•Chapter thirty nine•

Jungkook will never be yours. 

Taehyung, Chohee, and Hyeon stayed as still as the furniture in the room, not making a single noise and holding their breath too. 

Taehyung could feel his pup starting to react to his distress by kicking around again, but he didn't have any attention on himself or the child at this point. 

When Chohee looked at him with awaiting eyes he shook his head, begging her to just act like there was no one inside the hut. He didn't want the person outside to find out about them because he just didn't want any threat to his pup. 

No villagers wore such thick-soled shoes. Hell, none of them wore any footwear.

The only ones who did wear such things were people related to the royal family. And by the rough and stomp-like footsteps he heard earlier, he knew they were warriors. 

Now the doubt was... were they working under Mira or Jungkook? Jungkook would send them for his protection or for giving some news to him, but Mira...

Mira would send them to take away his child from him.

"Don't," he whispered in the lowest tone. "Stay quiet. They shouldn't know about us." 

"The villagers... what about them?" Hyeon's question proved that he was innocent enough to not know that the people outside were here just for him and not to do anything to villagers or anyone else. 

Chohee and Hyeon didn't know that they were warriors too. 

They heard another knock which made them jump in their positions. Taehyung teared up in fear, clutching onto the shirt near his stomach when pain seared through him again. 

No, no, no! Taehyung began panicking. If I give birth now... they'll take my child away, and I won't be able to stay with my baby to protect it. Please, pup, stay in there for longer. You love me, right? Then stay in there for longer. 

"Master? Master Taehyung?" His guess was right. They were the guards and warriors. He continued to not respond to them and ignored his friends' shocked reactions. "That's weird. His smell comes from here."

"They know you!" Hyeon cried silently. "What do they want? I don't want to just sit here and act like a coward, Tae. Let me go confront them--"

"Keep calm," Taehyung ordered. "They have very high senses. They will catch onto small noises too." 

Hyeon grit his teeth to hold his protectiveness and anger in. He just wished to go, smash open the door, and show them what years of exhausting work in fields and the village work has done to him. 

But he wouldn't go against Taehyung. 

He was impulsive and knew nothing more than Taehyung did. He should just listen to him for now. 

Chohee whimpered when Taehyung jerked forward when his pup kicked a little too hard for his liking. She commended his patience; he hadn't made the sound of even a gasp even at the sudden action of his baby. 

However tolerant Taehyung was, it was of no use. 

His stress made things so worse that waves of extreme pain hit him repeatedly, and within a few seconds, he gasped harshly. 

That was enough for the confused guards outside who were discussing where Taehyung could be and what they should do to catch onto the fact that there were people in the hut. 

"Master Taehyung? Master are you in there?"

Hyeon was standing up when Taehyung held him back once again. By now, the omega was crying in pure dread. 

He was afraid for the baby. 

If they took the baby away and gave it off to that harsh, cruel girl... 

Taehyung lower lip pressed onto the upper lip as it wobbled pathetically. Hyeon quickly sank back to the ground and embraced the shaking omega, rubbing his back. He wished to say things to calm him down but knew his voice would come out louder because of his anxious state. 

"We won't open the door..." Hyeon convinced him. "You won't have to face anyone. I'll do everything in the world to make sure you and this little one are safe."

"Calm down, Tae. If you stress like this, the baby will get hurt," Chohee begged, hugging Taehyung's side, trying her best to comfort the omega. 

He bit down sobs and sniffles, staring deeply at the door. There was a commotion on the other side of the door, and he just hoped they would go away. 

He didn't fucking want Mira anywhere near his baby. 

She will only think of herself in every situation. There was no way she would be here for his good. 

He sniffled when he heard that cursed voice that he had been trying to avoid for so long. 

"Taehyung oppa? You are in there, I know, please open the door." 

"I won't!" Taehyung yelled back, startling Hyeon and Chohee because they thought they were supposed to stay quiet. Hyeon's heart sank miserably. "Go away from here! Don't fucking think of doing anything--" 

"Calm down," Mira's calm voice shut him up. "I am not here for what you think I am for." 

Taehyung shook his head vigorously, burying himself on Chohee. "I don't want her near. S-send her away. Please send her away." 

Hyeon, still very shocked at the realization of who they had to face, wondered what would happen now. What will happen when Mira sees him? Will she even know him? More than anything... did she have a child? 

If she did have a child, then it would be his blood. 

He was the one she slept with during the moon festival. He recollected that she had mumbled that she needed to make the king like her back with the child back then. 

He was such a stupid to do such a thing. 

Though he didn't understand what she actually meant by whatever she said, he still knew that Mira was a married woman, the king's wife and that whatever he does to her will not end well. 

He could blame it on his hazy state of need. He didn't know what he was doing. 

But what would he blame his feelings on? The fact that the girl had probably given birth to his child made him break more and more because he knew that he had no rights over his own child and that it was a huge threat to Taehyung. 

He knew for a fact that nothing was more than his friend for him. 

He glanced at Taehyung who was crying and focused on the low sighs he could hear from outside. For some reason, Mira and Taehyung both seemed to give out equally stressed pheromones. 

What will she be stressed about? Hyeon thought, gritting his teeth. All she is doing is spoiling all our lives. 

"Open the door for this one time," Mira pleaded. "There are guards who are sent here to protect you. They won't let me do anything to you anyway." 

"All of you stay out!" Taehyung yelled. "Go away with those guards of yours! I won't give my child to you!" 

"T-Tae," Chohee hissed, hugging him as tightly as possible. "Calm the fuck down. You are hurting the child yourself by doing this."

She grabbed a blue cloth from nearby and placed it on the ground, unwrapping it to bring out a few herbs.  There were a few that were used to put people to an unconscious state that she kept for Taehyung when he wasn't able to sleep and there were good scented ones for calming a person down.  

She quickly grabbed a few of the scented herbs and placed them near Taehyung, hoping he would just calm down like always after smelling them but to no avail. 

Taehyung spent the next moments to just calm himself. The guards or Mira didn't seem enraged at the fact that he wasn't letting them come in. He spent those silent moments calming his harshly beating heart.

When things got too irritating and the silence got too overwhelming, Taehyung weakly muttered to Hyeon to open the door. 

There was no point in doing this. 

The weak door of the hut would break with one small kick, and Mira didn't seem ready to go away without speaking to him.

He was just making his own state worse by all this. 

As much as he just wanted to let them stay outside and not react to them, he knew it was impossible.

Things would get worse. He knew if the villagers got involved, they would just hit Mira with something like they've been wishing to do for a while.

There seemed to be many people outside. How would the weak villagers even be able to handle the armed warriors?

And why should he push things to such a nasty situation when they would enter his hut anyway, whether he likes it or not.

He had to do something to send her away. He needed to make her understand that he will not give his child to her.

Opening the door to her doesn't mean that he was ready to give in to any of her hope. At this point, he didn't care if her entire life was spoiled by this selfishness of his because he will only think about himself now. 

He doesn't hold any sympathy whatsoever. 

If her child did die, he would ask God to bless the child's pure soul; he wasn't going to give off his child just because he felt bad. 

He never agreed to give his child anyway. He was forced into this pregnant state by her threats, but he didn't give a shit if she did threaten him now. 

His hyungs and Jungkook are very capable of protecting themselves; he will not give his child away for their protection. 

Hyeon hesitated and glanced wearily at him as he stood up. He stumbled to the door and looked back at Taehyung for confirmation, before slowly unlocking the weak. 

The opening of the lock was heard with the clicking sound, audible to all of them.

Taehyung gulped, fisting his hands.

Before Mira could open the door, Hyeon came back to Taehyung quickly and sat by his side, almost hiding himself completely. 

He wasn't scared of the royals. Hell, he had already shown how daring he was by going ahead and impregnating the queen, but he didn't want to face that queen.

Because he knew she wasn't the sweet and soft girl he thought she was.

He thought she was lonely and was angry when she told him that the king cheated on her in the past, but he didn't know she was much worse than the king or his lover, Taehyung.

He knew now. He just wasn't ready to see all this for himself.

"I'm opening the door..." Mira softly said, pushing on it slowly so Taehyung could close it back again if they had any doubts about this. 

Her softness troubled Taehyung even more. Is she being like this only to act like she cares for my comfort? 

Mira opened the door wide enough for her to enter, leaving her wooden slippers outside the hut. She didn't look up until she came inside, her long expensive dress scooped in her hands so she doesn't fall off. 

Her eyes met Taehyung's. She took in his weak state and the way his cheekbones were poking out. 

There is no doubt that there was a shortage of food in this place. His arms resting above his belly also looked really frail and pale now, and he seemed much less thin than she was in his last month. 

However much she already wished to apologize to him and beg him forgiveness for making him go through such bad things, she stayed quiet, waiting for the right time to come. 

Taehyung realized that she wasn't pregnant anymore. It only made his disgust for her rise. She is here to take my child. There could be no other reason for her to be here.  

"Your guards are waiting outside," she informed in a polite tone. "They are asked to keep an eye on you from afar. They wish to come inside, but they want your permission for that. If you don't feel protected enough with me being here, you could call them inside." 

It was a good thing to do, but Taehyung knew he would hate the thought. Being near any alpha would only trigger his stupid emotions, so he decided to just scream and call them if she did do anything. 

He had Chohee and Hyeon here anyway. 

He trusted his friends more than those guards. What if she was lying about them being here for their protection? What if all they would do after coming inside was snatch his child and hand it to Mira?

Mira's eyes didn't move away from Taehyung. Hyeon kept his eyes on Taehyung's side profile too, not looking front however much his heart desired him to. 

Does she have the baby? Hyeon thought. Why will she be here if she had the child... 

Does that mean-- 

"Your child didn't survive?" Taehyung asked with a wavering voice. Mira sat down on the floor ten feet away from Taehyung, giving him his distance. 

She looked up with emotionless eyes, not answering the question. 

She was determined to not tell anything about her child until Taehyung forgave her for her mistakes first. She wasn't using her child as a tool to gain mercy whatsoever the situation may be. 

If Taehyung disagreed to forgive her and continued to be like this then she was just going to go out of here and search for the man she slept with, the father of her child. 

In some way, she needed the wealth to take care of her child. She only had the knowledge of being a queen, nothing more. She wouldn't be able to stand putting her daughter into a state of poverty just because of her inability. 

That's why she is here to beg. 

With her silence, Taehyung concluded that she was hiding the truth from him. 

Maybe her child did die, he thought. She's being all quiet so I don't know about it just so she could take away my child, right? 

 "I want to give everything that belongs to you, back to you," Mira started speaking, her aura demanding silence. "Your mate, the throne, the titles, and everything that belonged to you." 

Her words seemed so fake that Taehyung couldn't help but scoff. "In return, do you want my life? There's no way a bitch like you would give away such things to me." 

Taehyung noticed how Mira kept as calm as possible even after hearing his rude remarks. 

She was usually the one to use power to shut a person up and wouldn't stand anything like what he said. 

Maybe she was just trying her level best to be heard.

Nevertheless, Taehyung didn't care. He didn't care even if she really did change for the good. 

He was showing no mercy. 

"Jungkook loves you with his entire soul, oppa. Everything of his revolves around you, and nothing can corrupt his love for you. I see no point in being with a person like him anymore." 

"Then why are you here?" Taehyung spat. "Why didn't you go away somewhere else to live by yourself if you have given up on your feelings? Get to the damn point. Why are you here?" 

Mira sighed deeply. Taehyung just wasn't cooperating with her. She didn't want to just say an apology but wanted to show that she actually meant it, but Taehyung wasn't ready to listen to her. 

"I'm here to say sorry and beg for your mercy, oppa," her voice grew wetter, thinking about how she will manage without his help. Just what will she do? Jungkook hated her, and she thought that Taehyung would be there. 

One look at Taehyung proved that he was surely not going to be there for her.

Even after hearing that she wanted to say sorry, he was looking at her with rock-hard eyes, not even wondering whether she deserved anything or not. 

Will she have to tell him about her daughter to urge him to do something?

She cleared her throat before starting to explain things, "You'll become queen as soon as you go back to the castle, and I will have nowhere to go. I'm not asking for you to give me anything related to luxury, but I wish you j-just let me have a small hut to cover myself in and a little food to eat until I can do things by myself." 

"Do you think I'm believing you, Mira?" Taehyung let out a humorless chuckle. "Do you think I'm so dumb to conclude that if I go back now, I will be made the queen just like that?" 

"You will!" Mira exclaimed. "Jungkook has made every preparation to welcome you like a queen back to the palace. I've already left so it's very easy for him to say to everyone that I cheated on him and so he is taking you as a--" 

"Tell me one thing," Taehyung cut her off. "Did you even tell Jungkook that you're leaving?" 

If she did, then it is for sure that I will be made the queen if I go back now and that she is actually not lying about needing mercy and forgiveness. 

But if she hasn't told Jungkook about leaving and has just left, then it only means she is doing something behind his back. Which also could mean that... she's here to secretly take away my child and go back to Jungkook to lie to him that this child is hers. 

"I d-didn't," Mira admitted, not catching onto the intention behind the question. 

Taehyung had enough of hearing whatever she was saying. 

"Please leave, Mira," he ordered, trying to maintain his facial expressions when pain in his body kept rising, showing no stop. "Just go back. If you are guilty, tell Jungkook what you did was a mistake, apologize to him, and go wherever you want to. It makes no sense for you t-to come to m-me." 

Now, the pain was growing unbearable. He was forced to bend behind slightly so keep the pain inside, oblivious to Hyeon hiding behind him.

"What are saying?" she asked, panicking now. "Will you not help me, oppa? All I'm asking for is--"

"I told you what I needed to!" Taehyung yelled, rubbing his sides slightly hard to ease the pain. 

He knew exactly what was happening to him. 

He didn't want Mira to know what was happening though. He wanted her to just leave already so he could tend to himself. 

"M-my child--" Mira was about to tell him about her child in her desperate state, but he cut her off with a yell. "Get out, Mira! I told you everything already. Even if your child is dead, I will not do anything for you because you brought this upon yourself!" 

Taehyung feared her talking about their babies. He did not want to hear her say that she wants to take his child away. 

Until now, Hyeon had kept quiet. 

He didn't know what he was supposed to do other than letting them fight about the matters because he wasn't even aware of the entire past. Taehyung had told him bits and pieces only, all involving his child being the king's and how he was threatened into becoming pregnant.

But he couldn't stand Taehyung struggling any longer. He could hear the tiny grunts Taehyung was letting out while restlessly squirming. 

He was glad that Mira didn't notice him until now and was just very busy in her thoughts and in arguing; now, he wanted her attention off Taehyung. 

He stood up slowly, getting Mira's attention instantly. She didn't know who he was at first and just stared at him with her desperate eyes mildly confused at what was going on. 

But when she caught onto it, she had a million more things occupying her already occupied head. 

Sudden bright hope flashed in her eyes and she shot to her feet, about to just cry in relief and happiness. 

She had slowly started losing hope of Taehyung doing anything for her, and when she saw Hyeon, she gained all hope back. 

Things could be made right. 

He was the father of the child. He will surely not let them suffer by themselves. 

He will make everything right-- 

"Get out of here," Hyeon growled. "Don't you hear what Tae said right now?" 

Though it stabbed her heart very badly, she didn't think about anything other than the fact that she could save her daughter. 

She didn't care about knowing why and what Hyeon was doing here and what he just rudely spat at her. 

She just cared about him, this man whose name also she doesn't know. 

"Y-you..." she started. "you're him, right. You are the one who--" 

"Who made you pregnant after you asked me to do so?" Hyeon said lowly, his voice not reaching the other two who were now solely focusing on the pain Taehyung was feeling. He was towering over Mira, standing right before her. "Yes, I am that person." 

Mira's lower lip wobbled as she held his elbows as softly as possible with her cold and bloodless hands. 

"P-please... You need to help me--"

"Get out of here..." Hyeon said, not growling this time, hoping she would just listen if he said it like this. 

But this was nothing compared to the sweetness he had shown in their first meeting, and Mira utterly missed his soft and sweet self. 

She didn't want to get hurt just because he is harsh at this moment. 

Maybe after knowing about their newborn he would calm down? 

"The c-child--" 

"It didn't survive, right?" Hyeon asked, eyes not showing the absolute turmoil of pain he felt just by thinking that his child didn't survive. He kept a stone in the place of his heart and said, "It doesn't matter. It would be nothing more than a problem to my friend anyway." 

"That girl told you that she cannot give birth, right? Just wish that this sentence of hers is true." 

Hyeon recalled Chohee's words, those words that had stabbed him so harshly that it still hurt when he thought about it.

But she wasn't wrong. If his baby did survive, it would take away the rights that belonged to Taehyung's child, and he did not want that. He did not want his friend to suffer even if he was suffering himself.

The baby was better off dead than living with a devil-like Mira.

"What?" Mira deadpanned, gritting her teeth. "Are you trying to say that you would be happy if our child did die?" 

"I am happy," he said back with a stern voice, trying his best to not seem like he feels the opposite feelings. "With how things are for me presently with my friend beside me, I'm happy. I don't fucking need you or anyone else. It was you who wanted the child anyway. I never wished to have a child with you, so why do you think I'll be sad?"

He was sad though. His entire heart had shattered even though he hasn't even seen his child.

How could he not feel anything? It was his blood at the end of the day.

Then and there ended all of Mira's wishes to seek any help from him. 

What had she thought... 

She didn't know if she even had a right to be disgusted. "You--" 

"Fuck!" they snapped their heads to Taehyung when they heard his cry, instantly gasping when they found him lying in a pool of wetness. 

"Tae!" Hyeon pushed Mira away from his way and strode to the boy, bringing his upper body into his arms. He and Chohee were completely unaware of the situation, not knowing what had happened to Taehyung. 

Mira felt her chest tear when she sees Hyeon go off to Taehyung. 

In the end, she was left all alone again. 

All the hopes she had were broken into tiny pieces now. 

If this is how it is... she thought, coming up with the only broken plan that had great possibilities of being unsuccessful. 

That's all she can do though. 

"His water broke," she informed the two clueless people, walking towards Taehyung even when they all were holding a careful stance. "He needs to give birth soon, and I don't think people who don't know anything about this can help him." 

"We don't need your help--" Chohee seethed. 

"Should I send the guards then?" Mira deadpanned. "You don't know what to do anyway so I can send a few more clueless people to give you company, right?" 

She sat down before Taehyung who snatched his leg away when she held his feet. "Don't hurt yourself, oppa. You know there's no other option right now than to take my help because I'm the only one who knows more than nothing." 

Taehyung was much calmer than anyone she had seen in such a state. Even in his pain, he had the power to resist her actions. 

But he had to give in in the end. 

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