KOOK POV:

I knock on (Y/N)'s door, dithering nervously, shifting weight from foot to foot before the sounds of soft padding footsteps approach and sleepy doe eyes blink up at me, widening slightly before the door is tugged open wider and she stands there in full sight, clothes rumpled and hair adorably mussed; still sleepy as she clutches at the door.

It's a relief that the suppressants have already kicked in and that my body doesn't flare and burn with that engulfing wave to want to draw closer to her already softening scent, nose twitching slightly at the sweetened anise that curls out her room.

"You're... you're all set?" she asks nervously, teeth worrying at her lip as she examines my posture, searching for stiffness or a frazzled buzzing need to get to her.

"All dosed up, you're safe. The others have already taken suppressants too." I add.

Her fingers tighten around the door.

"I'm sorry because of me you have to suppress your own biology... I... it shouldn't have ever gotten to this." She says apologetically.

I frown.

"None of that. Just like we can't help biology neither can you. It would cause chaos to your biology if you tried to dose yourself up after the suppressants working themselves out your body. This is the safest choice for you." I emphasise.

She gives a small shrug, the loose wide baggy shirt being displaced from her shoulder, the slender curve of it exposed as she fiddles.

"Now come on breakfast. I've been watching Jin hyung fuss cook since he woke up. He's not quite gotten over how little he managed to get you to eat last time." I say as my arm curls around her, ushering her forward, heart soft and going tender at the way she sleepily stumbles beside me, legs slightly wobbly as she rubs at her eyes.

"He really doesn't need to....oh Jinnie..." she murmurs when she peeks inside the kitchen, watching the way his wings flap and splay before he straightens up from unloading a tray onto the table, smiling at her and arms held out expectantly for her.

"Yes sweetheart?" he asks as his arms curl around her, hugging her close and wings flapping protectively before settling to cocoon her within them, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I don't think I can eat all that." She says, voice slightly muffled from behind the winged barrier, teasing and fond. He huffs, lips curving up.

"You don't need to. Just eat as much as you can sweetheart, let's not have a repeat of an unprepared heat, let me do as much as I can." He whispers. Holding her until a small gurgle has him laughing and unwrapping arms and wings to nudge her to sit, sinking down in a seat beside her and head tilted invitingly for the other seat as he looks at me.

"Felling okay? No aches yet?" I ask as I draw a bowl in front of me.

She gives a small shake of her head.

"I think I've got a few days before heat hits so I'm still good. I'm going to take advantage whilst I can and set up the caregivers and care plans for Ji Ah and Min Junie. I've got to book a few things too." She says, beginning to eat, a look of steadfast determination on her face.

I raise my brows at the way she seems so composed and in control, not letting her pre heat drag her back from the things she needs to get done, prioritising the need to do as much work as she can get done.

On her other side Jin hyung winces, looking both worried and tentative as he speaks.

"Sweetheart don't push yourself to cram in the next few days... you'll have two to three days max before your heat hits... and I think working with all sorts of hybrids, living with a majorly predator pack... that's going to push your heat forward a bit." He says, lips twisting into a frown when she appears unfazed and continues fo eat, chewing slowly at the mouthfuls she seems to be systematically feeding herself, fork piercing one food at a time, circulating the plate to eat a bit of everything. She's eating as if it's a chore.

And the realisation makes me drag her plate back a bit, waiting until her eyes meet mine, confused as she looks at me.

"Don't eat like it's a chore you can get rid of. Eat up properly or I'll tell Jiminie hyung not to let you go to work without an extra long café date." I say pointedly, eyes narrowed onto her.

I spot a small flush on her cheeks, two spots of colour as she tugs her plate back and this time doesn't begrudgingly shoot Jin hyung a look when he takes it as an invitation to put more food onto it.

"I'll eat up. Don't get Minnie into a fretty mode." She mumbles.

It's endearing how her ears flicker when her head dips slightly, anise curling around the mint already skin deep in her, softening it with her own floral as she eats, reaching out for a glass to pour herself a smoothie; my eyes brightening at the small gesture, ears perking because her own scent turns sweet and happy as she takes a long gulp.

The smoothie experiment had gone down well then. If she was willing and wanting to try out the berry blend I'd been working on. I had a feeling Tae hyung would like it too, ears peeking up further at the thought of him finding it in the fridge later.

"If the others are dosed then how come breakfast is separate?" She asks a small while later, managing to clear through her plate without fuss.

I don't miss the happy fluttery rustle of Jin hyung's wings as he spots it, silently preening and instincts giddy with the thought she likes and enjoys his cooking.

He leans forward, head propped up by his hand and beaming at her when she senses his gaze, lips parting in a wide soft smile, eyes flickering with amusement and satisfaction.

"That's on me sorry. I wanted to hog you to myself before the others swarm. Make sure you got a decent meal before they went all animal on you." He teasingly quips, eyes flashing to mine and grin widening. 

"Animals? I take offence!" I splutter even if I feel my cheeks heat.

Knowing exactly what he meant.

Suppressed instincts and biological needs or not... our senses weren't dimmed to her soft scent, vulnerable and in that stage of silently searching out for someone to help her, to provide for her. I knew as her heat would grow closer so would the need to hover close and protect her. So would that need to make sure she was okay and tended to... to satiate biological needs that went beyond breeding.

I knew it was going to be a sight to see, especially with her and Yoongi hyung's budding courtship and Jiminie hyung's painful yearning. I knew that Hobi hyung and Tae hyung weren't far from feeling similar feelings bloom and bud, it wasn't hard to spot the way their bodies softened and curved close, losing some of that naturally predatory lethal grace. Around her they stopped being predatory felines and became eager stumbling kits. They had feelings tying into this and their responses to her heat pheromones were going to be tugging at them beyond an instinctual level, it was going to take everything in them to hold back.

More so than the feelings I'd felt her last heat, remembering that feverish want to breed. I was glad I'd managed to take the suppressants in time. Glad that Jiminie hyung had knocked, late last night, body dishevelled and simultaneously coiled up and loose, voice terse and gravelly, close to a growl as he said (Y/N) was going into pre. That it was best to take the suppressants then.

It was sensibility that had him prowling through the apartment to alert the others, to make sure we didn't have a repeat of last time and that this time round she'd have a whole pack ready to help, that she'd have all of us there to try ease the heat for her as much as we could.

And maybe I don't find myself exactly complaining when the breakfast of just us three allows me to relish in that closeness of her body unconsciously tilting to mine and her embrace lingering before she'd stepped away to leave later for work, eyes soft and grateful as she pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.

Maybe I was grateful too. Especially when I saw that want begin to flicker in Jiminie hyung's eyes as he followed her out of the apartment, hovering fitfully, tail swishing with silent nerves as he rushed to follow, to keep her in sight. Because I'd gotten to have some more time with her. And I knew by the time she'd  come home she'd have fretty predators pacing to make sure she got back safely.

------

Pre-heat slips by. A blur of two days before her body begins to flush with heat fever and her eyes turn glassy, movements stilted and stiffer as she drags herself off the couch, legs shaking as she straightens up. She doesn't lean towards the hand that darts out to steady her, head shaking as she tries to push herself upright alone.

My nose twitches at the syrupy sticky quality her scent's steadily started to climb towards the past hour, saccharine and heavy on the tongue, floral clinging to skin as she straightens and tugs at the thin top she wears, trying to push the fabric away from heated skin.

She smells close to heat, pheromones pouring out in a rich heady call to be taken care of, silently trying to call and find a potential mate, to find someone who can help her and protect her and look after her through the vulnerable stage. Yoongi hyung looks pained as he watches her teeter before she steadies herself, her hand impatiently pushing hair away from her face as she stumbles for the kitchen, Jin hyung hurrying after her with a warning look shot to the rest of us.

Suppressants were all well and good but the others could be pushed into action given their emotional attachment, to those budding romantic feelings that would mix with their biology and make for a needy painful mix of wanting to help her, medication be damned.

And that would lead to heartbreak and messy involvements and too much to sift through and process, it would lead to guilt and resentment and insecurity all over.

So Jiminie hyung sinks back in the sofa, a small keening whine as he curls back to press against Tae hyung and abate that need by clinging tightly onto him, burrowing his nose against hyung's throat to scent, an obsessive rough scent mark as he mouths at his gland, trying to replace the floral by drawing in sweet berry instead.

"I'll call SJ, she's approaching the end of her pre-heat and the first spike of her heat cycle." Joon hyung murmurs, already rising from the couch and bending over to grab his phone, shooting a worried glance towards the doorway through which both Jin hyung and (Y/N) have disappeared through.

"So soon? Her scent's only been getting stronger especially this past half hour." Hobi hyung points out, ears twirling and gaze uncertain.

Felines only get ruts as a direct response to heat pheromones.

(Y/N) being the first person whose heat pheromones they've found their bodies responding to and exposed to, he looks uncertain and slightly lost. Not entirely sure how to help, not as attuned to the small pheromonal shift.

I shake my head, ears bouncing slightly and brushing across the side of my face.

"Her scent's getting stronger because she can sense there's someone who can biologically tend to her. But she's not getting any pheromonal response." I reply, heart twisting with sympathy for her.

Her body knew and could sense us. But the blocker the suppressants had put on our own biologically natural urge was confusing her, was pushing her to gear up for a breeding cycle that none of us were able to provide her with.

"She needs SJ. Binnie and Eunwoo said not to waste any time when her scent begins to grow stronger." I add, remembering the conversations I'd had in the café, desperate to take in as much information as I could, to take in as many tips and to prepare best. I'd had many calls after that, silently padding in when (Y/N) called for me and Jin hyung, sinking down beside her on the bed and talking to the two of them.

Joon hyung nods as he hurried from the room, drawing the phone to his ear and a grateful smile shot in my direction before he vanishes.

Joon hyung's disappearance makes Jiminie hyung a stiff line against Tae hyung, body stiff and a small growl reverberating through the air as his tail swishes silently, poofy and bristly.

Whether that's at having his mate leave when his own body is feeling so heightened instinctually or whether that's because of SJ I don't know. And he goes back to scenting more fiercely, thoroughly trying to coat the berry scent in mint, their scents merging together in a heady mix of ripe strawberries and fresh crushed mint.

Yoongi hyung shoots Hobi hyung a tense glance as he sinks down in the space Joon hyung has been in, hand going to rub at the base of Jiminie hyung's ears, the growl softening under his ministrations.

I didn't know what bringing SJ into a fraught and biologically heightened environment would do, didn't know whether the growing sharpness I could detect in the air would push (Y/N) into a quicker cycle or not. 

So when she appears in the doorway again and Jiminie hyung's body jerks, Hobi hyung's hurrying to his feet and gently ushering her to her room, careful slow steps as he murmurs to her and guides her away with Jin hyung, sensing the need to get her away from the growing dominance crackling in the air.

She didn't need her heat cycles thrown off. She needed it to go smoothly, as seamlessly as it could.

She needed SJ.

She was on that teetering brink of moving past pre-heat and the last thing any of us wanted for her was to be alone when her heat hit.

------

There's an antsy feeling that makes the air crackle; piercing through our merging scents with something taut and fragile and on-edge. Yoongi hyung is a silent soft calming presence, citrus soft and light as it brushes against us, unconsciously curling towards me, black tail wrapped around my calf as he waits with all of us for SJ to arrive.

Hobi hyung and Jin hyung had returned, eyes flitting as they took in our expressions, reaching the silent conclusion that it was beyond us to be able to help (Y/N), the rest would and could only be taken care of by her heat partner. 

"Is SJ coming?" Jin hyung asks, wings flapping from where he stands towards the end of the hallway, an unconscious block stopping the rest of us from detecting her stronger pheromones and to block the path off to her, eyes careful as they watch us.

Joon hyung nods, fiddling restlessly as he peers at the door, rubbing circles into Jiminie hyung's lower back, poofy orange tail swishing from side to side in a violent quick cutting motion, body coiled up and strung, eyes narrowed and ears flickering.

"He's on his way, he was ready to leave when I called. Their cycles are attuned so he was already prepped, bit restless himself." Hyung admits.

His phone buzzes and he's hurrying forward to ring him up, allowing him access to the building. There's something wary and nervous as he approaches the door, eyes flickering warningly to Jiminie hyung.

"Don't... don't...." and then he sighs, shoulders slumping slightly.

"I know it'll be weird to have someone else in our home, staying here, someone who's not pack. But he's here for (Y/N)." he says, eyes drifting across all of us.

And there's the sound of knuckles rapping against the wood before it's being swung open to reveal her heat partner.

Tall is the first word that comes to mind.

Toweringly tall, head bending as he steps through at Joon hyung's invite, antlers brushing across the doorframe regardless, frame lithe but muscled.

The second thing I notice is the scent.

Peaches.

Sweet rich peaches, tart and honeyed sweetness that seeps off him, pheromones strong and heavy, hand reaching to push the door shut behind him. His eyes are sharp and angular, trailing over all of us, nose flaring slightly undoubtedly at the anise he can detect through our own scents.

The third thing I notice is how at ease he seems, languid gaze drifting and body void of any stiffness or discomfort, completely unperturbed at being surrounded by unfamiliar faces.

He gives a small smile to Joon hyung. Familiarity in his face.

"Thanks for taking care of (Y/N) that day." He says, voice smooth and low, a low thrum of assuredness in his tone.

Hyung shakes his head, dismissing it. There'd never be a problem in taking care of (Y/N), never for any one of us. She mattered. So helping her wasn't something that had to be pondered over, it was easily done.

"She's close to her first spike... where is she?" SJ asks, voice full of authority and a need. Eyes flaring when he takes a step forward and Jiminie hyung moves away from the wall, tail swishing as he intercepts, ears pinned back.

SJ eyes narrow at the confrontational stance Jiminie hyung gives him, body tall and towering and confidently assured, something at once bristling and challenging about the way he straightens, gaze disinterested and yet sharp as he peers at hyung.

"Something the matter?" he asks, head cocked, antlers adding to the height, making him seem broad and filling the space, the scent of peaches sharpening slightly, a tart rich quality to it.

I press back against Yoongi hyung, nose twitching against it.

Jiminie hyung's ears pin back further, lips pressed tight as he runs a slow examining gaze over him, the words unspoken but the message clear.

Gauging if he's a threat, trying to get a read on him.

And SJ hears the message too.

"Whilst I like nothing more than eyes running over me, there's someone specifically I'd prefer them from. There's a fawn that needs me, so if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to see her." he drawls out, meeting the examining gaze head on, uncaring of the fangs that curl over his bottom lip, of the tail swishing dangerously and the mint that sharpens, making my eyes sting in its intensity.

"You can see her when I've made sure you're not a threat." He hisses.

SJ's posture slants, casually dismissive as he maintains eye contact, unbothered even as his own body language pushes back at the defensive stance Jiminie hyung's taken.

"I'm no more of a threat then you are fox. Less so even. I'm her heat partner, you're just her guard." He says pointedly, voice a low drawled comment. Lips quirking at the small, hissed growl it elicits.

"So why don't you step aside? You do your job and guard her life. My job and pleasure is to take care of her body and mind." He says, stepping forward, eyes sparking with challenge and the scent of mint and peach climbing, spiking with aggressive dominance.

"Jimin-ah." Hobi hyung says warningly, voice tight and when I dart a glance to Yoongi hyung it's too an impassive expression even if his tail tightens and his jaw clenches, eyes flickering with worry.

(Y/N) needed to be tended to. She needed SJ.

Jiminie hyung bristles, anger searing across his face and there's the sound of fluttering wings when a door opens, a soft shnick and he steps aside, worry flitting across everyone's face when (Y/N) peers out, eyes hazy and spiking with heat and hands curled tightly around the doorframe. 

Her eyes drift over the cluster out bodies make, slumping with relief when she spots SJ, a small smile tugging at her lips, legs jittering and tense from how she holds herself upright.

Her presence causes SJ and Jiminie hyung's eyes to snap away from each other, razor sharp tension abating slightly as SJ's posture softens at the sight of her, Jiminie hyung's worried and concerned as he sees her. SJ stalks forward, hurrying past Jiminie hyung and the rest of us, uncaring as he moves towards her and curls around her, body bracketing hers against the door as he leans to scent her, antlers brushing tenderly across her head and hands curling around her. Holding her to him and leaning down to nose at her gland, her eyes fluttering shut as she grips at his shoulders, legs wobbling under his thorough drag of his mouth and nose, sighing shakily.

Her legs jitter, pheromones pulsing out strong and sweet and SJ's hands slide down from her hips to curl around her thighs, scooping her up to him as he cradles her, unpausing in his thorough scenting that has her head dropping forward as she anchors herself to him.

Her scent's pulsing out in sweet rivulets that call for a mate, for someone to breed when he lifts his head, tilting his face back, antlers gently butting against the side of her head.

"We'll be going. I have to get her settled. It's going to be a long week. Thanks for letting me into your house." He says, eyes pointed and lips curved into a crooked smirk as he steps through to her room, foot nudging it shut behind him with a click.

The sight of (Y/N)'s body caged and held by his hidden from sight and the sound of a growl rippling through the air.

My head turns, see as Jiminie hyung's body is tugged back, back to be bracketed by Joon hyung's, posture tense as he tightens his hold around him.

"Stop Minnie. She needs SJ. She needs this."

She needs this.

And she needs privacy.

So it's without a hesitation that Jin hyung and I move to relocate, transitioning over to the other end of the apartment.

I'm setting a bag down in Joon hyung and Jiminie hyung's room when the door slams behind me and my body twists, ears popping up in surprise and eyes widening when I see a tight clenched jaw and pooled prodding fangs sweeping across the top of Jiminie hyung's bottom lip as he approaches me.

Tugs me to the bed and curls around me, nose pressed to my throat and drawing in shaky gulps of my scent.

My throat arches and tilts for him, jolting in surprise at the sudden nip to my gland before my body relaxes into the touch, instincts curling to give, give. Bending under the sharp mint that he layers onto me.

It was going to be a long week I think even as my mind fogs with the beginning of a scent claim.

SJ POV:

My hands cradle (Y/N) carefully, throat tilting to encourage her scent marking, her hands curled tightly into my jacket, nosing at my jaw and throat, lips slotting messily over my gland as her tongue flicks against skin, coaxing out peach for her.

I can feel the jitter of her legs as she tries to anchor herself tightly to me, can feel the way they struggle to keep themselves locked, a small, pained keening whimper muffled against my skin when my hands drift up and down, squeezing tightly at warm flesh as I grip her.

"I've got you sweet thing." I murmur, pressing a kiss to her temple, nose detecting the feverish spike her pheromones take, steadily mounting towards the first cycle of her heat. 

"Seo Jun please... please please." She murmurs, repeatedly, words a shaky breathless plea as she tries to tug me closer, fingers sinking into my hair and tugging, face tilted up askingly and beseechingly. Her lips are warm and soft but push against mine, a fierce pressure as she both chases and leans into the kiss and demands more from it, a shaky sigh exhaled against me when my lips push back harsh and  bruising, nipping and dragging her bottom lip between my teeth, drawing out a shaky plea.

"Let me get you on the bed sweetheart." I murmur, pheromones spiking in response to the thick rivulet of anise that seeps out, body locking up against mine, legs cradling me close when I bend to lower her down, incessantly dragging me down with her. Her touch is feverish and impatient as she pushes at the strap of my bag, tugging at my jacket and dragging the shirt over my head, fingers grazing and drifting across my skin, burning an imprint of her touch wherever her hands move.

(Y/N)'s back bows when my mouth closes over her gland, sucking and nipping and tugging out anise, demanding the sweet floral scent, body pushing hers back down even as my hands drift and push at the loose fabric, pooling around her as I shove it upwards, trailing fingers over skin before gripping tightly at her hips to stop the small buck.

"Don't be greedy sweetheart." I croon, mouth slotting over her throat to suck a mark into her skin, eyes burning with satisfaction at the red that blooms before I'm tugging the loose sleeve of her top down, mouthing at her shoulder and lips curving against skin when she writhes and tries to push for more, fingers pressing tightly to the curve of her waist and instincts thriving at the hitched shaky breath she exhales before going looser under me, caving in.

"SJ please... please I need.... I need...." She pleads, hands tugging, nails raking lightly across the front of my chest, eyes glassy as the heat fever spikes, body tugging and demanding more, instincts restless with the need to breed and be bred, to be taken care of.

I quirk my lips even as I draw the top off her, hands deftly stripping the layers off and leaving her bare under me, gaze unhurried and appreciative as it trails over her, knowing I needed her instinctual need to peak before I bred her, knowing it'd keep her settled for longer.

She keens, body twisting under mine when I make no move to touch, fingers trailing teasingly to nap her out for me once more.

"Oh sweetheart all you do is want want want. Well why don't you be good for me and take what you're given? You have an entire week to beg and I have an entire week to make you scream and sob, there's no rush." I croon, thumbs brushing over her breasts, flicking teasingly and smiling at the small jolt she gives. So so beautifully responsive.

My mouth closes around her breast, hand teasing the other, mouthing at her and drinking in every shudder and convulsion she makes as she twitches at the stimulation, breaths growing jagged.

My hands trail down to grip and squeeze at the curve of her hips, promising to leave bruises later, sliding down to graze across the side of her thighs before trailing inwards, fingers pressing against the giving soft flesh of her inner thighs and tugging them apart, widening them for me so I can slot myself between them, baring her wide even as my mouth continues to tease and you, leaving a blooming mark of red to blossom against the curve of her breast, head dipping lower to press slow kisses down to her stomach, body hovering over her lower torso, nose brushing against her abdomen as I continue to mark the descent by leaving a trail of marks.

She's peering at me, head lifted off a pillow and looking with hazy dilated eyes as I crook my lips, head tilted as I hover over the apex of her thighs.

My nose is clogged with the scent of sweetening anise, almost at the peak of that instinctual need, body restlessly moving on the sheets, waiting and twisting to reach for some sort of stimulation.

"You know where to put your hands." I murmur before lowering my face, and soon enough the tug at my hair as she clutches at me, draws me closer even as she lets out a cry is gratifying and has arousal pooling in my body, desire thrumming as my own pre-rut is pushed to its first peak, the need to claim and breed and take growing more and more with every sinful and enticing whimper and moan and call of my name.

It's only when I raise my head, tongue flicking against my lips and hands easing their grip on her trembling thighs and rubbing circles where my fingers had dug in do I sense the small shift, that final push to her first cycle, because despite the pleasured flush colouring her cheeks and making her body still shake slightly she reaches out imploringly for me. Hands and legs tugging me close and dragging me down so our bodies are flush.

"Breed me." She gasps out when my hips grind down against hers.

My antlers nudge at her head, hands curling tightly around her wrists to pin them to the bed, hips thrusting forward sharply to push our bodies flush, a shaky cry as I fill her.

My own groan is guttural and low as I my teeth nip and clamp down on her shoulder, the sound reverberating against skin before I'm pushing my face away, eyes boring into hers, relishing in the complete surrender in them as I thrust my hips forward.

"I intend to, very thoroughly." I grit out, body pinning hers as my hips roll against hers.

Coaxing out a litany of sounds that make my biology sing with the rightness of it, that carnal want and need to breed and cage her in driving me to lean down to pin her to the bed, hands gripping fiercely and meeting her thrusts with a deeper more forceful one, completely anchoring her to me.

Our bodies are so perfectly attuned, knowing exactly where to touch and how to touch to draw out breathless moans that are cut off by shaky cries, hands twisting and trying to get free even as her throat bares in submission at my growl and her chest's arch is pushed back with my own driving down against hers, breasts flush against me.

The feverish want mounts, growing larger and larger until all I know is to take, take, take every sound and spike of scent she has to offer and to give, give, give. Pleasure until her body physically can't.

———-

(Y/N) shifts on the bed, a small, pained sound slipping past her lips and muffled against pillows when her legs uncurl, brushing against mine as she twists her head. The sight of her bruised marked throat and kiss bitten lips threatens to send another vicious jolt of need through my body, pheromones already mounting with interest and pleasure at what I see. It's barely been an hour since she drifted off, pleasure dilated eyes fluttering shut as she gave in to the urge to rest.

"Finally coherent sweets?" I ask, stretching out across the bed, finger poking lightly at her cheek and smiling when she rolls into the invitation of my outstretched arm, curling against my side, hand settling on my chest as she hums.

"Feel like it. How could I somehow forget how intense the first cycle can be?" She asks, voice muffled as her lips graze the skin of my shoulder, it takes everything in me to not pounce to pin her to the bed, arousal curling around me at the distracting sensation.

I snort.

"You're telling me. You're insatiable. And they say ruts are bad." I say with a groan, lips quirking before I grunt, fingers looping around the hand that drifts off my chest, steadily gravitating downwards.

"I can smell how ready you are to go. Don't lie." She scoffs.

My fingers tighten.

"And don't start games you can't finish through. Because I assure you... keep moving that hand and you won't be having breaks. Stags don't need them... this is so you can rest. Don't turn this into a week where I won't let you sleep, where you'll be crying to stop." I warn, eyes narrowed as I take in her playful gaze, the teasing glint in her eyes.

"Make me beg to stop and I'll let you use everything that was in that package," she bargains, eyes flashing with assumed triumph.

I twist suddenly, body curling over hers, knees caging her in from either side. There's something challenging pooling in her eyes even as they flutter, lips parted and ears flickering as she takes in the dominant pheromones crackling in the air.

"Oh darling doe... it's so sweet how naïve you are. As if I haven't imagined ruining you with them. As if I'll ask before taking you apart." I murmur, lips grazing her jaw and fingers brushing against her swollen gland, lips twitching when the tip of my finger digs in, a sweet burst of floral anise as she goes boneless under me.

My mouth presses to hers, a soft lingering kiss before moving back.

"Here's the deal. I'll make you sob with pleasure, pleading to stop and I'll use every one of those pretty things in that package. Sweet thing... you're in for a long week." I promise, voice hushed and low.

I tilt my head, proud and smug at the way her pheromones flare with sweetness, tugged and riled up by the temptation.

But before she can reach for me I'm twisting away, body straightening as I stand up from the bed, distractedly looking for my discarded boxers.

"But first we need to get some food in you. I'm not having an undernourished in heat fawn at my hands." I say firmly, body softening at the pleading soft call for me as I pad to the door.

"I've stocked up on bars and water." She says, pointing to the bedside drawer.

I raise my brows.

"I'll eat later... but don't go Seo Jun." She whispers, body twisting to face mine.

It doesn't even take a moment for me to hurry back, sinking down beside her, heart aching and find at the way she wriggles close, arms slung around me, a kiss pressed to my hip before she straightens herself up, a cursed hiss that has laughter slipping out my throat as she plasters herself against me.

I tug out a bottle and a protein bar.

Unscrewing the cap and nudging it against her lips.

Waiting for her to draw in steady long gulps before I speak.

"I doubt Eunwoo told you... but the same shoot he got Binnie something... sparkly and sheer, he wasn't the only one who got his hands on something. I've got you something too," I add conversationally, dodging the whack she aims at me as she splutters, inhaling water and dabbing at her face as she coughs, fist rubbing at her chest as she looks at me with narrowed eyes.

I shrug.

"There's just something about clothes... that leave absolutely nothing to imagination." I drawl, eyes drifting over to take in the sight of her bare torso, peaked breasts bruised with teeth and hips darkening with finger shaped bruises that would only be refreshed over and over.

"And clothes that don't?" She wheezes out.

I grin.

Leaning forward to gently but her cheek with my antlers.

"Well there's a whole other level of anticipation of unwrapping to see what gifts and treasures lie underneath." I croon.

Swallowing the soft exhale, lips pressed to hers as I draw her close, fingers kneading and rubbing out tension in her lower hips as I hold her to me.

And an anticipation that never grew old no matter how many times I'd gotten to explore the veritable treasures of her body.

Cradling her to me and clenching my teeth against the arousal that her shaky moan triggers, her hips rocking forward even as my hands clutch at her to keep them from bucking against me.

"Eat first." I say warningly when I feel her lips move from her bottle to mouth at my skin.

"Seo Jun..." she whimpers, scent beginning to sweeten once more, to turn thick and cloying with its heat driven intensity.

I blindly fish for the protein bar, ripping the wrapper open, determined to get her to eat something before she worked herself into another cycle.

"Bite. And maybe I can fill this pretty mouth later." I murmur, thumbing at her lips, pressing down on her bottom lip and watching as her eyes lid, mouth falling open.

"Good girl." 

And when later her soft sighs brush against my skin, trembling as I mouth at her gland, body hovering over hers, I give in to the rut, let go of that strong hold on my restraint, give in to the need to take and take, our sounds and bodies lost within one another and instincts giving in, biology pushing for more and more. Bodies intertwined as we give and give to each other, losing ourselves to the endless slam of ecstasy.

-------

"Stop wriggling." I complain with a huff, trying to keep the towel tight around her, steady her wobbly frame as she leans against me.

"I'm not. You just smell good." She protests, face tilting forward as she nuzzles against my jaw, ears brushing against skin as they flicker.

I can't stop the twitch of my lips before they spread wide, grinning at her. Hands securing the towel around her before I scoop her up, smiling and fond at how she immediately rests her head against me, tucked against the crook of my neck, legs swinging slightly as she peers up at me.

"And you're going to be so embarrassed when I preen later." I say, cradling her close as I pad to the bathroom door, ears alert and checking for sound, for anyone nearby.

I hadn't seen much of anyone beyond Jin and Jungkook; Binnie's co-workers, the two that Binnie and Eunwoo had enthused about being protective and fussy regarding (Y/N). They'd been the ones to bring food, eyes soft and worried and so respectful of a boundary they weren't even close to toeing. I hadn't missed the other scents when I'd opened the door, stronger scents of mint and citrus, one I knew to be the fox's and the other to be the panther that had started courting her when I'd asked, turning back to see her face rising off the pillow and eyes flared with excitement.

"I won't be. I'll just... hide." She concedes.

"I won't let you forget that on the third day of your heat you were getting yourself scent drunk. No matter how much you try hide." I promise, nudging the door open and stepping out, eyes scanning the hallway, ears straining to catch footsteps or sound before making a move to step out into the hallway, to pad back to her bedroom.

She wriggles against me.

"I won't let you forget that three days in and you couldn't keep me pinned properly." She taunts.

My hands tighten, a small slip of air escaping before I press my lips tightly, walking down to her room and carefully opening the door, shouldering it shut roughly as I lean against it.

"That can be arranged just as easily. You've come down from a cycle, you've eaten and showered... I don't mind spending the time until you're next wave to coax it out for you." I whisper, eyes dark as they focus on her, feeling her warm feverish skin graze mine as her arms tighten around me, fingers tugging at the strands of hair at my nape.

"Do your worst buck." She leans in to murmur, teeth tugging at the lobe of my ear, flicking against my piercings, a small sting of pain that morphs into pleasure.

My hand fists at the towel covering her, yanking it free once I set her down on the edge of the bed, tugging her bare for me.

"Won't be needing this then will we?" 

Her body stretches out across cleaned, changed sheets, damp body splaying out for me, inviting and promising, a smatter of marks old and new colouring skin. She pushes herself up on her elbows, scrambling back as I kneel on the bed and hover over her.

"How about we make full use of that package now?" I ask, fingers trailing exploratively over the marks, mapping out the path my teeth and tongue had taken several times over the three days, how many times I'd pushed her arching writhing body down, pinning her with my own. Knew that on her back a similar smatter of coloured marks followed, knew she'd feel the ache even after her heat.

I reach for a spare pillow, watching as her eyes follow my movements as I draw it under her head, so it lies tilted at an angle, eyes fluttering at my fingers rubbing slow circles to her glands, pressing down and hearing her breath shudder as I put pressure on claimed swollen glands, prominent at the curve of her throat.

I press a soft kiss to her lips, unhurried and lazily taking my time as I part her mouth under mine, tongue sweeping in deep licks, curling around hers, swallowing down every small breath and groaned sound as her body moves to shift restlessly, antsy at the slow pace.

"Stop moving pretty fawn, can't you keep still?" I murmur, mouthing at her jaw, pressing a trail of kisses down to her collarbones, teeth scraping at fresh marks, nipping just to hear the startled cry tear out her throat.

She wriggles under me, leg curling around my calf to hook herself to me, to try drag me down, eyes pooling with need as she looks at me. 

"Need to be tied down?" I drawl, eyes searching the room for the package.

"Bottom drawer. It's in the bottom drawer." She says, voice wavering.

I unfurl from over her, stepping away to rifle through the drawer she's watching me open, lips quirking wide at the toy and lingerie. Pushing them aside and reaching triumphantly for peach coloured satin ribbons. Streams of peach dangling from my fingers as I clamber onto the bed, the soft fabric teasing at her skin and making her body tighten with anticipation, locking up as I brush the satin over the valley of her breasts.

"Trussed up like my pretty gift. I'll take my time. Promise." I say.

Fingers looping around her wrists and drawing them up, clutching them as I tilt my head.

"Behind you, in front? Bound to the headboard?" I ask.

"Whatever... whatever you want SJ. But do your worst." She challenges, scent steadily climbing, growing stronger when I grip her wrists and wind peach coloured satin around them, binding them in front of her.

My hands slide down her thighs, gripping at her calves as I wrench her legs apart, settling between them and kneading at the softness, reaching for the ribbons, lips curved with wicked promise as I hover over her, head bent towards her.

Oh I will.

And when a long time later, minutes and hours blurring together, she's shaking and crying out, writhing against the bounds, pushing and pleading for more, eyes glassy with tears and pupils blown out with pleasure, pheromones enticing and calling and pleading to be bred I don't stop, the small low buzz of the toy merging with her shaky pleas as she twists, trying to escape the pleasure. My fingers brush over teary cheeks, lips grounding and firm against hers, her bound hands pushing at my chest, fingers scratching and scrabbling for purchase.

"You wanted more. Come on sweet thing... come apart for me." I whisper, leaning down when her bound hands curl around my nape, tethering me to her as she shakes, mouthing messily at my shoulder.

My finger toys with the remote, eyes searching hers for any hesitance, for a tartness to her scent that'll give away if it's too much. But her skin is clammy and her touch is feverish, tugging me closer even as her chest pushes up, arching as a loud cry tears out when I push the setting up, her body jolting against mine.

"Close.... So, so close..." she whimpers.

My hand trails up and down her back, hand settling low down as I keep her gathered to me.

"Give in (Y/N)... give in to the feeling." I murmur, teeth scraping at her ear, twisting the setting higher for one notch and with a choked moan she's falling apart, muffling the sound against my shoulder as she goes taut, the flutter of her eyelashes as she clenches her eyes shut ghosting along skin, hiding her face there. Covered and caged under me, by me.

My fingers dial the setting down, easing her off the thrum between her legs, leaning back to thumb at the tears that have slipped free, cupping her cheek and watching her tiredly lean into it, slumping into the touch as she comes down from her high. Her scent doesn't calm though, feverishly wanton and needing even as she tries to get her breathing under control, drawing in deep shuddering lungfuls of air, peach and anise swirling and intertwined into a head thick layer of smog.

She pants as her head sinks back into the pillow, blinking hazily at me as she holds out her bound hands for me, hands flopping to the side once I unravel them, rubbing circles to her small wrist glands and pressing a smatter of soft kisses to them, legs sinking limply onto the bed once I've undone the binds, rubbing at the tension in her calves.

"You're impossible... stupidly, wonderfully impossible." She gasps out, fingers trembling as her legs jitter, pushing at the sheets as she tries to calm down.

"That's why you love this~" I trill, thumbs rubbing circles into her hips, knowing how much she was still deeply in the throes of her cycle, knowing it would spike in mere minutes at most.

Her cycles kept fluctuating, kept pushing and raring far too often and far too easily no matter how much I drew out the pleasure to keep her satiated for longer. The cycles were lasting longer too and I knew it was because of the way she'd been thrown and pushed into pre-heat, dominated and pinned and then left.

Her biology was pushing and pushing for that dominance, for that control and for that care that she hadn't gotten from Jimin. Her instincts were pushing her to submit and breed and be taken because they were to trying to assert and reassure themselves that she wasn't rejected, that she had someone to tend to her.

And when a pained needy call of my name has my head turning to her, body twisting from where it's curled beside her, I easily reach for her, turning her to her side, hand rubbing up and down the dip of her waist and the flare of her hips. intending to be thorough and slow, to help her reach her peak of her cycle and her pleasure and to get her to eat afterwards. To rehydrate too.

My hips slide slowly against hers, groaning at the impatient push against me as her hips thrust back, thrusting in deep and slow, unhurried.

Slow and deep.

But with the way she whines for me, eyes pleadingly boring into mine, my own instincts snap; pushing to breed, breed. Over and over, hips thrusting and rolling harshly and deeply into hers.

Lost to that consuming wave that only abated to rear its head stronger and fiercer than before, the scent of arousal heady and thick in the air, peach seeping out to claim the floral syrupy sweetness. The air clings onto the sugariness of our scents, swirling around us in an intoxicating mix that makes me want and want.

And with each tug of her body against mine, with her hands roving and clawing at my back, eyes trusting and giving even when swallowed whole by ecstasy, my biology knows as I curl over her, protectively and possessively caving her in. That she's mine to look after and tend to, just like I'm hers.

A connection tethering us, binding us, years of love and friendship allowing us this deep intimacy.

And just as she loses herself in me, I drown myself in her.

(Y/N) POV:

There's a mind numbing haze that my body seems drenched in, struggling to push past the ever growing cloud of peach and anise that curls around me, tugs me into its warm heady embrace and sinks deep into skin.

My body thrums with pleasure, every nerve cell alight with the sensation even as my body sinks down into the bed, hyperconscious of every touch as he  slowly eases me down, draws me back to him and keeps me anchored, arm curled around my waist, slung across and the sound of quick shallow breaths as SJ's body comes to sink beside mine.

"You've never had such intense cycles before. It makes me wonder if I was missing out before." He murmurs, voice a low rasped drawl that has my skin prickling, scorched with the low gravelly tone, unconsciously relaxing and responding to the natural dominance of the tone.

Under the thick cloud of peach and anise, under the pheromonal burst of arousal and want, under that constant haze that lingered in my mind, there was this deeply rooted insecurity that I'd been rejected. I knew the logic, the reasoning  even as my eyes swam with pleasure and my body went taut then loose, curling now into a sweaty embrace, my hand curling around his nape to stretch out to press a kiss to his lips, fingers carding through hair. It just stung deep down, uprooted and unsettled my biology.

"I've never seen such a rut in you buck. It's making me wonder if you were going easy on me this entire time." I echo, still feeling the weight of his hands gripping me, still feeling the phantom sensation of pleasure making my body curl and arch, tugged apart over and over for him, melting under him, his hands, lips, mouth... every bit of his body so attuned to my own. 

"Oh sweets... you know I give until you can't take... you're hungry for more." He teases, a stretch of silence winding around us as we hold each other, pressed together despite how the slight stickiness becomes uncomfortable, until he's tugging away eventually with an apologetic frown and clambering to his legs, searching for clothes to tug on. 

"I need to get you a clean damp towel... and some food, I don't doubt you've burned through dinner." He murmurs, voice gravelly and tinged with fatigue but eyes clear as they meet mine, tugging on a shirt as he leans over to press a quick kiss to my hair, a light rub to the back of my ears before he's stepping away, with a promise to be back when he sees and senses the hesitance in my eyes. I didn't want to be left alone, didn't want him to go for food and not come back. I didn't want a repeat of what happened with Minnie in pre-heat even if I'd long accepted the reason I'm and put my mind to rest. I just couldn't quieten the way my instincts felt jittery as I watched SH step through the door, clicking it shut quietly behind him.

I slump back against the pillows, eyes fixed on the ceiling, hands curling around a pillow to compensate for the loss of his warmth and presence, fingers clutching at it tightly.

Exhaustion curls around the sides of my vision, seeping in with heavy waves, coaxing my eyes to flutter, a weight settling on them that makes opening them back up laborious. My body relaxes under the weight of peach scent and sharp powerful pheromones still claiming me, still holding me, settling into the bed. There's a soft, soft smidgen of scent in the pillow that's sweet mint, a weak thin trails of his scent that remains, even under the heavy cloud that's taken over the room since my heat's hit. Mint that's rich and fresh and soothing. A scent that reminds me of a soft swishy tail and a weight gently pinning me down. It reminds me of an arm around me and body pressing to mine. And it tugs me to sleep, beckons me, reels me into warm darkness that coffins and protects as my eyes drift shut.

I stir slightly at the sound of low voices, head twisting to turn away from the sound, body shifting on the bed as I burrow my face against the pillow, curling away from it. The sound quietens, hushes and soft light footsteps approach, the bed dipping as the scent of peach returns.

I tilt into the touch of fingers rubbing at the back of my ear, mind groggy and still too sleepy to blink open my eyes, following the gentle nudge to lie on my back as hands carefully and slowly clean me up, a lukewarm towel that dabs at heated skin, gentle strokes and touches that are soothing and soft enough to let me sink back into the haze of sleep again.

But the hand gently nudges me, tries to stir me awake.

"(Y/N)... wake up for me sweetheart, you need to eat." SJ urges, thumb rubbing back and forth over the curve of my shoulder.

"Tired... don't want to." I mumble, face hidden into the pillow as I curl away.

"Little doe you know you need to eat. Neither of us know when the next cycle could hit." He says softly.

I groan at his light touch, when twisting away makes a dull throb flare in my hips.

His hand trails down to rest on my waist, fingers long and panning out to curl against skin, peach softening and sweetening as he leans forward.

"I've had one fussy black swan and another antsy panther help make up a tray for you. And the kit looked so worried, I don't think he'll be happy to know that his sweet fawn won't eat. All sharp stinging citrus." He whispers.

My scent spikes. Turning soft and fond and giddy, head turning to face him, blinking my eyes open sluggishly as I peer up at him, even in this hazy tired state noticing the curved pleased smirk on his lips.

"Yoongi and Jinnie?" I ask, words slurred as I slowly lift my head off the pillow.

His gaze is knowing and pleased even as he carefully helps me up, gesturing to the full trays with a tilt of his head.

"Make sure she eats. There's pain medication and salve if she needs it." He echoes their words, twisting back to pluck up a tin, waving it in front of me.

It's a small gesture, thoughtful and sweet, it shouldn't make me feel this way but my eyes sting traitorously and I sniffle as I reach for it, fingers curling around it as I straighten up, leaning against SJ as he helps me sit up.

"Happy emotional tears?" he guesses as he leans against the bed, arms held out for me.

I nod, reaching for him, carefully clambering onto his lap, head pressed against his shoulder as I peer at the tin, clutching it to me.

"They care a lot." I mumble.

His lips press to my temple.

"They do, even the fussy fox I can hear growling and hissing. So do the other felines and the shy bun who's crowded by the protective alpha. Quite the pack." He murmurs, reaching for the tray.

"They're a good pack." I mumble, begrudgingly opening my mouth when a spoon nudges at it.

"And when the time comes... when the time comes I know you and your foxy will make a beautiful pair and that's not the only thing..." he says assuredly, leaning in to whisper, breath ghosting along my ears that flicker at the soft sensation, squirming on his lap and cheeks pinkening even as my eyes sting, nestling more securely against him. 

"You really think so?" I mumble, fingers curling into his shirt even as I nudge at him to eat, content to relax against him, breathing in his saccharine scent.

He hums in confirmation. And when we're done eating, he eases me against him, body splayed on top of his as he curls his hands around me, resting lightly on my back.

"Now rest little fawn." He soothes, light scent marks that brush against me as he noses at my temple, body relaxing and going loose at the familiar comfort.

Rest.

My hand remains curled around the tin of salve, clutching at it even as I fall back asleep.

-------

Heat prickles at my skin, sharp and throbbing, leaving a trail of sparks that burn and sting as my back arches, trying to push away from the pain. A small, muffled whimper slipping out of my throat as I blindly push to escape the pair of arms holding me, sweat beading at my temples.

Pain lances my body as I twist, breathing heavy as I scrabble to move away, ears flickering with sensitivity and legs jittering violently, trembling as pure, fiery need swamps my body; drowns it in excruciating painful want.

It's disorienting, the room shrouded in darkness and I blink slowly, trying to get the room to focus, pushing to get away from the source of sharp heat from under me, panting as my back bows, skin feeling as if stretched taut over my bones, feeling caged and confined within myself.

It felt like my mind was trudging through syrupy sweet sticky molasses, the sweetness clinging to my skin, heavy and cloying on my tongue, body responding slowly and swaying as I tried to part my lips to call out, to try form words coherently.

My arms slip, sliding off a warm torso and my face drops forward, shaking as I try to clutch at the body under me, fingers shaking as I clutch at skin.

"Seo Jun..... Seo Jun please." I whimper, body clammy and shaky as I push at his shoulders, head swimming with pain-laced want.

"Please please..." I cry as my head falls forward, mouthing at his skin, shifting restlessly and crying out the jolt of pain that thrums through my legs, hips aching and feeling empty, breaths ragged.

He stirs under me, soft peach scent spiking with alarm, pheromones jolting as his hands steady me, eyes sharpening as they turn focused, body straightening as he peers up at me, pupils dilating when his nose flares, sensing the steady sweet rivulets of anise that pulse out.

Plead and call to him.

"I've got you... it's okay I've got you." he murmurs, hands all at once firm and fierce and steadying as he eases me off him and onto the bed, hand reaching out to turn the side lamp on. A dull glow illuminates the room and when I twist my head, hands fumbling and searching for him, a shaky sigh of relief when his fingers curl around my wrists and his head lowers over the nape of my neck, antlers rubbing and lips scenting feverishly my skin. His body hovers over mine, a cage that his arms make as they clutch my hands, pinning them to the mattress on either side of me, lips trailing low, teeth scraping.

"SJ please... please... I need..." I gasp out, pushing at the restraint of his hands, body pushing to rise off the mattress, pushing against his weight pinning me down, fingers tightening and the push of his hips grounding down against mine. 

"I'll give you what you need." He rasps out, voice rough with sleep even if they're coherent and sharp, demanding and pushing. Knowing without asking what my body was tugging for, what I was pleading for.

My head bows forward at that, baring my nape in submission, rewarded by the harsh pinch of teeth at skin, clamping down and tugging, tongue flicking.

"Need you... need, need..." I shudder out, fingers curling and uncurling as I try to twist them free.

He doesn't push for an answer, continuing his slow drag of mouth across my skin, trailing lower, mapping out the curve of my spine, knee worming between my thighs to push them apart. My breaths are muffled against the pillow, head twisting to peer at him, instincts giving in to the carnal want that pools in heady sharp eyes, twisting and tilting my face up to mouth at his jaw, closing around his scent gland and teeth nipping. Rewarded with a low grunt as his hips thrust forward, arousal pooling in my abdomen at the grunt and the friction.

"Need you. Need you now." I cry out, head swimming with heady pheromones, with his own arousal and desire pushing and fuelling my own. A sharpness to his growl as he drags my thighs apart, hands gripping tightly at them to keep me splayed for him. Ny now free hands tremble, fisting into the sheets as I push myself up right, tightly curling when his hands trail inwards, gripping at flesh and moving to the apex of my thighs.

He draws out cries out, arms shaking with the struggle to keep myself upright, other hand pushing at the low of my back in an instinctual gesture to get me to submit. His fingers curl around my nape, brushing against my gland in a tight press of nails that has my arms buckling, body falling forward onto the sheets.

My hips push back against his movements, torso pressed against warm sheets as he drags my hips up, body leaning over mine as he rolls his hips flush with mine, breathing heavily as we both shake at the sensation of fullness, bucking back involuntarily.

"Head down sweet thing." He gasps out, thrusting his hips against mine, a sharp snap that puts me flush to him again, biting down on my lip at the slam, at the way pleasure hot-white and intoxicating leeches at the pain and replaces it, head swimming with the heady haze of heat and rut pheromones mingling and intertwining.

My back arches as I push my hips back, head falling forward and fingers clutching weakly and scrabbling for purchase, the dim glow of the room making his body a shadowed figure that curls behind him, drags me back to meet each thrust with a shaky roll of my hips against him, his voice a low rough litany of words, mouthing at skin and hands pinning me down.

"Seo... Jun... please I..." I whimper, body trembling and shuddering as I come down from one high only to be incessantly pushed to the next, body craving and arching and pushing for it, head swimming with the need to be bred, going taut against him as he drags me upright, arms curled around me to keep me anchored and unable to move against every deep unhurried roll, hand splayed across my abdomen.

"Tell me (Y/N)... I'll please you over and over again." He croons.

My hand clutches at his forearm, unsure whether I want to push him closer, to ground back against him or whether I want to pull away, the pleasure a constant thrum that makes my body ache and want, head clouded and steeped with heat.

"Make me..." I shudder out.

His arm tightens, scent spiking with interest.

"Make you what?" he questions.

My nails dig into skin, trying to ground myself as my abdomen tightens, body going taut against him and his incessant drag of hips against mine.

"Make me take." I shakily get out.

The next slam of his hips against mine has my eyes clenching shut and my body giving in to the wave of pleasure, trembling against him, supported by him as he holds me through it, body sagging as it slumps and tries to fall forward.

His hands don't let up though.

"You asked to be made to take. So take." Is the guttural growled words at my ears before his mouth drifts low to close around my gland.

Coaxing out anise over and over for him.

-------

Coherency comes and goes. The feeling of being tethered to awareness, conscious and alert slips in and out of reach. SJ stays. SJ is the constant that remains when blinding need remains and my body thrashes for relief and pleasure. He's there when pain splinters in and my body can't move, sobs muffled against his skin and gently cradled by him. He's there in soothing touches and gentle hands wiping me down or carefully scooping me to help me wash up under the spray of the shower. He's there to draw soft worn shirts over me. 

He's there even when his body twists away to walk to the door, there to feed me and there bringing water to my lips when my body slumps with exhaustion against him. He's there with hooded eyes blown out with pleasure as he watches me writhe against bounds, a buzzing drowned out by pleading sobs as he reaches pleasure watching me shake and cry out for him.

He's there bracketing the door, protectively blocking me out of sight as he talks to whoever's on the other end, peach batting and pushing against the scents on the other side of the room's threshold. He's there voice low and seeping out into the room, instinctively relaxing my body even as I hazily blink at him. He's there holding me as another low voice fills my ears, drifting off to sleep to Yoongi's voice filtering out as SJ eased knots and pains out of my body, rubbing salve and massaging it into my skin.

SJ was there.

SJ was there, leeching away the memory of the last heat and replacing it with this constant inferno that grew hotter and burned, seeped into my skin and lay a claim thick and deep. SJ was there banishing moments of insecurity and hurt. SJ was there overwhelming my senses with peach; so intimately familiar to me, body responding to his pheromones spike alone.

He was there holding me, he was there brushing hair away from my face. He was there with cruel smirks and a possessive hand curled around my gland, lips grazing to leave newer marks, blooming petals of purple and red to burst across my skin. He was there to press tender soft kisses to them afterwards.

And he was there when coherency finally filled me, eyes clearer as they settled on his sleeping body, mind void of that biological want driving and pushing every gesture. His own body's littered with marks, red lines that nails have left and teeth marks that have left purpling marks on his shoulders and throat. I know that under the sheet are more hidden marks, where I'd hovered over him and mouthed at his skin, pushing him down as I straddled him.

He's there, asleep and cheek smushed against the pillow, antlers tall and proud and body bare. He's there, comfort and home and safe, safe security and familiarity, arm slung loosely over mine. And when I shift legs brushing against his he stirs, mumbling incoherently but hand tightening protectively.

He's there leaning forward with a sleepy smile and nuzzle as he scents my cheek and jaw, pressing a soft kiss there.

"Heat's broken." He mumbles, nosing at skin.

I hum, tilting into the touch, fingers drifting slowly over his antlers before carding through mussed tousled hair, nails trailing over the nape of his neck as I straighten the strands of hair there.

"Rut's satiated." I reply.

"Bath?" he asks, a yawn muffled against the pillow before he turns to nuzzle back against my palm, a slow smile on his face.

I smile back at him, satiated and satisfied even as my body aches with a week's worth of touch and pleasure.

"Thought you'd never ask."

(THERE'S A WRAP ON THE HEAT CHAPTER! AND WHEW... I MAY HAVE GOTTEN JUST THE TINIEST BIT CARRIED AWAY IN WRITING THE STEAM BUT LIKE I'VE SAID BEFORE THIS BOOK IS MATURE, MATURE + SO READERS YOUNG OR UNCOMFORTABLE PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SKIP OR STOP READING! Midiiplier HOW WAS IT?? HOW WAS THE REVEAL?? AND YES SJ IS SHORT FOR SEO JUN WHO IS MY BEAUTIFUL, CHERISHED BABY FROM TRUE BEAUTY- HE IS JUST *SIGH* PERFECT AND THE ONLY CHOICE I WANTED FOR HER HEAT PARTNER... HE'S COCKY, SMIRKY AND CONFIDENT AND I JUST *SWOON* LOVE LOVE HIM! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE ALL YOUR REACTIONS AND ALL YOUR THOUGHTS FOR SJ AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE HEAT!! HOW WAS IT TO READ?? AND HOW'D YOU LIKE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN SJ AND MINNIE?? DID I DO OUR CHATS AND YOUR MIND JUSTICE Midiiplier LOVE?? LET ME KNOW LOVES! HOPE YOU ENOYED! TAKE CARE, STAY SAFE!)

QUESTION... SJ REVEAL! THOUGHTS?

Mine is... JUST SO GIDDY TO FINALLY REVEAL HIM!

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3