This story was so hard to write. I didn't have as much fun as I should have. But you made it worth it. Don't ever think that I don't read every comment, thank you for every vote and am thankful for all of the reads, silent or not because I am.

I got so much love from you guys while writing this. So many uplifting comments and support that made my day. You kept me going, inspired me to continue and made me feel like a much better story teller than I am.

I don't feel like thank you is enough to convey my gratitude, but...Thank you all so much for everything. Stay gold 💜

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Two Years Later
‪September 1st‬
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Hand in hand, Y/n and Jimin walked down the hallway of the columbarium. Along the walls there were niche's in simple linear designs. In them, past the glass panels sat urns containing the ashes of loved ones. It appeared they were alone here in this place, as they met no one else along the way and the only sounds reaching their ears were the ones their shoes made on the marble tiles.

This was the first occasion she had come here and the thought had her pinching her lips in nervousness. Jimin was irregularly quiet from where he walked to next her, a somber frown on his face that she hated to see him wear.

When they drew to a halt she looked to the niche directly in front of them. On the other side of the glass window sat an aged photo of three people she recognized. A younger Jimin and his parents. Next to that sat a rose colored urn with the words, 'It's awfully dark in here' printed on it.

"She had a very dry sense of humor." The corner's of Jimin's lips quirked. "Hi mom. I told you I'd bring my mate to see you one day. I'm sorry it took so long. But here she is. This is Y/n. Isn't she cute?"

Was her hair ok? Was this dress suitable for the occasion? Although Jimin's mom wasn't here on earth anymore, she liked to think that maybe she was somewhere watching. Hopefully, she would approve of her. To show respect, she bowed to her future mother in law before introducing herself.

"Hello, I'm Yoon Y/n. Jimin is my soulmate." she glanced to her left and he motioned for her to keep going. "I think...when it comes to soulmates, I got the best one. He loves me, and he protects me, he listens to me when I ramble about nonsense and he always makes me feel wanted. I say all that so you can know what a phenomenal job you did raising him. Thank you for that."

At the end of the impromptu speech she looked to Jimin and shyly tucked her hair behind her ear. His eyes automatically shot to the ear, pride and the most pure form of elation hit every time he saw where he had laid his mark. One small piercing on her right earlobe seemed small when in comparison to the feeling it had evoked. Their connection, that Wolfy had once described as a river, was now overlaid with a bridge made of an indestructible substance. It's foundation was many meters deep and the waters surrounding it were warm and welcoming.

As a human, she did not experience some of the same instincts as he did. That did not mean that her end of the connection was felt in any less capacity than his. The mark on her ear ensured that she did feel the affects of the mate bond. She felt what he felt. She knew how much he truly did love her. With no wolf of her own she couldn't directly talk to Wolfy, but she could feel him. Understood his emotions. Knew how obsessed he was with everything she did.

Even if she wasn't a werewolf herself, she still felt the need to mark him somehow. So she asked him to marry her. Beating Jimin to the punch once again. He was surprised and pleased and instantly accepted the proposal. But also felt some serious competition. Why did she always do things before he got the chance to?

What he perceived to be the sting of the 'lost competition' was somewhat appeased when she gave him a ring and said that he wasn't allowed to take it off. That was her mark on him. It wasn't like she could take his off her ear. This was fair game and he was a willing participant. 

No wedding had been set thus far. Which drove Y/n's mother crazy because she was more than ready to become a grandma.

Over the past two years many things had changed.

Y/n was still shy. There was no changing that she would always be an introvert. The difference now was that her social anxiety and depression was under control. Not erased. Things like that don't leave so easily. But they were under her control. She didn't face the same issues as she once had.

When walking into a crowded restaurant she didn't think that everyone was looking at and judging her. On bad days her mind didn't jump to the worst possible conclusion. That nobody loved her, she was alone, was worthless. It never occurred to her anymore to blurt out random scientific facts to prevent an anxiety attack. Mainly because she didn't have them.

No longer were oversized clothes all she would wear. It took a while, but she eventually switched to a wardrobe more suitable to her size. A change that Jimin hadn't been very happy about, was when she cut her hair. All of it until it was a short bob. Since then it had grown a few centimeters past her shoulders.

The Yoon family had saved up enough to move out of the apartment to settle into a smaller house that coincidentally turned out to be in the same neighborhood that Kitty lived in with her dads. It was smaller, but that was doable now that Seo-Joon had moved into the dorms housed at his university. Because of his love for all things automobiles he had taken to buying old junk cars and refurbishing them. This earned him a sizable income that helped to provide for himself.

Rosie has started preschool and made friends with every kid in her class. It had taken her some time to fully become attached to Jimin (who she now pronounced as Jimshin). What had finally made them click was when he revealed that he loved ballet too.

It was the beginning of a healthy brother/sister relationship. Teaching her all the different styles, how important it was to stretch beforehand, showing her his own talents in the sport. Y/n could honestly say that she was a bit jealous. Not of Rosie but of Jimin. He was taking her favorite person away. Though there was no need, as it was clear that Rosie's unnie would forever remain her true loves darling.

That wasn't the only younger sibling she had of course. Baek Hyeon and Nari had remained in their lives. What had started as a divorce, abandonment and unfortunate circumstance, ended in the melding of two families. Mrs Yoon and Nari has become fast friends when Y/n's mother had tried to convert her to...every religion under the sun and the younger woman found her wacky behavior to be weirdly endearing. It was rare for a day to go by without the two families seeing one another. 

Lastly, the relationship between Y/n and her real dad, the father that had been there for her for years, was mended. The day she hugged him and finally said those three words he had yet to hear from his eldest daughter, he had cried like little boy. This in turn brought Y/n to tears. Which had her mom tearing up. Rosie began wailing even though she had no idea why anyone was crying in the first place. Even Seo-Joon had sniffled a little.

It was a disgustingly beautiful family bonding moment. One they would never speak about again because, collectively, and without a word to one another, were all in agreement that that was hella embarrassing.

Since that day two years ago when Hyuna had hit him with a car (an accident she had found out. In his anger over not gouging any money from her, he had walked into the street without looking), there had been no sign of him. No calls. No letters. He was gone, just as he had been years before. Shortly after he left, Y/n had sent him a lengthy text message saying everything that she ever had to say. It was read. No reply.

And she was at peace with that. Her heart would never truly forget the pain he had caused. Not ever. But she was mature enough now to understand that sometimes, adults didn't do the right thing. Maybe he had a reason for doing what he did. Twice. Maybe he was running away from his own personal demons. Whatever the reason, she would wait for him. If there ever came a day when he was willing to sit down and explain it all, she would sit with him and listen. She made sure to tell him that in the last message she had ever sent him before deleting his contact information.

Hyuna had struggled after the successful kidney transplant. It wasn't an easy or painless procedure by anyone's standards. At one point the doctors feared that her body would reject the new kidney. That had been the scariest part for everyone who cared for her. Apart from Hyuna who cursed 'that fuckin' nerd' for 'killin me faster than a rat shits turds'.

Ever the elegant one, Hyuna was.

After a particularly bad night of high temperatures and copious amounts of vomit, her body had miraculously pulled through. It was a mystery that none of the medical personnel could answer. A Christian herself, Hyuna had shrugged it off and said, "it was probably Jesus fuckin' with me for not going to church enough."

But Y/n still wondered...

Jackson and her best friend had dated briefly before separating. Lately he had become well known around his university for throwing the best house parties. Every now and then he would call Y/n and they would converse like old friends.

A year after her life saving transplant, Hyuna had met someone else. His name was Hyo-jong but she had affectionately introduced him as 'Dawn'. That day Hyuna  had turned into anther person. Y/n looked on in wonder as her friend did things like giggle behind a hand covering her mouth and blushing. Hyuna had actually blushed. What was the world coming to?

Jin had taken a break before his last year of schooling to go ahead and enlist for his mandatory military duties. Six months was all the time that remained until he came back.

The others would have starved to death if Yoongi hadn't stepped in. Out of nowhere he revealed that he was master level chef for years and had chosen to keep that tidbit of information to hisself. Of course, he wasn't a saint and felt the need to remind them of that. For the older men, it was ₩10,000 per meal. For Jungkook, the precious, innocent baby of the group, it was free.

Speaking of the innocent baby Jungkook, who had just turned 18, a lot had changed when it concerned him. Since he had been dropped on the door step of a pack member's house and left there as a baby, the identity of his parents were unknown. However one thing had become clear in the last year and a half.

The constant need to exercise and huge bursts of energy. How his wolf did not want to be confined during full moons. The mood swings that seemed more intense than most. The way he ate and ate but never seemed to have enough food.

Jungkook wasn't just a growing teenager. He was an alpha wolf.

In hindsight, they should have considered that a possibility. That way he would have been trained from a young age on control. Too late for that. Four times a week was reserved for private lessons with Hoseok's father, but he was still struggling with it.

Another factor of being an alpha was that two in a household at once could be difficult. They were too territorial and felt threatened by a wolf of similar stature. It was the reason Hoseok lived with his friends rather than his parents.

Also the reason that he, as the older of the two, offered to move out of Namjoon's and get his own place. But in the end, Jungkook had been to one to leave, along with his cat, Bunny, because he would wake up at random times of the night to exercise, shift and eat everything in sight. Now he resided in a small cottage that was still within eyesight of Namjoon's house.

Today was a special day. Not only was it Jungkook's birthday. Today was the last chance they would get to see Yoongi for a long time...until they went to visit him at least. He had signed up for his military service as well and was set to leave later that afternoon. 

When Jimin and Y/n arrived at Namjoon's house to send him off, everyone, with the exception of Jungkook and of course Jin, were already there.

Jimin snorted at the sight of Yoongi with a buzz cut.

"Laugh it up, dickhead. You're next." The older man replied in a flat tone.

Realizing that he was right, Jimin turned to his mate with a panicked look. "How am I gonna last that long without you??? Whose going to kiss me for all those days?!?"

"You can ask your drill sergeant to." She pointed out softly. Yoongi laughed at his friend's expense.

"Somehow, I don't think it'll be the same." Jimin replied solemnly. When Namjoon called Yoongi into the next room and they were alone, he stuck out his lip and told her quietly, "Wolfy wants me to commit fraud and pretend we're inured to get out of it."

"Wolfy!" Y/n tried to sound stern but ended up laughing. "Wolfy is strong, I know he can make it. But you..." She trailed off, genuinely worried.

Jimin was still as clingy as he'd ever been. And since marking her, she had become just as bad. Not only with him, but Wolfy as well. Occasionally he would shift and together would go for walks in the forest surrounding the pack grounds. They would play hide and seek (he always managed to sniff her out), and he would show off how fast and quiet he could run. Once he showed her a rabbit den, and all the baby bunnies sleeping inside.

There was one thing that they had never done though, and the thought had just now struck her.

Gasping, she grabbed his arm and asked excitedly, "Jimin, can I ride you???"

Zero point two seconds after that came out of her mouth she knew how wrong it sounded.

A pink tongue darted out to wet his lips as a hand ran through his hair. His eyes had taken on a flirtatious look as he smirked down at her. "Baby, you can ride me whenever you want."

"That's not—" she spluttered, blushing hotly as he crept closer. Feeling like it was an appropriate moment for self defense, she began slapping at his shoulder repeatedly. "That's not what I meant and you know it!!"

"Ow, ow!" He feigned being in pain, something Wolfy found to be funny considering her fists felt like she was hitting him with socks. "Ok, alright, I'm sorry."

With a huff she stormed off. Grinning, Jimin ran to catch up and caught her in a back hug that made it difficult for the both of them to walk into the living room together, but they managed.

Namjoon was sat on the sofa with his head in hands, contemplating and dreading next year when it would be his turn to go. Kitty sat next to him with four cats surrounding them and seemed to be struggling between whether she should be petting the cute animals or comforting her mate.

Yoongi stood by the mantel and was fighting off Taehyung who was attempting to hug him.

"C'mon, hyung, just one-" he charged for Yoongi, who slammed his hands on his chest and shoved him away.

"No! Get away from me!" But he was smiling while fighting. "Don't touch me!"

"I love you!" Taehyung faked to the left and then dived for his hyung, finally managing to hug him while they fell into the wall together.

"GET OFF ME!"

Hoseok entered the room at that moment with red rimmed eyes, his lips pursed tightly into a triangle shape. Y/n attempted to move towards him, the intention being to give him a hug, but Jimin's arms were locked around her tighter than a cobra.

It appeared that Yoongi's thoughts were in alignment with her own as he escaped Taehyung's grabby hands and rushed to his best friend's side.

"Save me!" He jumped behind Hoseok to use him as a shield from the persistent Taehyung. That had Hobi smiling, standing there between them as they grappled back and forth.

"Wait!" Kitty yelled quite suddenly, startling all of them. "What about Lil Meow Meow???" She asked about Yoongi's pet cat, who he commonly referred to as his 'baby girl'.

With a saddened look to his eyes, Yoongi motioned towards the hallway. "I put her in the bathroom for now since I moved everything out of my apartment." He continued speaking and refrained from asking Kitty why she was conspicuously shuffling closer to the bathroom. "I thought of bringing her here while I'm gone since this was her first home-"

"Ahuh, Yeah." Kitty nonchalantly moved closer to the hallway.

"But then there's the fact that all of the other cats here are lame as fuck. My baby girl is built different. She deserves better. That's why...I only trust one person to really take care of her for me while I'm gone."

"YES?" Namjoon's mate forgot about getting to the hidden cat and was hanging on to every word now.

"And that person is-"

"AND THAT PERSON IS??" She stood up straight and proud, ready to take on a truck full of cats if anyone asked her to.

"Not you. I want Red to take her."

"Noooo!"

"Really?!?"

Both girls spoke at once. One devastated and the other ecstatic. Red was the name Jimin's pack mates had settled on calling Y/n. They all claimed she had too many nicknames and decided on Red because of how often she turned that color.

"Yeah, if you can." Yoongi mumbled nervously as his hand came up to rub at the back of his head. "Jimin said that you love animals but you don't have any at your house. And that your family was considering getting a pet. Lil Meow Meow hates other animals—that's why it can't be you, Kitty—and I thought that maybe your family could use the opportunity as a test run to see if you really want to get a pet." He paused as he gauged her reaction. "If you can't, that's alright. I'll figure it out-"

"Of course I'll take her!" She exclaimed before he could get the wrong idea. Their family had been thinking of getting a dog, but this wasn't an unwelcome option. Besides that, Yoongi was right. This could be an opportunity for them to see if adopting a fur baby was something they were really ready for. "I would love that, thank...you...Yoongi..."

Her words slowed down and came to an abrupt halt as something outside of the window caught her attention. In the background, Hoseok's phone began ringing but she ignored it in favor of squinting at the sight she had been met with.

"Jungkook is naked." She pointed out matter-of-factly as her brain attempted to comprehend what she was actually seeing.

A very naked Jungkook strolling into his house with what appeared to be a person hanging over his shoulder.

Everyone ran over to see what was happening, Taehyung being a bit too fast to not be sus. But they all missed it because he had disappeared into his house before they got there. Had Y/n imagined it?

No.

Hoseok ended his phone conversation with a tap to the screen and a tired sigh. "Kook alert. We've got a problem on our hands."

—
Edited 9/29/22