It's been three days. Three days, and Yoongi's heat has only just ended.

Lailah's been watching, and waiting, for that sour mood she'd originally been wary of. It doesn't come. There are no whispered words of affection either, but this was never a possibility that Lailah had imagined in the first place. She's not disappointed. At least, that's what she tells herself.

As a point of fact, Yoongi's manner does change slightly. Certainly Lailah feels as if he might seem a little... softer, perhaps around the edges. He is still, however, silent and taciturn.

At least with his heat behind him, there might be a chance that they can actually get to work. While waiting for Yoongi to wake, she'd lost her chance to steal into the manor. Lailah is certain both Yoongi and Jin must have thought her a fool and reckless to boot. But she truly did have a plan. Jeremiah Vale was supposed to be out; a night of opera according to her sources. But she simply could not bear to leave whilst Yoongi had been in such a state. In the end, he got his way.

Sore, most likely thanks in no small part to the panther hybrid reclining upon the mattress just behind her, Lailah fumbles with the laces on her boots.

"Where are you going?"

Yoongi's voice is quiet, and lacks the usual venom. He curls behind his mate and looks up at her through those long, coal colored lashes; Lailah resolves not to be affected by the warmth in those feline eyes.

"I need to check in with Jin, " she murmurs. "And then I'll probably head topside to check in with one of my contacts."

Yoongi scowls at the mention of the fox hybrid, then shuffles into a sitting position beside Lailah. He slinks from the bed; Lailah tries not to watch the way his muscles, lithe though he may be, shift and ripple beneath surface of his cream-colored skin. She turns away as he shimmies into his pants, choosing to focus instead upon a crack in the wall. Her laces tied, she could just as easily rise and leave without him. But Lailah knows the line that Yoongi has drawn, and is far too weary to fight him on it.

At least, that's what she tells herself.

But as he holds one of his hands out for her, Lailah curses inwardly. The truth is that she wants this, no matter how conflicted she might feel about it. Resolving to deal with it as it comes, she takes his hand, and he pulls her up with barely any effort at all.

"Illara should be waiting for a team to gather the medical supplies, but we've yet to hear from the grocer down on Smitt's Avenue. Food supplies are running short, we've got maybe a week left before we run out entirely."

Lailah nods, attempting to ignore the arm around her waist as she listens to Seokjin. Yoongi absolutely refuses to allow her out of his sight, and the second another male so much as looks at Lailah, he is quick with a strategic touch and a taciturn scowl. Small price to pay for finally be able to move about, at least, that's what Lailah would like to believe.

In truth, it is both embarrassing and exasperating. Yoongi might as well ink it into her very skin; certainly he already has with his scent. Lailah knows that the nose of every hybrid she has come across today has told them just what she is to Yoongi, and how it came to be as well.

"I can most likely grab the groceries on my own, but-"

"Absolutely not, " Yoongi inserts, interrupting Lailah with a frown, "if you go, I go too."

"That's really not necessary, " she replies with a sigh. "I can manage on my own. I don't think it's a good idea for me to be seen near the hospital though. Would Sully and Asmar be willing to take the medical run?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Sully's made a full recovery and-"

Seokjin is interrupted by the sudden sound of the clinic's door being hastily thrown open. There, in the open doorway, stands Sully herself. She wears a rather anxious look upon her face, and she wrings the edge of her long, prehensile tail.

Something is very clearly amiss.

"She's here, " Sully's voice holds a touch if panic as she speaks, "it's Illara. She's right outside the door and can't get in. We felt it wasn't right to make the call ourselves, what do you want us to do?"

"Bring in her in!" Seokjin cries impatiently; contrary to his enthusiasm in this statement, he looks to be a little green around the edges

Sully rushes out, presumably to fetch Illara.

Lailah is used to this by now, as is Seokjin. It isn't a role they'd coveted, rather, it was a role thrust upon them; the strength of their will far outweighs that of the average person. It was easy, to flock to the Governer's daughter and the fox doctor. No one ever bothered to ask if they wanted to lead.

The two have taken it in stride, Yoongi thinks. In fact, there is a swelling of pride within his chest; his mate has become a strong woman. It's hard not to be proud of that, even if he mourns the reason she had to become this way. The furry appendages atop his head follow Lailah and Seokjin's conversation, but his head is truly elsewhere. Try as he might, Yoongi just can't staring at the mark he'd left all those years ago.

Suddenly possessed of the violent need to touch it, Yoongi leans down and bestows upon it a gentle kiss. Whatever it is that Lailah was saying is halted; a spark of pleasure sizzles to life within her veins, and she does her best to ignore the way it races through her body, and straight to her groin.

"Not now, " Lailah means to be stern.

Yoongi can tell by her posture, and the harsh edge to her scent. But hidden just beneath is also the scent of arousal.

Suddenly, Yoongi is quite upset that they ever left her quarters.

The clinic door is silent as it opens. Nevertheless, the two hybrids within hear it before anyone has a chance to spot it. Two sets of ears, both furry and black, swivel into the direction of the door. Lailah has spent enough time with hybrid's to recognize the sign for what it is.

Once opened, revealed within the door's frame is none other than a slightly more panicked Sully, and Illara herself, who looks as though she has suffered a great tragedy.

Seokjin still vividly remembers the last time he'd seen Illara. Dark haired and olive-skinned, she'd absolutely glowed with the radiance of a woman who saved lives, and loved every minute of it. It is often said that the eyes are windows to the soul; from the moment he'd met Illara, Seokjin had believed in this. Her chocolate eyes so easily displayed her emotions, her kindness, and her strength.

The only thing that the woman standing before him now shares in common with the Illara he remembers is the gentle way she carries herself. Even if her body seems weak.

Now, there are dark circles beneath her eyes, and her chestnut-colored locks hang limp and lifeless against harried flesh; there is a sizable gash upon one cheek. Seokjin knows that her tears, for she is crying many, must sting the wound. There is an absolute terror in her eyes, however, and the fox hybrid imagines that whatever has brought her here is probably numbing the majority of her physical pain. Because, clearly, she is in emotional agony.

"Illara, what-"

The woman steps aside and Lailah gasps. Her child, Timothy, steps forward on shaking legs. Everyone can see now the reason that Illara seems so unsteady on her feet, for as the boy steps forward his mother's skirt moves just enough to reveal the blood streaming down her leg. And yet even more troubling is the boy's appearance.

His hair is black, though matted with crimson blood. The newsboy's cap he is wearing is also similarly soaked in blood, as is the front of his button down shirt. He walks with a limp, but otherwise wouldn't seem too worse for the wear if not for the color of his skin.

The boy is ashen.

"Please save him, " Illara cries, "I beg this of you."