way that belies his sharp scent but I can't fight the way my body seems to be shaking, jittering with how unsafe I feel, how exposed and vulnerable. I feel the lightest of touches as his hand comes to rest on my knee, the soft calming gesture easing the shakiness in my legs, albeit only marginally, but it's the first touch I don't recoil or flinch from.

"You're safe (Y/N), we'll help you whatever it is." He promises.

And then Namjoon's voice comes through, a mixture of gentleness and authority as he suggests we go to his office, a small nod given in response before I force my body to unfurl, to straighten from its curved-up posture and stand up, the weight of Jimin's hand falling away as I stand, staying still for a few moments to battle the sickening way the ground seems to sway slightly.

I can't find it in me to do anything but comply to the dangerously soft voice as Jimin asks for the envelope, desperately wanting to get it away from me as far as possible, feeling my fingers sting and burn with the weight of it even as it leaves me, and the second it leaves my hand I curl my hand to tuck it close, body bowed.

Cha Eunwoo.

Moonbin.

No. No, no, no. Not them. Anyone but them. Never them.

My head pounds with the new information, with the realisation that whoever is behind all this doesn't only know the location of my pack but the names too. They know about Eunwoo and Binnie. They know about them.

And the realisation that the traffickers, that whoever are involved in this vicious circle know about them has me struggling to breathe, air thin and raspy and the sound of a cry echoing in the room, a sound that it takes a few moments to place as having come out of me.

My head swims with panic, Namjoon and Jimin's scents suddenly too strong, too potent and harsh to cope with, making breathing difficult- each breath rushing out of my lungs far too quickly, each breath stolen too quickly as it enters. My head rises to take in the sight of them, the salvation they presented and take a shaky step towards them, to get to safety but find that I have no strength left. Nothing holding me up and like a felled tree fall to the ground, legs buckling and folding under me.

My hands go to push Jimin away when he crouches in front of me, feeling trapped and confined under the firm gentle hands of Namjoon as he moves to help me, the corners closing in, nausea climbing rapidly up my throat, body burning as my hands scrabble for the bin before my stomach expels itself, tears slipping free from my brimming eyes as I sob, clutch at the bin and heave.

I shudder once my stomach stops churning as viciously, when my throat aches and burns with bile and feels raw and shredded I plead, plead for them to help, for them to somehow make this end.

I feel broken and defeated and exhausted.

Drained even as Namjoon and Jimin draw me up, murmuring that they'll help as they move me to a seat, protective flanks on either side of me.

Their low murmurs are a gentle brush against my body which feels like a live wire, thrumming with antsy energy, a crawling buzzing feeling of restlessness, of panic and paranoia and fear rolling together into a heavy wave- sending painful jolts to zing through my body.

"(Y/N)..." Namjoon's voice breaks through my inner reprieve, but the bubbling thoughts reach a fruition and my head rises to meet his face, his worried protective gaze.

"Send me away...please. Send me somewhere else. Somewhere they won't get hurt, anywhere far away from them." I say, voice trembling and shaky, pleading for them to remove me from this situation.

The traffickers and their network was involved with me, with my association to Min-Jun; there was no need to drag my family into this, into putting them into the line of fire or at any risk and threat.

This was a fight, a horrid filthy mess I'd been dragged into. But I drew the line when it came to letting them breach my boundaries, my privacy. It became intolerable when they dragged Eunwoo and Binnie into this horrifying mess.

Their faces twist with shock, with hurt and shuttered anger before Jimin's shaking his head.

"Let us think of another way, a way that doesn't tear you away from family." He says softly, eyes flickering with pain at the notion- as if he can't imagine being torn away from pack, from his own.

Namjoon's hand settles on Jimin's nape, a squeezing gesture that has the tension bleeding out slightly, his own eyes flashing unrestrainedly with the depth of his emotions and anger.

"Having a few officers assigned for your protection doesn't seem like it'll cut it now." He says with a grimace, clearly that had been one of the earlier solutions they'd entertained but didn't hold strength anymore. Not with how rapidly things had become a frantic jumbled mess.

"I'll leave. I won't contact them, not if it keeps them safe. I'll do anything but please...please keep my pack safe." I say, voice shaking as tears slip free of my eyes once more, hot thick tears that trickle down my cheeks as I plead, hands trembling and fisting into my pyjama top, feeling the stiffness of my legs under my knuckles.

And I'd do it. I'd force myself to keep distance, to remain out of touch, to vanish from their lives if it would keep them safe, if it would stop the traffickers from keeping an interest in them.

It had to be nipped in the bud before it got to grow and take root.

Namjoon looks devastated by my words, by the way my voice shakes and aches and pains.

But if that is the only way then I'll take it, even if both my instincts and mind weep at the notion- beg for another way.

He shakes his head though, a firm authoritative gesture that negates my pleas.

Doesn't he understand? Doesn't he know I'd do anything and everything for my pack? Even at the cost of happiness?

There's a few long moments of silence that stretches on for eons, lifetimes it seems.

"There's one way." Jimin suddenly speaks, a look of understanding flashing between him and Namjoon.

Their expressions seem to harden, resolve coating their features.

"Give us some time, we need to talk to a few people to make it happen. But...I swear to you, no matter which way this goes we will protect you." Jimin says earnestly, seriously and with heavy promise in his words- eyes flashing with sincerity.

And though my heart is racing, thumping and beating against my rib cage to get out, though it's still hard to breathe, to fight the tremors that wrack my body I give a small nod, clinging onto the tiniest shred of hope. That maybe it's not all despair and resignation.

That maybe this isn't the end.

Even if my head swims with the sickening thought that it might be.

-----

I don't realise that at some point the two of them had stopped murmuring between them, had stopped trying to fitfully hover close- their still thick scents slightly less overwhelming with the distance they put between us.

And it's only when I'm stepping out the office, the two officers flanking me from behind that I realise just how much of a desperate need I have to be held, to be swept up and clung onto tightly. I don't realise it until a relieved cry of my name has my head turning far too slowly to the source, dimly recognising the blur as a figure rush forwards and crush me tightly towards a firm muscled chest, smelling faintly of sweat, of exertion- scent filled with panic and fear and relief as he clings onto me, keeps me tightly pressed against his chest. Arms that yank me away from the two officers who growl low with warning and alarm, threatening sounds as I'm tugged away from them and into another figure.

A shuddery sob tears out at my throat at the protective warmth of his arms, of his scent as he holds me- knowing that in this moment I need to feel someone keeping me grounded, someone holding me, someone taking the burden off my weary body.

"...Jinyoung oppa." I sob with a hiccup as I try to meld myself against him, fold myself up smaller into his embrace, to make myself as unthreatening and invisible as I can.

"Jinyoung-ssi please let go." Namjoon's voice comes through authoritatively and sharply and though I feel him stiffen slightly when my hand goes to clutch at him, to tug him closer he curves protectively over me, a low rumbling growl as he keeps me there.

"You can't just grab her." Jimin says, voice a snap of words, a growling angry timbre to it that makes me flinch, makes me burrow further into him.

"With all due respect Jimin and Namjoon, I most certainly won't let go of my pup." I feel him grit out, chest reverberating with his low firm voice.

I feel the air thicken, scents clashing and warring with each other, abrasive and rough to my senses and I feel my tail twitch, rising in response to the sharp spiky scents they emit.

But then they soften, mellow out slightly.

"Pup? Is she part of your pack?" Namjoon hedges tentatively, sound of footsteps suggesting he's moving closer, cut off when a low warning growl has him freezing.

"She's mine." He says possessively.

We're not officially pack. But we're family. He's safety and home too.

"Pup why didn't you tell anyone? Aish you're so cold, you smell sick and so, so sad." He says, face gently nuzzling at the top of my head and when I raise my head, noses gently across my cheek and frowns when he takes in the state of my face.

"Was sick." I mumble, turning away to tuck my head against his shoulder.

His grip tightens.

"I'm taking her home." He says over my shoulder, voice brooking no argument.

There's a few tense beats of silence before

"Of course. Get her home safely. (Y/N) we'll be in touch." Jimin says voice soft and there's the feeling of a hand squeezing gently at my shoulder, promising and grounding and uncaring of the small growl it triggers.

And I allow Jinyoung oppa to help me up, to draw me up onto trembling legs that threaten to buckle under the weight of what this night has brought, under the accumulation of this past week. And though he frowns he doesn't sweep me up to hold as he usually would, because he knows I'd hate to feel vulnerable and weak until the last moment, that I want to leave on my own two feet just as I'd entered, and slowly guides me out, helping me into his car and belting me up before rushing to the opposite end.

On the car ride home I try not to wince as he admonishes me, scolds me for my behaviour even as his fingers go to the dial to turn the heating up high immediately once he'd taken in my clothes and the too big shoes, even as his free hand comes to rest on my knee, squeezing gently. A quick side-glance reveals his fluffy ears now drooped and wilted on his head; face creased with concern as he drives me back.

"Pup you don't just leave without telling anyone! I've had Eunwoo and Binnie in hysterics as they called, trying to see if I could head out on patrol to check if I could find you. I've also had the pack contact me countless times." He says as he turns right, clenching tightly at the wheel with his hand, even as one remains on my leg.

I duck my head, abashed and guilty- the beginnings of regret seeping through my veins.

"Not to mention you left with no coat, no proper footwear and in your pyjamas. Pup you could freeze, Seoul isn't merciful this time of year." He says, voice deepening with his own distress, the heavy scent of his panic wafting into my face with the hot air that seeps out the vents, that chills my body.

"I'm sorry." I mumble, ducking down further and turning my head to realise only now that I still had Jimin's coat wrapped around my shoulders, that I'd turned my nose to be greeted with the rich potent scent of soft mint, something intrinsically Jimin.

And curve away immediately. There was no need to get my scent onto his coat.

But there's also a weak trail of something sweet that brushes over that mintiness, something that tickles my senses as familiar but I can't place at the moment, the thought that's banished when Jinyoung oppa sighs, hand lifting off my knee to cup my cheek as we come to a stop outside my apartment complex.

"I know you acted on instinct, that you were panicked and needed to tell Namjoon and Jimin. But please...for the sake of our hearts do not go running into the freezing night like that. Especially with what's going on, I want you to know how stupidly reckless that was. What if you'd been snatched off the streets? What if they'd gotten to you and we'd never have known?" he says looking at me with such raw agony that it makes me shake and the fear prick at my heart painfully.

My head bows, silently submitting to his chiding and fussing, to his worry and his naturally stronger scent and pheromones.

He makes a pained groaning sound.

"I don't like being the big bad alpha and look at me. Come here pup." He murmurs, the sound of the seatbelt being undone as he does his first and leans to do the same to me. He pushes his seat back and gently leans over to hoist me into his lap, tugging me close.

I wind my arms around him and lean into his hug as he coaxes me to rest against him.

"I worry. We all do. We just want you safe baby." He murmurs.

I nod.

Safety. That's all I want. For my family, for my pack. For me.

Was that too much to ask for?

-----
And safety comes with a price.

Because when Namjoon and Jimin call and say that the best way of protecting myself, of protecting Eunwoo and Binnie was to move into a safe house, move into their home- I find the floor sweeping away from under my feet and the world sway and violently shake for all that I was seated and cocooned between the two.

I take in the feeling of warmth and safety, of protection and home and try not to cry, try not to feel as if this is the last I'll experience of it.

Sacrifices.

Sacrifices had to be made.

And this was one of them.

To be torn away from the ones I loved the most to keep them safe.

And not only was I tearing my pack apart, but I was also intruding and broaching into someone else's.

(THERE YOU GO! THIS CHAPTER WAS GONNA BE LONGER BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT WASN'T! I FELT LIKE THIS WAS A GOOD PLACE TO STOP IT, SO THAT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER WE CAN HAVE THOSE MOMENTS OF LEAVING HER HOME TO TRYING TO SETTLE INTO HER NEW ONE! LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS, REALLY, REALLY HOPE ALL HER NERVES AND FEAR AND SADNESS CAME THROUGH IN THIS CHAPTER AND THAT YOU CAN SEE JUST HOW TERRIFED SHE IS! AND ANOTHER PACK! JINYOUNGIE IS FIERCE PROTECTOR WHO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT PROFESSIONAL RANK, NOT WHEN (Y/N) IS HIS, HIS LIL PUP AND BELONGS TO HIS PACK TOO! I HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS ENJOYABLE TO READ! LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS AND STAY TUNED FOR WHAT'S TO COME DARLINGS! STAY SAFE AND TAKE CARE!)

QUESTION...MAIN THING TAKING UP YOUR TIME THESE DAYS?

Mine is....essay planning! Just so many coursework deadlines and exams coming after the break so it's all a mad rush really!! Trying not to lose my marbles tbh!

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3