ANYA :

"Jimin."

Anya whispered again as she kept staring at her hybrid, a little away from her, completely still on the floor.

Her mind absolutely refused to grasp the reality. It rebelled against what her eyes were seeing.

She sat there, while it seemed like the whole world around her was in a whirlpool of activity.

She tuned it out.

Her mind tuned it all out.

Anya could not hear anything, nor could she see anyone in that instance except her Angel, lying so carelessly on the cold, hard floor.

"Jimin." Her whisper remained unheard by the rest of the occupants of the room.

Slowly, she crawled. One hand on the floor, followed by the other, she dragged her body towards her fallen hybrid, with each step, still battling against the truth.

Anya reached her beautiful Angel, and simply gazed down at his ethereal face. He looked so serene, he looked so at peace. Like he had succumbed to a restful slumber, happy in his dreamworld.

The only thing that was wrong was the sweat on his forehead.

Anya lifted a shaking hand to his face, still kneeling over his body, peering down at him.

The touch, was warm.

His body was getting hotter.

But he is supposed to be cold. Why is he not cold?

Anya brushed the sweat from his brows gently, her touch lighter than the kiss of a butterfly, as she crawled closer to him. The activities around her never touched her conscious. Right then, the world except Jimin and her, was lost to Anya.

She lifted his head, and placed it on her lap. Her mischievous Cobra loved getting adored this way, he always turned towards her and burrowed his head, giving a light kiss on her stomach.

So why is he not doing it now? Why is he laying so still? Why is he doing this??

Running her fingers through his silver silky hair, Anya murmured to Jimin, "Wont you turn to me?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, her revolting brain started to accept the facts. With it, fear started wrapping her soul in its vicious, thorny embrace.

"Wake up." She said in a voice which was barely audible.

Because she knew.

Jimin had been poisoned. And the poison, was deadly.

"MOVE!" Anya jerked at that booming command. She lifted her head to see a crowd had formed around her and Jimin. She blinked her eyes to understand Suhan, Jin and Peter were missing from the circle, rest all present.

Namjoon, Yoongi and Jungkook stood looking down at their brother, stupefied with shock.

And from between them, Arissa emerged, pushing past Jungkook to come stand in front of her.

Anya lifted her head and looked at her, Jimin still gently cradled in her lap.

"Ari . . ." her thin voice shook uncontrollably, making it difficult to understand her, "Save him."

A plea.

A helpless, desperate plea.

Immediately, Arissa crouched down and clinically lifted Jimin from her lap to lay him down on the floor. "Get me the coffee he was drinking." She said in a controlled manner, speaking through gritted teeth.

Anya kept her anguished eyes fixed on her, as Namjoon scrambled to pass on the cup to the older woman, who by now had started examining the snake hybrid.

She opened his mouth to look inside, then bent down to smell any tell-tale odour of poison on his breath. She looked up at his face, her eyebrows drawn together. Arissa quickly checked Jimin's pulse, his eyes, his hands, her brows pulling together more acutely with each examination.

She sat on her knees, her mouth pulled tight as she stared at Jimin's still body for a second, then turned and took hold of the coffee mug.

Jerking open the lid, Ari took a whiff of it. Dipping her little finger inside it, she brought it back to her mouth to taste it.

For a second, she remained quiet.

Then uttered, "What the fuck."

She never swears. She never ever swears. Why did she swear?

Paralyzed with fear, Anya could not articulate the question. Arissa still, till the date remained the most gifted chemist found underground. Her mixtures and concoctions were unique in its construction, as were they illegal. But that had made her aware of every single lethal poison and the way it affected a person with the specified time range.

Once she identified the key ingredient, she could easily know of its antidote.

For her to be swearing . . . it was not the kind of news Anya wanted to hear.

Arissa looked up at Anya, her eyes blank. The activity and talk around the room stilled, pausing in a synchronous chain, the unease inside the room palpable.

But one look in those brown orbs trying to curtain all emotions, and Anya knew. Whatever Ari would share, it was something which far exceeded her emotional capacity.

"This is no known Poison. Its something I am seeing for the first time." Arissa said in a neutral tone.

For a beat, hope flared.

"Does that mean that it is not-"

Before Anya could complete the question, Arissa shook her head, her eyes leaking her anxiety.

"It is reacting with his body in a detrimental manner. And it is spreading fast. But I am not sure if it is a poison."

Anya looked back at Jimin. His serene face was now showing signs of pain.

She exhaled out loudly and placed her delicate hand on his chest, over his still beating heart, letting that vibration reassure her, for now.

"Can that be a good thing?" she asked in a small voice, her eyes fixed on her hybrid.

"No."

Anya closed her eyes.

"I think it is worse."

The current of alarm that suffused her system at Arissa's words, meandered and hit her heart hard. She could not take that hit. She was in no way capable of surviving that hit.

"Did we really not do good Master?"

Just an hour ago her Silver haired hybrid had stood in front of her and said it to her with his sad eyes, filled with confusion, not understanding what had gone wrong in the adventure of them baking in the kitchen while being out and out drunk.

He had been so adorably happy right then. So endearingly sweet in the attempt to show her his love.

All the wealth and power achieved throughout the lifetime, I can trade in a heartbeat, if only to be granted the ability to turn back time. If only.

"Move him. Right now! Guk is almost here! Get him to his Bedroom." Suhan's voice snapped her out of the pit she had sunk too.

"GET UP ANYA!" Suhan shouted at her. He was well aware of what exactly, this incident had pushed her towards. His fear was double the amount of what Anya was feeling that moment.

Because he knew, the risk right now did not just loom over Jimin.

If something happened to the snake hybrid, his sister . . .

The one weak point that the whole world wanted to know, the crack in the armor that was so well hidden, was this.

Something that Arissa knew too.

Suhan physically pulled his sister up from the floor, holding her by her shoulders, as he shouted at her face, trying to make those anguished eyes focus.

"PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!" he shook her slightly, "Guk is beyond gifted. Don't lose it! stay for Jimin. Look at your hybrids! They are scared too! Be responsible enough for them and hold yourself together! Do you get me????"

Anya blinked several times and looked at where Jimin was. Jin was lifting his body up gently while Namjoon raced ahead with Jungkook to open Jimin's bedroom.

Yoongi quietly came beside her and pushed Suhan's hands from her shoulder. Without uttering a single word, he guided her, walking behind Jin, Arissa and Choi, taking Jimin in his bedroom.

"LOCK DOWN THE ESTATE" Suhan rigidly laid the rules, "Allow Only people who have clearance to come inside. All phones are to be disconnected and the main line channeled to me, Peter and Joseph. Not a single word about the activity occurring inside this Mansion should pass outside these boundaries, failing which, the consequences dealt to the person will be heavy." he ended darkly.

The staff did not need to be told twice.

They dispersed immediately, each knowing their assignment in times like this.

Suhan then followed after the rest. He entered the room to see Jimin being settled on his luxurious bed, while his sister and Jungkook climbed up it, to settle down next to him by the headboardon his either side. Yoongi stood right beside Suhan's sister, his protective instincts laying its shadow on not just his fallen brother but also his fast weakening Master.

Anya looked up from her position towards Peter, whose comm beeped. "Send him in." he said.

By the time Guk entered the room, Jimin had started whimpering, his temperature rising constantly. The rest stood helplessly scattered across the room, one of the most powerful households of the world, impotent in the wake of the situation.

He did not waste any time at all, as he went straight to Jimin's side, Jungkook being pulled away by Jin to make room for the Doctor. As he climbed up the bed and opened his examination kit, he briefly made eye contact with the winsome figure of the girl who had the hand of her snake hybrid tightly clutched in her grasp.

In that brief moment, Guk got overwhelmed by the depths of despair he saw in her eyes. And with it, a wild flame of hope.

A hope she had because of him.

It was his weight to bear.

And by the name of Lord, he would not let that flame be extinguished.

He looked down at the fierce hybrid laying defenseless in the bed, "Arissa, tell me what you found." He spoke urgently as he began his examination, having been briefed about the incident on his way in.

Anya felt a churning in her stomach, her lower abdomen contacting in fear, as she felt Jimin getting more agitated, his hand held in hers getting hotter. With her heart in her throat, she just watched Guk, watched his hands move, watched him use his instruments, but did not comprehend a single action that took place.

She heard Arissa, Suhan, Jin and Yoongi answering Guk's question. She saw their lips move. But she could not catch whatever words fell from them.

But every single whimper Jimin made, every single twitch of his muscles, embedded itself in her with crystal clarity.

She was losing it.

"Anya!!"

A hand reached her shoulders, to gently squeeze her. That touch was comforting, it was a tether. Anya looked up to understand that her name was being called several time, but she responded when Yoongi had alerted her.

With her Jaguar's hand still on her shoulders, she lifted her eyes to Guk.

Jin, Namjoon and Jungkook along with Guk flinched at her gaze.

"I don't know what is wrong with him Anya. This is no poison." Guk said to her slowly. "But I have taken his blood sample, I am taking the coffee with me to my lab right now. It will not take me long to analyze what it is. I'll come back after that. I have given him antipyretics and analgesia, he should be comfortable till then. Don't do anything to him in my absence, it might do more harm than benefit."

"No. . . wait." Anya said, slowly getting alarmed, "Don't just leave! Do something Guk. Tell me what is happening to him? Why is he not waking up? Why does he seem to be in pain?? The time span was too short for it not to be deadly, tell me what is going on!"

The pure panicked desperation in her voice, caused Jungkook, Namjoon and Jin to absolutely freeze.

They had NEVER seen their Master in such a state. They had NEVER heard their Master be this weak. She had been a Goddess through and through, with no signs of weakness, with a strength and power that had become synonymous to her name.

But she was none of those now.

She was displaying something that brought the hybrids down to their knees. Her scent confirmed it to them.

She was vulnerable to the point of breaking apart.

Yoongi bent down from behind her to wrap her in his embrace, in which Anya unconsciously sank back, while Guk answered with his jaws clenched, "I promise you, I am not going anywhere. For now, his vitals are stable, but it will slowly change. i will get to the bottom of this Anya, I will be back in an hour."

Anya shook her head, still having Jimin's hand in her grasp, but Yoongi restrained her, as she saw Guk leaving the room, Arissa going with him.

"Shhh, we are all here. We are with you." Yoongi whispered in her ears as she sagged back on him.

For now, she would trust Guk's promise to return a cure in an hour.

Things would get better.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

3 HOURS LATER

HYBRIDS :

Things turned worse.

The pain relief wore out in minutes, while Jimin's whimpers turned into screams of pain. His body thrashed about on the bed while tears streamed down his eyes but he remained unconscious to the world.

His temperature remained high and the bouts of pain came in clusters. The time it hit, the snake hybrid screamed until his voice turned raw. His body sagged right after the spell, whimpers and moans becoming constant. It was difficult to keep him on the bed.

And with each passing second, he only got worse. Steadily worse.

Taehyung and Hoseok had been awakened and brought to the room. At first they both had stood by the foot of the bed in shock as they saw their brother writhing in pain on the bed. When the spell broke, so did Taehyung, who went closer to his friend, trying to comfort him through the blurry mess of tears in his eyes.

Hoseok had turned pale when he had reached out to touch his little brother, his body heat scaring him. But he had schooled his features into a blank mask, as he joined Jin and Namjoon on the couch in the centre of the room, where they sat with Suhan.

All of them maintained their silence as they bore the howls of heartbreaking anguish tearing through the room.

Peter and Jackson had left half an hour after Guk had, after informing Suhan, Jin and Yoongi of where they were going.

Choi and Joseph stood at the far end of the room, their backs ramrod straight, as they looked outside from the glass doors to the gardens. Each time another of Jimin's gut wrenching sobs of misery tore from his lithe frame, both the men flinched deeply.

Even over the course of 3 hours, Choi and Joseph could not adjust to those yells. Their senses were rubbed raw and bloody from hearing the sounds of acute pain from a person they loved, while they all stood in the same room, within reach, but utterly incapable of doing anything to help.

Namjoon exhaled shakily. Slowly, he looked up, then dared to look towards the bed. With just one glance, he lost the fight against the scene and lowered his gaze back on the table in front of him, his tears, seeping out.

Because it was not just the screams that affected each soul in the room.

It was also the singing.

And the person who sang.

When it was becoming clear that Jimin's suffering was increasing, Anya stumbled about, fidgeting, touching, looking around, trying to find something to do.

With each whimper, with each howl, their Master had become increasingly distressed.

At one point, when Jimin thrashed about in agony, Anya had pulled his body close to hers, resting his head on her bosom and wrapped him in her arms, holding on tight.

Jimin had still violently jerked about in pain, his movements hitting her body, but she refused to let go of him. She kept her angel clutched to her, trying to absorb his pain inside her, trying to make sure that he felt surrounded.

Trying to make sure that her Jimin knew that he was not alone.

Trying to soothe him, Anya had started singing a song. That had somehow calmed him a little. Just a little.

That was the point when she started singing without a pause. Her light melodious voice spun out the most heartbreaking song while she kept her screaming unconscious hybrid wrapped in her loving embrace, refusing to let go.

Over the course of the hours, her voice had cracked, her throat had dried up and vocal cords were rubbed raw. Her voice was scratchy and thin, barely there.

But still she sang to him. Still she rocked him gently in her arms. Still she held on.

Yoongi and Jungkook had tried to make her drink a little water, to ease up the discomfort, but she had never taken her eyes off of the beautiful face of her snake hybrid. She had never paused.

Taehyung had taken the cup from Jungkook and put it in front of her lips, lightly touching the rim.

That was the only one time she had obliged.

Namjoon hung his head down. Jin and Hoseok were shaking slightly.

From worry, from anxiety, from fear.

But mostly because of the utterly broken state of their Master.

But.

Anya never shed a single drop of tear. She was too beyond that state.

Jin clenched his eyes against her heart-rending song. Tears, were indeed, a luxury.

Suhan's cell beeped. Before the sound was completed, he snatched it up from the table, shouting into it, "ITS BEEN 3 HOURS GUK! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU AND ARISSA??"

He listened to Guk talking rapidly and tried to absorb the facts. "Understood. Bring them in." he cut the call and looked up at Jin, Namjoon and Hoseok, his heart not strong enough to look for the hybrids near his sister,

"Guk is bringing with him a few medical members from our hospital. I would rather not let them know about your status yet. Find a hoodie from Jimin's closet and cover your ears and tail." He told them.

"I'll bring it." Joon sprang up the couch, going straight to the walk in closet, to retrieve the essentials for the rest. Just as Jungkook, Yoongi, Taehyung and Joon covered themselves up, Guk appeared at the door.

"MOVE!" he commanded from there, as 3 other men wheeled in a massive machine inside the room. Joon, Jin and Suhan immediately went to help with it.

They situated the machine on the right side of Jimin's bed, the side where Anya sat lost to them, crouching protectively over Jimin.

"Anya, Move!" Guk urgently told her as he snapped open the bag he carried with him, the other 3 prepping the machine, while bringing out Medical bags with fluid in it, hooking it up.

Anya, did not respond.

"MOVE IT!" Guk shouted while quickly wearing his gloves.

Joseph moved forward towards her when she remained oblivious. When he grabbed hold of her with the intention of moving her away, She jerked to awareness.

"NO! NO! NO!" she was agitated and disoriented as she started to fight against Joseph's hold, not understanding what was happening. Why they were separating her from her Jimin.

"Please god." Hoseok whispered at the sight, his tears flowing steadily.

Taehyung pushed Joseph away at that. Carefully, but quickly, he released Anya's grip on Jimin while he soothingly murmured in her ears, "Master, he is here to help. We want his help for Jiminie, right? Let go. Come to me."

Taehyung's touch, his words lifted the fog she was lost in, Anya fell on Tae, as he bodily lifted her away and carried her from the bed, Where at once Guk started his actions.

Tae held his fragile Master in his arms, bridal style, as he stood with the rest at the foot of the bed, watching the doctor work on Jimin.

Guk was fast, as was he efficient. He tore the shirt away from Jimin's frame and held him down. Fortunately, his bout of pain had just passed.

The Doctor took a central catheter and inspected the device. Without pause, he inspected and checked the chest for the subclavian vein and did the necessary to place the line for the catheter. Then swiftly, he checked the tube and pulled out the device to connect two lumens to the wide bore tubing. The 2 lines were linked up to the Machine which they started. A clear yellow fluid bag was placed on the machine which was then hooked up to Jimin's circuit. Checking the lumen and the lines again, Guk nodded to start the machine. Jimin's blood flowed through one of the tubes immedieately.

Everyone stood silently, observing the team working on the pale body of Jimin. After sometime, Guk nodded once again at the 3 men, who bowed to him, then to the rest and were then quietly escorted out.

"You are late." A hoarse voice called out to break the silence, "Why? He suffered. He was in pain."

Seo in-Guk straightened up at that, and finally took the time to look at them. His face flicked once to Anya who had asked him the question and stayed there.

"Sit down. A lot needs to be explained." He said.

Taehyung felt Anya curl into him more and bent down to kiss her temple reassuringly, while the rest sat on the bed, each wary of what they would hear.

"I don't know where to begin." The Doctor said.

"The coffee. Did you find something in it?" Jin asked directly.

Guk nodded. He inhaled deeply.

"Every single one of your coffee was tampered with. The substance was the same in each cup, in the exact same dosage."

"What? Wait, then how come we-"

Guk held out his hand to stop Suhan. "Don't interrupt. Let me recount it all. Trust me, its because I went to the depth of it that it took time. Jimin is NOT out of danger yet, so let me be quick."

Silence.

Guk resumed, "Whoever tampered with your coffee, their target was only Jimin. They did not know which coffee he would drink so he dispersed the substance in each cup, because it was designed in a way that it would ONLY react with Jimin."

Anya shakily breathed out at that.

"For the rest of us, the substance is harmless. For Jimin, it is lethal."

"What exactly is it?" Yoongi asked.

"Jimin is a venomous hybrid. The venom is produced by his gland. But the problem with a snake hybrid is, even though the venom is not life threatening, it needs to be injected in another person in regular intervals. Failing which, it builds up in the body and the gland starts secreting it in large amounts, which goes down the throat of the hybrid. His own venom then spreads to his own body if he does not bite someone in the time period."

"But it does not harm him." Hoseok said.

"No. To a point it does not. To a point. Which is why, he needs to bite. I am guessing, since the information about snake hybrids are low, he needs to bite the person he bonds with. If not, the venom keeps on being produced in large quantity."

Jin nodded. Guk acknowledged it.

"The venom is painful. For at least 20 minutes, if injected in someone. It burns. So it is very obvious, that Jimin would not want to bite the person he bonded with."

"No. wait." Anya stirred from Tae's embrace, "I know that. I knew it, that he needed to bite me. I knew it right when I bought him. But he never came to me. he never told me, so I assumed the regular interval was longer!" Anya tried to sit up as she looked wildly at the rest of the pack, "Was it overdue? Did he not tell me about it?"

"Anya" Guk called to her, "You are going off topic. Yes. He did not tell you but it was long overdue. I am guessing about 3 weeks. The amount of his own venom in his blood was overwhelming, and that is part of why this happened."

"Hang on." Hobi stood up, "His venom can be a little painful to him, but it would not cause this."

Guk nodded again, "I said it was part of the reason, thing is, whoever made that substance, was also sure that Jimin would not be biting anyone. Maybe because he thought he was chained up, maybe because he thought his master would not want it, but the creator banked on it that Jimin's own venom would be flooding his body.

The substance created, binds with Jimin's venom in the blood. Which is why it was safe for the rest of you, because his venom was only in his body.

Once the substance binds with the venom, the compound it creates is highly dangerous. It kills the subject slowly, excruciatingly slowly, but in an extremely painful manner.

Jimin is dying. I am still not sure if I can save him. Because I alone, cant."

The room plunged into silence again.

Guk stood up, to go to the machine, "What I am doing is called Plasmapheresis. Essentially," he tapped one line attached to Jimin's chest, which was filled with blood, "I am taking his blood from this line," then he touched the machine, "Making it go in this machine where his blood cells and plasma are separated," he touched the other line going in Jimin's chest, "Then sending the blood back along with albumin as replacement."

"The fuck Guk! Do we look like your fellow doctors to you?" Suhan erupted in frustration, "Half of what you said and all of this plasmapheresis thing went over my head!"

Guk sighed,

"Jimin was given a lethal substance that attached itself to his venom in his body, not in his gland.

The overproduction of his venom caused him to swallow it. The substance is attaching to that.

That combination is deadly and is causing him to die slowly and extremely painfully.

What I am doing is purifying his blood of that substance." He summarized.

"Was it so difficult to lead with that?" Suhan muttered.

Everyone ignored him. Anya shakily asked, "If you are purifying his blood, then why did you say he is still in danger? What do you mean you cant save him?"

Guk came back to sit in front of her. He looked at her big blue eyes so very torn with worry that he hesitated.

"Tell her." Namjoon curtly said.

"Anya," Guk gentled his voice, "The time that it took for us to figure it out has damaged a lot of his body. Even with his hybrid physiology, it will be an uphill battle to recover from it. It will mostly depend on his will power. But,"

He stopped and hesitated again. Drawing a breath, he continued, "But, his gland is too stimulated. The production of his venom will not stop. As such, the substance which is now stored in his body will keep binding with it, even after I remove it, because the venom going down his throat is continuous. The cycle wont end. I cant make his own body's venom stop from producing more which is the key to stop the substance he ingested." He exhaled, "If there is no venom, I can easily flush out the substance. Only the damage caused in these 3 hours will remain."

Anya stilled at that. Her glazy eyes became sharper.

Before she could say anything, the door burst open again to admit Peter and Jackson, "We found the two bastards!"

They came in the room and every single head turned their way. Jackson started, "We traced them back. Got them here. They are both Flaker's friends. He called them and assured them the substance would not cause Anya any harm and paid them a fortune to spike the coffee."

Peter took over, "The substance was left on the bench outside of your office building in a container. We got the remaining amount. They told us who made it. it was Michael. It was his plan and he asked Flaker to find men to execute it. Flaker just provided the two men we captured." He completely crisply.

Flaker and Michael.

The remining two trainers.

The ticking of the clock and the whirr of the Machine was clearly heard in the room filled with people shaking with pure rage over the revelation.

From between them, the delicate figure of the raven haired beauty extracted herself from the arms of her Tiger hybrid.

Silently, Taehyung let her go. She stood up on the floor and wobbled a bit, her strength almost drained from what she was going through.

12 sets of worried eyes watched as she slowly rounded the bed, going towards the still figure of Jimin, lying so lifelessly on the big bed, 2 huge tubes attached to his chest.

Anya lost her balance a little while trying to climb the bed, but managed to reach her angel. She gently stroked his hair, smiling at his endearing face, as she bent down to softly place a kiss on his warm lips. Kissing them again.

The moment was achingly intimate. It was achingly tender.

Anya then backed up towards the headrest, and carefully tugged Jimin towards her. Others all watched as she struggled against it, but were so afraid of touching her fragility, that they silently observed as she pulled his body to her.

She rested his head on her lap and then ever so adoringly caressed his lips.

Guk and the Hybrids remained paralyzed in surreal horror as they saw Anya tug at Jimin's lips and place her forearm on his mouth.

"MASTER!" Hobi and Joon lunged at her but were held back by Suhan and Choi. Guk stayed stunned as did Yoongi and Taehyung who shook where they stood, Jungkook and Jin's mouth opened in a silent scream as they saw the scene before them.

Unconsciously, Jimin bit down on her forearm.

Hard.

Blood flowed from the place where his fangs tore open the flesh to pool and overflow from his lips, his burning hot venom flowing freely in the body of the already weak girl he had imprinted on. The deep scarlet fluid going down in rivulets on his face and neck, a violent contrast to his pale body.

A strangled sound came out of the throat of Taehyung, while Yoongi took a few steps back, too shocked to believe the scene. Their Master had willingly taken the bite. A bite, which would be excruciating in its intensity, due to the potency of the venom having quadrupled in Jimin's body.

She took that pain, took it without any hesitation.

Her arm was engulfed in tremors as the fiery lash of hot burning torment stabbed through it. her eyes were pinched in the corners, her breathing rapid while sweat formed on her face. The venom was fast, as was it searingly acute.

Jimin released the bite, his face slightly relaxing.

Anya hand fell down on the bed, spasming violently. The amount of pain she had to be in was untellable.

But she did not utter a single sound of distress.

"Master . . ." Jin whispered part in awe part in disbelief as he saw her pick up Jimin's discarded shirt with her other hand, and proceed to wipe his face ever so gently off the blood.

Her eyes were filled with pain, yet they held a . . . warmth.

Guk shook himself from his daze and went to his bag, rummaging to find a suitable analgesia.

Her voice tight, Anya asked, "The venom," she gasped as a spasm hit her hard, drawing a breath she said haltingly again, "It wont . . . Continuously keep secreting . . . in his body, if he injects it, right? Then half of the risk . . . is uplifted, right?"

Guk was still in shock. He had examined the blood, he knew the amount of load it had in it, and she had just.....

"The gland is too stimulated. It needs to be done at least 6 to 7 times over the course of the few days. But yes, it definitely gives him a fighting chance. If new venom does not go down his system, then his will power may just be able to get himself out. I will repeat this procedure 2 more times just to be sure." The doctor said as he located the vial he needed. "The indication of success would be if his temperature comes back to normal. Until then, he is still at severe risk."

While Guk tore open a new injection, Anya closed her eyes to tolerate the burn but kept a hold of her precious hybrid on her lap. She felt the pinch of the injection on her.

Through it all, she opened her eyes to focus on the rest of the people in the room.

"I want Flaker."

Her voice was low, scratchy and utterly destroyed, but the pulse of command in it was like a bolt of electricity. It pierced through every single male in the room. Everyone in that room felt the swell of wild darkness behind those 3 words.

"I want him before me. Alive. In this house."

The delicate girl spoke again in a disturbingly savage undertone. Her face was blank, her expression blank, the emotion in her voice void.

But the dark implication behind the words clamored deafeningly.

Suhan gave her a curt nod, then tapped Jin and Yoongi on their shoulders and tilted his head towards the door. Quietly all the men exited the room.

Guk straightened, "This should help at least for a few minutes." Saying so he checked on Jimin again, and went towards the door, to let Arissa know all that had occurred.

But Anya's voice stopped him.

"All the times in your life you kept telling me that you wanted to pay me back. If that still stands, Then this is what I ask from you. Save him." Her quiet voice trembled.

Guk turned around to look at her. She was bent over Jimin's form on her lap, stroking his neck while she spoke into his hair.

The tall doctor spoke with a fervor in his voice, "I swear this to you Anya, I will try my hardest to save your hybrid."

"That is not good enough for me." was the quiet reply.

He knew. He understood the extent to which the heiress was attached to the silver snake. For her to ask something from him, spoke to him of the edge she was standing at. One gentle sweep of wind could make her fell.

Guk went to her. He kneeled down on the side of the bed, and reached out his hand to grab hers. He waited till she looked in his eyes.

"I will stop at nothing to return your Jimin to you. All that I am Anya, I am staking all of me in this bet. I WILL give him ALL the knowledge I have gathered in my life. My very identity will be lost if I lose. And that is something, I do not accept."

Anya observed him for some time, then nodded.

The promise, forged in hues of lifeblood, was unbreakable in its essence.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

LIBRARY

HYBRIDS :

Namjoon stood on the far end, looking out of the window as he saw from the corner of his eyes, Suhan tossing back a measure of whisky.

Right after His Master's command, they had all gathered in the library. Including Joseph and Choi.

A task needed to be carried out.

Jungkook was still deep in his thoughts. Although his hyung's poisoning was still rooted in his heart, his Master's action caused him to go on a tailspin.

They all knew her love for them.

But they never guessed the extent.

"Suhan," Yoongi said from the armchair he was seated in, "What did we see? Why are you not surprised?"

Jin sat behind the desk while Hobi and Taehyung sat on the Long Mahogany desk.

Jungkook saw Suhan close his eyes, "Her breaking point. Her weakness. That is what you saw." He answered.

That answer made Jungkook feel a blooming ache, "We are her weakness?" he asked, despising it.

Suhan shook his head, "No. not just you."

Jin softly said, "The people in this household." He realized as he formed the words, "You included."

Suhan nodded. He poured another splash of whisky in his glass, "Which is why we learnt from a young age to always be happy, to look out for ourselves first. Me, Ari, Choi and Joseph. Because if something happened to us, she would simply shatter."

He tossed the drink back in his throat, and gave a rueful laugh.

"In just a heartbeat. That is all the time needed. She shatters. She is powerful, clever and can take on the entire world, as long as the people she loves are safe beside her. But if not . . ." Suhan sighed bitterly.

"If something happens to Jimin, we will lose her too." he said in a whisper, "She loves him too fiercely. She won't survive it."

Jungkook closed his eyes against the onslaught of hot tears that pushed itself against the lids. A past memory came to his forefront.

He and Jimin had been out, exploring the grounds after an exhaustive session of physical training, he had randomly asked his hyung

"Hyung, how are you so confident about seeking Master everytime you feel like it? Don't you ever fear it that she might get irritated and ask you to stop?"

Jimin had laughed lightly on hearing it. He had then hugged his little brother with one arm as they kept walking, "Is that what stops you from approaching her Kookie?"

"Well, Yes." He had answered.

Shaking his head, with a smile in place, Jimin had answered, "Cross off this fear from your mind Jungkookie. Master loves us too much. She adores it when I cling to her. She will never admit it, but I can see it in the way her eyes light up."

He had looked up to the sky while he continued, "Sometimes, I think, she is just as starved of touch as we are, just as needy for our company as us. As for being irritated?" Jimin had looked at him again, "She hides more than she expresses Jungkook, she has trouble expressing some emotions. Her feelings for us run deep."

Jungkook had made a wish right then, "Then I really wish I can witness something that makes me see that naked love. I am too lost in my emotions for her Hyung, I am too drunk in what I feel for her, it makes it so much more harder for me to perceive how she truly feels. I wish I could see the extent of her love for us too."

Jimin had stopped walking. With a serious face he had replied, "Don't wish for such things Kook. For a person who does not show her emotions, only a tragedy will make that mask fall off."

Jungkook clenched his eyes tightly shut, but the tears leaked out anyway. Was his careless wish responsible for this?

Did he somehow manifest it? Because the only thing which became crystal clear in this devastating situation was his Master's unparalleled love for them.

He felt that love. He saw it. But at what cost? His hyung's life? Or his Master becoming undone?

He did not want it. He wanted to shout out at the universe for granting him this out of all the wishes he had made in his life.

Having seen her so utterly broken, he had no desire to witness it. If this was the price for him to realize her feelings, then he was indeed a fool to have ever wanted it.

"Jimin will make it." Taehyung's deep voice said with a quiet conviction suddenly. Even with his head bent, it was easy to see the confidence that leaked in his voice.

"How do you know?" Suhan asked. He too was looking for some hope.

"Because, he can be greedy." Taehyung said as he played with a paperweight, "And he is especially greedy for Master. He wont leave her easily. He will fight to come back to her. And to us."

Taehyung's eyes became a little hazy and his low voice more absent as he murmured, "After all this time, HE will not detach himself from her side. Not in this lifetime."

From beside him, Hoseok fixed his eerie gaze on Suhan, "That is not what I wish to talk about right now."

Suhan pinched his brows, not following.

"Flaker." Jin said abruptly, "My Master has requested something Suhan. That is all I will concentrate on right now. She is there for Jimin. We need to be there for her." He leaned back on his chair, his posture, relaxed even though his eyes gave a glimpse of his worried state.

Yoongi got up from his seat, "We can get him to us without Michael knowing."

Suhan paused, "What? How?"

Tae kept spinning the paperweight, his attention seemingly engaged, "Michael had always been superior to Flaker and Sebastian. And he rubbed it in every chance he got." Taehyung said, "Flaker and Sebastian often talked against him. They tolerated him because he had the brains they needed, but both hid a lot of their activities from Michael."

Suhan got the picture, "What are you thinking?"

Namjoon stared out at the sky, glittering with stars as he said evenly, "If Flaker believes that Sebastian is alive, if he thinks, that Sebastian has captured, say, at least three of us and fabricated his death to escape from under Michael's authority and is asking him to join, then you can get Flaker to come in the location purported by us." Joon turned around to face Suhan, "Sebastian's body was never recovered and Police have closed the file saying its gang violence after announcing that the hands belonged to him. In a way, there is no actual proof that his death is a certainity."

Suhan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Joseph and Choi in the far end, who looked alert too. he looked around him. The very slaves who had been toasted for their subservience by the society, were now standing in this room, their auras simmering darkly, participating in a mind game with notions as razor sharp as his sister.

"Out of the men we captured, who came with Sebastian, three were the keepers of all archivable video sessions Sebastian and Flaker had with us. They were loyal to just them both." Hoseok contemplated lazily, quickly catching on to the direction Namjoon was going in, "Many of those sessions were Sebastian's personal venting episodes. A lot was said during those sessions." He smiled at Joon.

"So?" Jungkook asked.

Yoongi caught on quickly. With dark amusement he asked, "You are talking about the thing Master showed us?"

Namjoon and Hobi nodded.

Suhan too understood, "It is possible to cut words from a given audio to make full sentences. That way we can arrange an actual phone conversation if the necessary words are found in the video or audio." He said haltingly.

Taehyung shook his head and let go of the toy, to spear them all with a look, "Flaw in your planning. Flaker won't just fly out based on a recorded message that he can't even interact with." His deep voice was emotionless, "He may be the one with least intelligence in the trio but even he will not be this easily fooled."

Suhan nodded at the Tiger and kept his glass back on the shelf. Taking a few steps back, he started unbuttoning the cuff of his shirt, "Unless, we use that just as bait, to get his attention. Then we arrange for a video call, showing him the captured hybrids and Sebastian talking." He said, already working out the semantics, while he rolled the sleeves up on his arms.

"How?" Jungkook asked, getting up from his seat, he crossed the room to get to another window. Lounging against the sill, he drawled "Last I checked you can't make a dead man have video calls. What are you going to do to achieve it? A séance?"

"Think about it." Jin spun his chair about as he thoughtfully said, "Flaker is aware that Sebastian was captured in our estate, Sebastian had a device that was transmitting direct audio which was cut off when the guards tranqed him. The transmission cut off before the opposite party could even hear the voice of Master"

His voice low, he rested the back of his head on the back of his leather chair and with a cruel glint in his eyes, continued "Which means its very reasonable to expect that Sebastian was injured in his escape. His connection of supplying hybrids to Nightshade was known by Flaker. He will easily believe that as a favour, Sebastian asked Nightshade to corrupt the evidence with his DNA and use their technique, so that he can escape Master as she will think he is dead. The police themselves don't want to touch any case related to the Mob."

Jin crossed one ankle over his knees and smirked, "Flaker will think the reason to be valid. Essentially, that way, Sebastian will not appear on the radar of Michael, Master or the police. He would have got to walk away with the captured hybrids, Scot free."

Taehyung looked up to them, "Flaker will buy it."

Jungkook crossed his arms against his chest and nodded "No doubt. If the execution of this plan is flawless, then we will be successful in fooling him till that step. But what about the next? Hyung how will you do a video chat?"

Hoseok smiled at that. The Python's eyes had a banked wildness in it, "Jungkook, the one thing that even you know by now is their insane desire to get us. For some reason, they are desperate to get us back. That lure is strong. Stronger than we thought." He casually picked up a bottle and uncapped it. Hoseok took a sip as he flicked his eyes to Yoongi, "Flaker will want his hands on us, enough to blanket any concerns he might have."

"He will definitely NOT want Sebastian to walk away with three of us alone. He will be salivating to share us without having to had gone through the trouble of acquiring us." Yoongi mocked. "His greed will drown out the red flags his small unused brains might come up with."

The energy in the room had a pulse of power thrumming in the air.

With the way the six men confidently structured the plan, the way their manipulations were slyly rooted to the weakness of the people who used to have a right on them, one thing was clear to Suhan.

The dominance of their animals over their human moralities had finally unleashed. The remaining few chains locking their Codes would soon fall away too.

Suhan felt a satisfaction coursing through him at that thought.

Anya was right. They were born to be a part of this family.

He continued for Hoseok, "So if the video call happens in a dark room," the tip of his tongue touched the corner of his lips as he smiled, "With dim lights, a person who looks like Sebastian with a bandage covering most of his face, with three or four bound hybrids shown to Flaker, he will want to check it out without getting Michael involved."

"Exactly." Namjoon said, both hands in his pockets, "someone who has the same height as Sebastian, with a little makeup, a bandage, a voice filter and us captured and in his mercy, might just make Flaker want to come. And he will come quickly, so that both of them can make their escape because Flaker will be afraid of Michael getting to know about it. and he sure as hell will not want to share us with Michael if he thinks he can get away with it."

Yoongi looked at the Wolf and nodded, "He will come immediately. That is a guarantee." Then paused, "Not here through. A different location. Preferably just outside the country for it to be believable."

Taehyung leaned back on the desk. He remembered a repetitive line which used to be volleyed back and forth between Sebastian and Flaker, particularly when the both of them wanted to use him as a body that they could swing their baseball bats on whenever they were discontented by Michael's superiority, "Allow me to refine the edges for you," his voice was inquiring, "Does anyone remember the phrase Sebastian and Flaker used to repeatedly use? Something like creeper and plant?"

A phrase which Jungkook had also listened to a lot whenever they used him sexually. The degrading memory was stored well in his mind, "If creepers abide by the time, they can replace the original plant."

Taehyung clicked his fingers at that, nodding "Spot on. They always said it to each other. Never to Michael. Looking back at it, I believe it was a reference of their intentions to somehow overcome the ascendancy of Michael. That line was probably recorded in my sessions."

Tae looked at Namjoon, "If we send the initial audio message with that in it, Flaker will not only ask for a vid call, His instincts will flow more naturally to accept the explanation behind Sebastian's disappearance. He will be less suspicious of it."

Namjoon looked at Suhan, "Can you make that happen?"

Suhan was blown away by the flawless plan the six of them had so effortlessly paved. Their thoughts were focused, targeted on the result the wanted to achieve, their zeal for it, calmly brutal.

They were no longer the personas his sister met in the auction, were they?

Suhan nodded, "I can. The whole thing hinges of the first hook of the audio message we send. For that, we will need those men to give us the video files first."

"As mentioned earlier, that action might just be a little hard." Yoongi said dryly, "They are too loyal to talk to anyone. Much less give up the files we need. Their loyalty was like a cult."

Suhan scoffed as he pulled up his Uncle's number and called him, "Lets see if that stands in the face of what we do to them. Tell me the names of the three guards."

They had a solid plan to proceed. He was not going to let it all fall apart like a house of cards because of some pathetic loyalty towards dead garbage.

Half of what made it achievable was the intel the hybrids had on the man, and the trainer's complete ignorance of the possibility that the very hybrids he wanted, were free and actively working against him.

45 MINUTES LATER

Suhan cut the call and almost hurled his cellphone on the wall, "DAMMIT TO HELL AND BACK!!"

They did not talk.

They had outright swore at the men to kill them. They tolerated pain, but did not open their mouths.

"Why do they worship him????" Suhan turned around to ask the hybrids.

Yoongi glanced up, "Its not their belief. Flaker, Sebastian, Jim and those three trained themselves to not break in any questioning. They wanted to be prepared to dupe Michael if he got suspicious and made them undergo a round of interrogation where they would not be killed." He paused, "They know what you want from them now. They know you wont kill them."

"We cant waste time! I cant-"

"Suhan."

Suhan stopped to look at Joseph, who stood up from where he was sitting with Choi. He had just called him Suhan, Not master Suhan.

Joseph unbuttoned and discarded his coat as he came closer to him. "Tell Si Hyuk to get all the captured men in one room. Inform him I am coming."

Suhan just blinked. "What--?"

Joseph smiled, "Also ask him to get my tools ready. I will be back in an hour. With all the answers we need." Saying so, he walked out of the room.

In the space of a second, his mannerism had changed. Joseph was not the person who they all saw around the household daily. No.

He was the person Suhan had seen when he was young.

The silence in the wake of Joseph's departure was strong in its intensity. Every individual had grasped what he meant.

"He is going back to his old self?" Taehyung asked.

Jin's gaze remained locked at the door from which Joseph had walked out, "Something tells me, he never left. He just kept that side of him submerged."

"Whatever may be the case," Suhan breathed, "We can be damn well sure that those people will break."

"The training they had was exemplary. Against Michael." Jungkook bit his tongue, "The only people I can confidently say is above the skills of Michael are you and Master. What makes you think Joseph will succeed?"

For the first time in the evening, since Jimin fell, a genuine smile graced Suhan's lips, "Who do you think trained us Jungkook?"

The rhetoric question had the answer which was made clear to the rest.

Joseph.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

ANYA :

The sound of the airconditioner in the large room was the only break from the silence it had been submerged in. Guk had completed the procedure and left for the day, reminding her yet again that the recovery was heavily dependent on her hybrid's will.

Jimin frame lay still in the center of the king size bed, the drapes drawn around the four posters and tied. His face was peaceful, his breathing calmer. But his temperature remained high. The silver haired hybrid was still unconscious, the wreckage the substance caused in his body, still battling against his defenses.

He was still in danger.

Just not in pain.

Anya sat on a chair beside the bed, her eyes absorbing each and every detail of Jimin's face as she rested her head on the edge of the bed.

2 lamps combined its glow with the moonlight streaming in from the drawn curtains of the wall of French windows.

The void inside of her had completely wrapped itself around her very being. Right then, in that moment of time, Anya did not feel a single thing.

She felt no emotion, she had no strength.

All she could do was just keep her eyes on Jimin's rising and falling chest.

A dark terror lurked at bay in her mind, of that movement ceasing. Of his chest going as still as the rest of his body.

Anya knew she would be swept up in the clutches of that terror that she did not want to experience, so she did not rest. She just made sure that her mind knew constantly that the fear she kept at bay, always remained out of reach.

Jimin was breathing. She would watch him remain that way.

The passage of a car from outside flashed a light inside the room, the light glinting at the glass of the pictures kept on the head side table beside Jimin's bed.

For a second, Anya was blinded by the reflection, which quickly passed. Her attention diverted, she glanced at the pictures Jimin kept on it.

Slowly sitting up, she stood up and took three steps to reach the frames. One look at the pictures and she knew where it was from.

The first one was when she had introduced them to video games. All of the pack had gathered together, squeezing in with each other to watch and learn. Once they had got a hang of it, they were lost to that world.

Jin had been playing a car race and the rest of her hybrids had enthusiastically cheered on. They were so excited at the prospect of having been able to freely play, that their excitement got them turning with the car on the screen.

Their cheers, their laughs, their shouts of delight had been so precious to Anya. Her hybrids had been so very happy. The load of their past had been completely forgotten during that time, the pure joy they were experiencing had been innocent in its color.

Anya had captured that moment, wanting to immortalize it.

It seemed, Jimin too had loved the precious happy moment with his pack.

The next picture was also taken by her, on the outing to their holiday cottage. Suhan had gone crazy one morning and suddenly announced that the hybrids would be spending a day getting to know the holiday cottage they owned.

The hybrids had loved the isolated location with acres of fields and a small stream around it.

A small smile bloomed on Anya's lips.

Jimin and Jin had been so fascinated by the stream that they had spent majority of their time in it. Her snake hybrid had rolled his jeans up and waddled right into the water, giggles of delight ringing in the air as he played in the cool flow.

Something as simple as that had made her Jimin shine like the Angel he was. His eyes lit from within, sparkling with a mischievous sparkle, he had sprayed Jin with an arc of the water he was playing in.

Anya loved the moment she had clicked it.

But the last two pictures.

Anya swallowed hard, her heart getting acutely crushed as she picked up both the frames. She knew why Jimin had these here. These were the two pictures of her silver snake hybrid that she treasured, that she adored. But she could not find them.

Her sly snake had stolen them. He would have returned it back to her, if only this evening had not happened.

Both pictures were of Jimin.

If seen from the eyes of a stranger, they were just regular clicks, nothing about them being special.

But to her . . . in her eyes . . . the pictures had the potential of bringing her down to the depths of hell at the same time lifting her back to the gardens of Eden.

She knew every single one of her hybrids by now, and Jimin happened to the only one with extreme facets in his emotions.

When it came to his brothers, the word that would define his existence was, love. The support, the care he would gift them had always remained unquestionable. His heart was too big for his body when it came to his pack.

His own pain would be forgotten, wrapped and then discarded in the face of even a slight discomfort he perceived any individual of be feeling. His embrace, his advice, his warmth given freely to them.

Those traits hid the bloody violent past he had, the deep wounds from the abuse that he carried. His torment had been worse that the others, painted a deep scarlet, etched in the canvas of his life, but he bore it without complaints. Without any visible damage.

But Anya could see its presence in every thought he felt. His smiles had always carried with it, a small tinge of that anguish, his teasing had always shown a tiny sliver of the vulnerability he covered so well.

A hazy drape curtained the damaged parts of his life. But its shadow forever plagued his every action.

But in that moment, in the cottage, it had been different.

His happiness had been pure, his eyes had only held guileless wonder, a light carefree joy devoid of any ugliness. His laughter had been contagious.

It felt as if his lost childhood was returned to him. That he had been saved from the past that had never happened.

A happy, cheerful boy.

That was what Anya could see in the pictures.

The beautiful smile.

The open delight.

His happiness spilling from his innocent eyes.

Her playful Angel.

Anya carefully placed the photos back and turned on the bed to look at Jimin.

The sweet smile was missing from those lips. His pale body was so still. No sound came from him.

The contrast from the lively picture to the present reality was too great for her to grasp on. Unlike the radiant afternoon in the cottage, Her angel lay on the bed fighting for his life. His death, hanging like a sword above him.

"Please . . ." Anya whispered, gently stroking his hair, "Please open your eyes."

Anya lowered her head on the crook of his neck on the bed. She breathed in his Forest and Pears scent, finding some comfort in the lingering fragrance. She placed one palm over his beating heart, feeling the steady thump over his hot skin.

Closing her eyes as she let the floodgates of memories open, trying to find comfort in them.

🌸

Just 4 days ago, Anya had returned home late at night. The launch and propagation of her new Jewellery line had swamped her schedule. Meetings and engagements with too many people, remote conferences with Royalties had held her hostage away from the house. For 2 weeks straight, she had to leave her home at 6 am in the morning only to return at 1 am.

She missed her hybrids, who would be too exhausted by their own busy schedule of learning and training, to stay up to meet her.

But they did try to stay awake to welcome her back. They missed her too.

Often times in those days, she would come home to find Yoongi or Joon or Jungkook sleeping on the floor in front of the main door, inside the house, in their animal form. Soft snuffles of heavy sleep coming from their mouths, their damp nose twitching a little when she came, but so lost they would be in their dream world that they would not stir even when she would crouch down on the floor to kiss their soft fur.

Many times she found Taehyung and Jin passed out on the sofas, a cup of tea covered beside them. They had tried to welcome her with some honey green tea, in the hopes of soothing her fatigue from her grueling work at the end of the day, but her unforgivable schedule had won out the battle against their tiredness.

Anya would cover their forms with the soft throw before kissing them Goodnight.

She would always drink that cup of cold tea.

Hoseok, she found sleeping against her bedroom door, sleep claiming him while he sat against her door. His mouth just a little open in the corner, the sweetheart would be completely oblivious to the world.

Every time she saw them this way, it made her heart softer. She felt cherished.

She loved coming home. Because now, home meant that someone waited for her. Someone was there who missed her absence, who worried about her. Her life now had people who wanted to welcome her back in the fold after a tiring day. People other than Ari or Joseph.

But never in those busy days could she ever see her silver menace waiting anywhere for her. Oddly, that pinched her a little, even though she never wanted them to wait for her to begin with.

Jimin had in his own way, conditioned her to his presence. He was the one who would always be just around the corner, someone who clung to her, someone, who would always be involved in every activity that she partook in.

With the passage of time, Anya had started to enjoy that clinginess, would in fact, look forward to it.

She had gone to check on him, but had retreated when she found him sleeping soundly in his bed when she had come home.

That night, even though she had been exhausted, she had gone to bed missing her sweet snak. Maybe that had been the reason why when she had felt a light touch on her cheeks an hour later, she had woken up from her deep sleep.

Trying to find her bearings, she had kept her eyes closed when she felt the bed dip from the weight of someone sitting on it.

The touch did not come again.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes and waited for her eyesight to adjust to the veils of the night. Jimin was sitting beside her on the edge of the bed, his back turned to her.

Involuntarily, a sleepy smile bloomed in her soft lips.

"You are awake tonight." He said, without turning back.

Tonight. So her Angel visited her at night. "Mhmm" she sleepily responded, happy to know that little tidbit.

He did not respond. He simply sat there, facing away from her and indulged in the comfortable silence around them.

Anya snuggled deeper under her blankets as she watched her Cobra in the quiet, peaceful night. After sometime, she teased him in a husky voice, "Missed me?"

His responded in a deep, serious voice, "It does not make sense to miss someone who belongs to me."

Anya's heart missed a beat. The stark possessiveness in his tone jolted her awake.

"Your surprise to my sentiments is always refreshing to know." He observed in dark amusement.

For a beat, she assimilated herself, then said, "Do you blame me for my surprise? The times that you are around me, you tease and joke around. I only ever see your light and carefree side."

"But you know that is not all that I am. You know the side of me that I hide."

"I know of it. I have never seen it." Anya told.

"Do you wish to?"

She did not know, whether it was the late hour, her disorientation or her seesawing emotions of missing him, that made every word he uttered, pure temptation in itself.

With no hopes of controlling her heartbeat, she gave up on trying to hide her reaction to his allure.

"Your interactions with me sometimes makes me believe that the theory of the bond of imprinting might just be wrong." She countered, answering, yet not directly to his question.

He allowed her the indirect answer.

"Imprinting is NEVER light. That bond is feared for a reason. Without any exceptions, the bond of imprinting will always be dark, obsessive and intense. The name is just a term given to hide the insanity."

A tension thrummed in the air, its throb affecting Anya as she restlessly shifted on the bed.

"Your bond with me is complete?" she asked quietly.

His back tensed at her question, but he answered her. A single nod.

"But you never act like it Jimin."

"It seems I need to repeat my question to you." Jimin turned his head slightly, his sharp jaw, his neck and side profile enticing her. His eyes were serious, a need in them clearly visible.

"Do you want me to?"

Anya inhaled deeply. Her mind was slowly getting foggier with desire while her body was blooming, seeking the promise of a mirrored passion it was experiencing.

She remained quiet.

Jimin turned around completely to face her. His eyes were heavy with his own need, but his restraint was clear in the controlled way he reached forward to brush her hair from her forehead.

"I don't believe you are ready for that yet" his low voice was full of want but his touch was gentle, "That, is the trouble your absence is stirring in me."

"What trouble?" she remained transfixed by his unnatural gaze.

"My control is unravelling."

Jimin placed one hand on the headboard above her face and leaned forward till she could feel his warm breath on her skin when he spoke.

"My clinging to you helps me to remain calm" his other hand caressed the smooth skin of her cheeks, her neck. "The touch of your soft skin, your fragrance in my air, calms the twisted fever of lust in me. You have become my necessity, to survive."

Anya looked in the silver eyes openly displaying the naked truth of the words he spoke. It enchanted her into the whirlpool of madness he tempted her in. "What is stopping you from giving in?" she breathed as she licked her lips.

Jimin's arm on the headboard tensed as his eyes tracked the tip of her pink tongue, tracing her lips with his burning stare.

He lowered his face until his lips grazed her soft ones. They pressed on her petal softness, his breaths becoming rapid.

He spoke against her lips, "I am a venomous snake hybrid. An Unclassified at that. My passions are dangerous for your life, my lust a curse." He licked her lips hotly, wetly.

Anya's lips parted at that action, but Jimin withdrew from her, "And I can not indulge in any action that might endanger you." His voice dangerously low.

Jimin's eyes burned hotter than a fire, "I guard you more fiercely than my soul. I will not tolerate a spec of pain dwelling in the vein of your life, let alone be the cause of it."

Saying so, he straightened from her with difficultly. His face blanked out, but the embers in his eerie gaze did not bank.

Anya understood the amount of self-control he was exercising. Even though her own desire had taken hold of her body, even though she knew that his concerns were not going to stop her, she still admitted that it wasn't the time, nor the place for such a discussion.

She tried to relax back in her bed.

"Oh come on Jimin." She injected a note of lightness in her teasing, trying to dispel the sexual tension in the air, "You wont always be around me to save me from every single thing that can possibly hurt me. don't you think your ambition is a bit too lofty?" she playfully wriggled her eyebrows at him, hoping to get a smile in return.

Jimin did not smile back.

His eyes bore into her as he pulled back the blanket from her body, exposing her thin satin nightgown. He did not look at her scantily clad curves but picked up her hand lying on her stomach.

Gaze still connected to hers, he brought her hand to his chest, splaying her palm on his heart and holding his hand over hers.

"Till the day this heart beats, till the day I draw air in my lungs, my place by your side will never be vacant. Each and every step on the road of our life together, you will find me right by your side.

I am yours, as you are mine. Every drop of my essence belongs to you, my body, my dreams and my servitude. The embrace that I wrap you in will never fade Master, You will never know Pain."

He brought her hand to his lips and placed a lingering kiss on her palms.

"I won't let you." He promised.

🌸

"Liar . . ." Anya shakily breathed out as she opened her eyes to her present, the memory replacing the agonizing reality. She brought her body closer to the unconscious form of Jimin and pressed her face deeper in his neck.

Hand pressing down on his beating heart, she brokenly kept repeating, "Liar . . . A Liar. . ."

She could not breathe properly as the memory of that night kept playing itself in a loop. She wanted to shout, she wanted to rage, but all she could do was keep lying close to her Jimin, her body resembling a broken doll.

"You broke your promise." She whispered in anguish, "You broke it."

Her silver Angel, still did not respond.

His eyes did not open.

"You . . ." she swallowed, her throat constricting with her emotions, her heartache and desolation consuming her being, "You need to . . . smile again. You have to . . . you have to kiss me again."

Trying to breathe, her voice almost inaudible, she whispered, "You have to hold me again. What . . . what must I . . . do, to make you open your eyes Jimin?"

"I love it when you sing Master."

A random memory of Jimin came to her mind.

"It makes me want to hold you close to me, to listen to your voice while you remain in my arms. Will you sing for me?" he had asked her once.

And so, even with her hoarse voice, the girl sang for the unconscious hybrid clutched close to her in the dark night.

"Don't Think of anything else,

Don't say anything, not even a word

Just give me a smile.

I still cant believe it.

All of this seems like it was a dream

Please don't try to disappear.

Is it true, is it true

You, you

It is too beautiful, it makes me afraid

Untrue, untrue

You, You, You,

Will you stay by my side?

Will you promise me that?

If I let go of your hand I'm afraid

You'll fly away and shatter

I'm scared, scared of that.

Will you stop time?

I'm afraid that if this moment passes

As though it hadn't happened

I'll lose you.

Butterfly, Like a Butterfly

Just like a Butterfly."

The poignant song continued in the broken voice well into time, till she could sing no more.

Anya still, did not cry.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

HYBRIDS :

An hour had passed since Joseph had left. The rest were still in the library. Suhan had brought out his gear and started explaining the process of editing out certain words from an audio file to cut and paste them together in a way that the pitch and the tone could remain uniform enough for it to sound as one sentence.

During that hour, Suhan had also uploaded the entire voice file they had of Sebastian's wire when he was captured, along with what the CCTV and hidden cams had picked up on the estate to the Voice Filter. It was currently being processed to be applicable.

The hybrids were pacing about while Namjoon and Jin answered seemingly random questions Suhan asked, from the lengthy dossier Adora had compiled of Sebastian and Flaker's life.

They all wanted to check on their fallen brother and Anya, but one thing stopped them.

Anya had asked them to do something for her. Had downright asked for something. For the first time.

They had no intention of going back to her without having completed their role in it.

And right now, for the plan to proceed, their intel was the only source that kept Suhan going. But Taehyung had a sneaking suspicion that Suhan would want something more from them as well. It was the correct choice after all. It would be logical.

"Okay, now all that remains is the planning for the video call." Suhan said, looking at them.

"We will be moving fast. As soon as Flaker responds to the audio message, we will arrange for the vid call. In that respect, we need to decide a few things to be ready for it." he pushed his chair back from his table to hold out his fingers as he counted and said,

"A) which three hybrids are going to be shown as captured?"

"It has to be me, Taehyung and Jungkook." Joonie answered at once.

"Why 'has to be'?"

Yoongi answered from where he was sitting beside him, "I could never be controlled by the hypnotic trigger, Flaker just sent for Jimin with the compound Michael created, Hoseok and Jin hyung would have been around Jimin. If Jimin is still with us, then its safe to say that Hoseok and Jin hyung also did not leave."

"Why would Hoseok and Jin-"

"We always stayed by Jimin and Yoongi." Jin answered, "They were the only 2 who would sometimes go wild. Flaker knows this."

Suhan just nodded, "Okay," looking at the selected three, he said with hesitation, "For the duration of the call, you will have to wear a collar."

Taehyung scoffed at that, "In the light of incidents that are plaguing us, do you honestly think we would have any objections to it?"

Jungkook kept a hand on Tae's shoulder, reeling him in. At once Tae closed his eyes and said, "Sorry."

"I understand your anger Tae." Suhan replied, "But you also need to understand that even though you are my friends, hell almost my brothers, you still belong to my sister. She has a right to you that I wont be able to touch."

A heavy sigh left him, "And she will absolutely HATE it. She never wants you to touch a collar in your life. Nor would she like getting you all this involved against someone we don't have thorough intel about while working on a plan to take them down which will surely have blind spots. I needed to ask your permission for it because I sure as hell can't go to her now."

"Suhan?" Jungkook called from where he stood with Tae, his tall body lounging against a book case. When he saw the man looking at him, he continued.

"Right now, the state my Master is in, its OUR duty to take care of her." His voice pulsed with a dark undertone, "What we do to do that, is something where her wishes will NOT be accommodated."

Hearing that, Suhan stilled. Too stunned to speak.

Hoseok sat down on the sofa, his eyes filled with a wild savageness, "We do belong to her Suhan, but I am guessing you are not privy to another aspect attached at the end of that sentence."

He leaned forward, "She belongs to us as well. In. Every. Sense."

The air in the room chilled as the auras of the hybrids changed to a steeper side.

"What we do to keep her safe or to obey her wishes, will not hinge on her dislikes. If it benefits her, her opinions for that task will not matter to us. Only the end result will." Hoseok finished darkly.

Sitting there, among people who were classified as lowly slaves by the entire world, Suhan felt a chill run down his spine. Their words reflected their true feelings. And their feelings, were shared as one.

This incident has caused a change in them in their most fundamental core. Their Codes were just beneath their skins.

"I can smell your fear." Yoongi leaned back and closed his eyes as he quietly said, "You are one of the very few who never has to associate that emotion to us."

They were out of anyone's control now. Any and all conditioning had been completely demolished.

"Does my sister know? The level of Code you have unlocked?"

"Why does she need to?" Jin narrowed his eyes on Suhan, "You assume she doesn't know? That she can not feel it?"

Ah yes. This was his sister he was talking about.

Suhan nodded, then continued, "Okay then. Moving on to B) one of the remaining 3 has to be the one who imitates Sebastian. And you need to tell me now. The Man I asked to come in for the makeup needs to start working on any possible prosthetics he will need, right away."

"Jin Hyung will. He was the only one of us who never tuned out during any sessions. He knows Sebastian and his conversations with Flaker the best. Any surprise that may arise, he will be able to tackle." Namjoon said without hesitation.

Suhan looked at Jin, who nodded.

"Remember to always remain calm. The key is to project an urgency that will be transmitted to Flaker, making him distressed and anxious to get his hands on the hybrids. We want him so lost in his greed for acquiring them and his fear for losing them to Michael, that he acts instantly and blindly, following OUR directions."

"I can create that storm in him." The Eagle's calm confidence was steady.

"Okay." Suhan said, "I will be bouncing the signal from the location of Tsushima island in Japan. That is where we want Flaker to come."

"Why there specifically?" Taehyung asked.

"Because" Choi spoke, "That is the area where Joseph used to have a hideout at. He has a lot of contacts there. It will be easier to pick Flaker from there and smuggle him in Busan. We have our ways from the old days."

"You will be going?" Jungkook asked.

Choi nodded. His smirk was cruelly twisted. His stance, his mannerism had changed. He looked like a completely different person, not like the gardener they knew. "Me and Joseph will. You forget Panther, Anya did not just ask you. We were included in that request too."

Choi was just like the rest. His past self had been stowed away to enjoy the life he now lived. But that past had never been killed, only temporarily put away.

And his past, was brutal. This was an attack to the family he had acquired. There was no way any individual at this stage would simply be able to hurt the ones he loved and walk away.

He had failed his sister because he had been too young. He had vowed, this was a family he would not let anyone sully with their machinations.

"Okay. Then all that is left is for me to do is scour the footage once it comes." Suhan said.

At that, Namjoon slowly walked towards where Suhan, Yoongi and Jin were seated. He stopped near Suhan's chair and bowed down to him.

The sudden gesture took Suhan back, he sat up straight and tried to scramble his chair back, when Namjoon's request stopped him.

"My Master's weakness made us aware of one thing Suhan. She is not capable of witnessing our pain, or any mishap."

Joon lifted his head, "You cannot show our Master the sessions you will witness. it is one thing to verbally know about some actions that happened to us in the past, but an entirely different matter to see it unfold with your own eyes."

Joon's expression showed the soft adoration he felt towards her, "She will forever be scared by what happened today, don't add to that burden."

Thank you God, for listening to my prayers. Thank you for giving my sister these souls.

Suhan's heart swelled at the love behind the request the hybrid made. Usually people would love to draw sympathy from the ones they knew who loved them, but here were people, who put the heart of his sister before their sufferings.

"I promise you Joon, Anya will never see this. If needed, I will relay any information that might be important, but I wont let her watch." He promised.

"And I deliver to you the USB where the files are stored."

A voice from the doorway of the library alerted them of the presence.

Every person in that room turned to look in that direction, only to be shocked at what they saw.

Joseph strolled in the Library, his grey-black hair slicked back, his silhouette attired in a sharp suit with a white shirt. His outstretched hand held 2 small USBs which he put on the desk with a small smile.

The only thing wrong with him was the blood.

He was soaked in it. his suit, his shirt, streaks of it on his face. His pants were darkly wet while a few strands of his grey hair were coloured scarlet.

Joseph stretched his neck from one side to the other, his bones making a cracking sound, "It felt nice to indulge. The thrill never left." He said.

Silence.

Yoongi poked Suhan on his back. That prompt broke the awe he had in his gaze. And he was not alone.

Jungkook and Taehyung were gazing at Joseph as if they had just met their personal superhero, while the gazes of Namjoon and Hoseok were reverential.

What a twisted household we are. Suhan thought before he asked cautiously, "Are they still alive? We may need them once we have Flaker."

"What do you take me for boy?" Joseph answered as he sharply unsnapped his red stained wristwatch, taking it off, "I have put the 3 in one of the black rooms of the out quarters. Once they talked and gave up the location for Si Hyuk's men to retrieve it, I let them live."

"What about the rest three?" Suhan asked.

"Dead."

"Right, of course." Suhan picked up the USB and plugged it in, "Change, Joseph. Then ask the staff to make one of the corners in the basement dark and dim enough for us to use in the vid call. We'll do this in a few hours at the maximum."

4 HOURS LATER

Jin checked the prosthetic on his chin one more time, then adjusted the bandage covering his forehead. They were waiting to call Flaker in a few minutes.

Suhan could not scour the entire footage. He could barely remain by the first three hours. By the end of which his palms had bloody indents of his nails pressing tightly into them. His face grim, at one point he had got up suddenly and thrown his laptop straight out, which thankfully, Tae had caught.

"SON OF A BITCH!" he had shouted loudly.

Choi and Joseph remained seated but their eyes were raging in anger.

The sessions had been too much for them to witness.

"It's a good thing my sister will be dealing with them." Suhan had sarcastically laughed when he had calmed down, "I would just shoot the bastards. And that would be crime in itself, them dying in an instant."

He had then composed a message from the 3 hours he had seen.

"I am Alive Flake. Barely got out somehow. Thank god for my insistence for supplying hybrids to them. Listen, I don't have much time, I have got 3 hybrids with me, but the bitch is still looking for me. I am not going to come back to Michael, this is my chance and I am breaking off. At last, the creeper's chance to replace the original plant has come. Do you want to come with? I'll vid call you in a bit. Our day has come Flake."

The message had been sent to Flaker's private cell and the answer had been immediate, and enthusiastic. The first part was successful. Now was the time for the next.

In the dim surrounding with make up and voice filter, to any caller, Jin was Sebastian without any doubt.

"I am placing the call. Jin, make sure you reel him in. We want him to move immediately." Suhan said. Jin nodded.

"SEBASTIAN! I knew you would still be alive! I knew it! you could use the hybrids! Where are you? What happened? Why did you not call before?" Flaker appeared on the screen and never suspected the person he was conversing with not to be Sebastian, but one of the very hybrids he so desired.

"Flake" Jin said warily, grimacing as if in pain, "Nightshade got me out. I figured this way I could disappear from that bitch, Michael and that controlling person's life. I saw a chance, and I took it." Jin made a risky bet, referring to whoever had started playing this game with Master. The mastermind.

"It was a stroke of genius! I am so fucking tired of Michael and that D telling us what to do! But whose hands?" Flaker bought it.

Piece of cake. Jin thought. So the name of the mastermind was D, "Flake. It was Jim. That heiress killed him when her security came after us and the hybrids. I lost all my men. All." Jin said, the voice filter working perfectly.

"Damn."

Jin turned the camera quickly on Jungkook, Taehyung and Namjoon, chained and collared on the floor. Their face also had makeup to resemble bruises on them. They sat wearing only shorts, kneeling down with their eyes downcast.

Jin walked up to them and grabbed Taehyung by his hair. The grip looked harsh, but reality was different, "Got these three. The rest were guarded." Jin said mockingly and then smacked the back of Taehyung's head in a way that made a loud sound. Tae acted accordingly and fell forward. "Maintain your position you DUMB FUCK!!" Jin shouted.

"AH! You got them? Beautiful! And their conditioning is intact too!" glee and greed dripped from Flaker's voice, his eyes excitedly absorbing the faces of the hybrids.

Jin fanned the flames higher, "I have been using them well," he said as he smacked Tae again and then turned around and firmly called out, "Absinthe" to Jungkook, who went blankly still. "Hit yourself hard, cunt!" without pause, Jungkook punched himself on his face hard, but maintained his position.

"Fuck Sebastian, I want them now! I want them! Look at them, still so perfect. Our experiment was such a success!" Flaker was panting on the phone. The use of the hypnotic trigger further confirmed to Flaker the identity of Sebastian. The words and the lock were a secret only the three of them knew, he thought.

"Suck me off!" Jin said to Jungkook again, who obediently bent down and went out of the frame, crouching low to walk away from the below him. Jin pretended to be enjoying the said hybrid.

"STOP Sebastian come on! Wait for me!" Flaker got hard, "Its been too long. Oh the rush of power to know those experiments are still so subordinated to us. We designed them beautifully."

Jin suddenly snapped and jerked the phone as if he had just pushed Jungkook away from him, "No, I really cant wait Flake. This vid was a courtesy call to you. She is hunting me for these three. I am not safe on this island. I need to move. I can't stay here long."

"Then let me send you tickets to-"

Jin shook his head, "Easily tracked by Michael. No. I have clear transportation choice out of here to Mauritius. I will be taking that."

"Then wait for me to join you!" Flaker was getting desperate.

"Flake. I really can't wait around. Let me go, in a few months I'll contact you-"

"NO!! come on! Sebastian! This was our dream! Even if its just 3 hybrids! You know what they can do, what we can achieve with them! You have the biggest weapon on this earth with you right now! Don't betray me friend!"

"It will take you a long time-" Jin sighed

"It Won't! Where are you?"

"Tsushima island."

"It will take me 5 hours to travel there in flight! Just give me 5 hours!" Flaker pleaded as he started getting up to go to his laptop. "I'll come right away! I even took care of the snake by Michael's order! So you don't have worry about him. Just please wait for me!"

"The cobra?" Jin asked

"Yes!! The day for the creepers has come Sebastian. Wait for me. I booked the flight!"

"Come quickly then. I'll try to hold off. No need to worry about money, got plenty stashed away. I'll text you the address." Without further ado, Jin cut the call.

Jungkook, Tae and Namjoon stood up, while Suhan straightened up, "D, Experiments, Weapons and Jimin. Too many questions were raised." He checked the screen again, "But I got a lock on him. I guess we will be getting the answers directly from the source."

Jin nodded and looked over at Joseph, who stood up, "It will take me a day to return with him undetected. We will be off." Saying so, he and Choi left the room.

Yoongi came up to Jungkook, patting him slightly at his back, "You hit yourself hard Kook."

Jungkook pulled on his shirt as answered, "He would not have believed me otherwise hyung. Don't worry, you know it was nothing at all."

"I know that. But don't let Master see the bruise that will form. Wait till it disappears." Jungkook nodded at that.

"Lets go to her." Hoseok lead the way.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

5 DAYS LATER :

HYBRIDS :

The days did not go smoothly. Jimin's temperature did not come down. He did not wake.

Guk visited daily to check on him, an IV drip put in the snake hybrid once it was apparent that he would not wake in one day. The plasmapheresis was done twice more.

Guk had tried to explain the principle once more, "The compound formed is due to his own antibodies attacking his own venom to eliminate it, the substance attaches to the venom because of which it is present in his plasma. That is what we are centrifuging and separating out-" at the look of blank faces around him, he had stopped and sighed, "I am purifying his blood."

Their Master, had gone silent.

She no longer spoke. Not a word.

She made Jimin bite her everyday and bore the pain from venom quietly. The evidence of the heavy torment from it was physically visible, but never present in her eyes.

Her eyes, were glazed. They were lost.

She never left the room. Arissa came to give her meal, which remained untouched and cold by the time a new meal arrived.

That was when Hoseok had intervened. He had pulled her in his arms, and then sat down on the bed, beside Jimin with her on his lap. She had remained unresisting, complacent like a child trusting her parents to take care of her.

Hobi had coaxed her to eat, for which she obediently opened her mouth, but then tucked her head beneath his chin, curling in on his lap after a few measly bites. She had then remained in his strong embrace, unmoving and devoid of any sparkle of life.

On the day Jungkook had come to check on them both, Anya had started badly on seeing his face. She had scrambled to reach him, tripping over in her haste and weakness. When Jungkook had caught her, she had been agitated.

She fidgeted about, her eyes big on her face, wildly looking around.

Jungkook had simply drawn her close to him, hugging her tightly, "Shhhh Master. Its just a bruise. We wanted to let out some emotions so we sparred with each other. I was distracted and got hit. Calm down. Shhhh its okay." He said as he soothingly rubbed her back, gentling her delicate body with careful touches.

Anya had calmed down, but then kissed him ever so lightly on his bruise. Jungkook had not left that night, holding his ever deteriorating Master to him, genuinely afraid for her.

One day, when Jin and Taehyung had drawn a bath for her in Jimin's bathroom, they had let her alone. But time had passed with Anya not emerging.

After an hour had passed, Tae had slowly opened the bathroom door to see her standing in her towel before the counter and wash basin, blankly gazing into nothing.

Her hair was wet while her body had long ago dried and she stood there, shivering. No one knew for how long. Taehyung's heart broke in pieces at that picture, at seeing his strong Master rendered so delicate. He had remained frozen in an echo of misery manifesting profoundly in his body.

Jin was the one who had shouldered past Taehyung to pick her up and bring her out. He had swiftly taken her to the walk in closet and pulled a large sweatshirt over her. Namjoon had quietly assisted with her trackpants and then drying her hair.

Through it all, Anya stood still, a perfect mute beautiful doll.

After tying her hair back, Yoongi had gently scooped her in his arms, snuggling her in his lap and threw a blanket over her, "Sleep, for now. We will keep watch over Jimin. Sleep."

For a few hours, she obeyed.

Flaker had been captured by Choi. With little difficulty and with the assistance of Loyal contacts of Joseph, he was brought in the Mansion. The second the tied up man had stepped a foot inside, a rapid sequence of powerful kicks aimed at his stomach, groin and his head had made him unconscious.

Arissa, hadn't been able to control herself.

But it was on the 5th day, that the entire household got released from the chokehold of sorrow that had held them hostage since the evening the coffee was delivered.

Jimin woke up.

At that time, Anya had been cuddled between Hobi and Namjoon on the settee in the middle of the room, away from the bed, as Joon tried to feed her some food.

Taehyung and Yoongi had been tending to Jimin, giving him a sponge bath when Jimin groaned and blinked open his eyes, disoriented and thirsty.

Seeing his silver eyes squinting in the bright sunlit room, Taehyung had screamed in pure happiness before tackling his heavily mazed friend in a bear hug.

That scream infused life in the house which had been quitter than a cemetery for the past days. A flurry of activity commenced. Suhan, Joseph and Ari came running in the room, calls were swiftly placed to Guk, the staff too cheered in delight, making preparations for a celebration in joy.

The silver snake hybrid felt the relief and the welcomed joy in each and every hug, peering to every smiling and crying face through his headache, smiling for every person who had worried deeply for him, but his eyes . . .

His eyes searched for the Azure blue ones, his gaze bouncing off every object in his vision, wanting to see the girl for whom he had returned.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

JIMIN :

The doctor had come to check him up. The examination lasted almost an hour.

Jimin's whole body hurt, although the pain was more of an annoyance than anything else, that and his hunger. He felt weak, but he had been worse.

Guk tried to make him understand what had occurred, trying to explain from the start. That was something Jimin remembered. He remembered the discomfort which had started in his chest that had gradually grown worse. He remembered the burning, slashing pain spreading through his whole body, his difficulty in breathing as he had started becoming dizzy.

But the scene he remembered with vivid clarity had been the terror filled face of his Master. The look she had given him had been the face of someone watching their whole world crashing down right in front of their eyes.

Even through his pain, he had been worried, afraid as to her reaction if what was happening to him turned out to be serious.

And it seemed, his fear had been justified.

When Jimin finally saw Anya, it had been when she walked forward to stand at the foot of his bed, while Guk examined him. Jimin thought he would be filled with happiness on the reunion. He had been utterly wrong.

He was horrified.

His Master was thin, her lovely cheeks had hollowed a bit with dark circles surrounding her beautiful eyes which were dull. Her long hair was severely tied back. She appeared so very delicate that he was afraid a gentle breeze might shatter her. His Master's face had been haunted, her voice hoarse when she tried to speak.

His brothers had been flanking her, protective when the doctor was around, and supportive when he was gone.

"Will I not get a hug Master?" Jimin had cajoled her.

With a disquieting disgust at himself, he had seen her stumble while she came towards him and then softly envelop him in a hug.

Her body felt so fragile in his arms as he held her close, trying to make her tremors stop.

"Don't ever do that to me again." Anya had whispered in his ears.

That whisper made him weep, too drunk in the realization of the extent of her love for him, all Jimin did was lie down on the bed with her, and weep in her hair, inhaling the fragrance of warm vanilla that welcomed him back.

"I heard your singing." He had quietly said to her.

"Good. I sang to bring you back."

They remained wrapped in each others arms, sleep claiming both of them while the rest of his pack stayed with them, guarding them at their most vulnerable moment.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

ANYA :

In the morning, Anya quietly left Jimin's room, letting her hybrid sleep. Last night had lifted a boulder off her chest, she could finally breathe again. Her silver menace, was safe.

But something in her changed, the blank numbness that had covered her had lifted to reveal the emotion that had been simmering since the evening Jimin was poisoned.

Unparalleled, Blinding rage.

The intensity of it had built behind her fear, and it pushed at her hard now. Anya had never been so commanded by her own destructive emotion in her life. She was curious to see the consequence of it raining down on the people she felt responsible for it.

She went in search of the rest of her hybrids, finding them in the living room.

"Master?" Namjoon stood up from the sofa when he saw her, stirring others into the same posture.

Anya held up a hand to stop him. She knew the reason behind it. For the days she had broken down, her hybrids had been plagued by the fear of seeing her in that state. She had dragged them in her circle of sorrow, but she could not help it. She had needed them with a potency which had surprised even her.

Seeing her finally out of the room was reason behind the hope in Joon's voice.

I love you all so much . . .

"I am fine Joonie. I will speak to you all in a bit, but first I need you all to do something for me."

"You should be resting, you are not well at all." Yoongi came up to her, his dark eyes filled with worry, as he kissed her lightly in greeting.

Anya smiled, "I need to do something first." She pulled out her cellphone "I want you all to laugh for me. make it taunting."

When she checked that all of them understood her bizzare wish, she pressed the recording button and indicated for them to begin.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA" Suhan's fake laughter was the loudest.

Deleting the recording, Anya swung her annoyed face at Suhan who was drinking coffee, sitting beside Jin.

"Ah, oh. Not me. duh. Sorry, my bad. Just the hybrids. Got you." Her brother murmured hiding his face in his mug.

Shaking her head, this time she recorded it perfectly.

"Will be seeing you all in a bit." She said in parting.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

FLAKER :

The door to the black room swung open as a delicate wisp of a girl in a pink sundress entered the room.

Flaker glared at the girl. He could not find Sebastian and was ambushed even before he could reach his friend. No doubt that Sebastian was caught too.

He had been kept in this room for 3 days now, his meals being provided 3 times a day.

"You don't match up to your reputation of being that beautiful, Heiress!" he taunted her. Flaker needed to escape from here, he also needed to find Sebastian.

Times like these, he really missed Michael. He let that airheaded heiress have his anger.

"The hell do you think you are?? You think you can capture me and then keep me a prisoner to make me talk?? Bold of you to assume that I would ever say anything to a fragile flower such as yourself. You have no idea of who and what your hybrids are and frankly a little-rich-girl like you will never be able to know or command them. ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"

The girl remained silent in front of him, merely observing him with cold eyes.

Something about her Aura was threatening, even through physically she looked weak.

Flaker did not let that from stopping him, he wanted to provoke her. "Sex starved girls like you wanting hybrids should have chosen someone else. Frankly that is all that you girls think about, especially the snotty arrogant bitches like you. After all that is why you went in that auction, to get a sex slave? Pathetic!"

Her eyes remained steady, hypnotic.

Flaker was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"You think you can do something to me by just staring at me?? I don't fear anyone! You won't get anything out of me, After all, you are not your Uncle!!" he shouted at her, spittle flying from his mouth.

Then he stopped, when the cruellest smile he had ever seen in his life graced Anya's lips.

"No, I am not my Uncle." Her voice was seductively husky.

She turned around and opened the door. Pausing at the threshold, she looked back at Flaker, her eyes burning with a violent danger,

"I am worse."

As soon as the door shut closed, the lights in the room switched off, plunging it in darkness. Flaker could not see even his own fingers in front of him, the black darkness in the room devoid of any windows was so acute.

The room consisted of just 4 walls painted black, and one toilet in the corner, while he remained chained at his waist, the leash long enough to move around.

For a few minutes, the soundproof walls choked him with its heavy silence and complete darkness, making him start sweating, but then.

Then the loud laughter started.

The man was left alone in a pitch-black dark room with maddening, taunting laughter at volume which hurt his ears, enough to drive him crazy.

He would be remaining there for days.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

ONE WEEK LATER : SLIVER OF HURT FOR THE SILVER

The past week had been both healing and hectic for the entire family. Office was resumed by the siblings although Anya worked from home, stating headache and insomnia, while Suhan went to keep up the appearance.

They fielded the calls from others, but kept a keen eye on the activities surrounding them.

The two friends of Flaker were dealt with, their cooperation a given after every single bit of penny they owned had been taken away.

Jimin and Anya both rested with the entire pack, laughing, smiling, and healing. They spent the week learning about mythology, of films, of books. Anything and all, they indulged in.

Ari fretted over both of them in her way, while Joseph and Choi went back to their duties. But they kept their contacts spread, every plan being formed by Anya under way.

Jimin tried his best to comfort his Master. Having being told every last detail of what had taken place when he had been poisoned, he felt depressed.

There was no gloating or excitement at knowing or learning of the crystal clear evidence of her affections. The pain he had caused her, overshadowing any warmth that could possibly come from the revelation.

But something about her still prickled them, their Master, even though indulged in laughter and smiles, even though she cuddled with them and showered them with her attention, something was just not right.

She was still not normal. She still hid some emotions.

The emotions were just beneath the surface of her skin, showing itself in certain glimpses in her gaze, in the times she blankly looked at the stars, when she kissed someone she thought was asleep.

But no one could guess what it was.

That morning, a week later after Jimin regained his consciousness, the pack joked around as they all went for breakfast, sitting down on the dining table. Although, just a beat later they realized that the house was extremely quiet, as was it empty.

Arissa was making the breakfast alone in the kitchen with no staff about. Anya and Suhan were also nowhere in sight.

"Don't worry boys, Suhan needs to go early to his office today and Anya is in her study. You can go join her after you have had your breakfast." Arissa said to them as she placed the chicken broth and noodles with omelets and salad on the table.

Yoongi stared at her while she completed her action, "Why then is your tone tinged with sadness Arissa?" he asked her quietly.

Ari turned to him and kissed his head, "Don't you worry Yoongi." She smiled, but it was clear to see that it was forced.

On the alert, the pack did not pay attention to the food as they watched the older woman retreat in the kitchen. Suhan came out to greet them just the next second.

He stopped by the table, and put his hand on Jimin's shoulder. His expression was clouded as he opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again.

He patted Jimin's shoulder and said with a sad smile, "Be Strong."

Suhan walked out sharply after that, not giving anyone to question him.

All the men on the table glanced at each other, their anxiety slowly building in the pits of their stomach. They had no appetites at all.

"Arissa, we'll be meeting Master first." Namjoon said to the woman in the kitchen.

Every one expected Ari to splutter at that, they expected her to gently scold them to eat their food first, but Arissa simply nodded her head and started to pick up the bowls on the trolley to take them back.

Jimin reached for her hand, holding it in his grasp, "Wont you tell me what is wrong?" his innocent eyes peered up to her worriedly.

Arissa's face crumpled up, she left the bowls and enveloped the sweet snake in her hug, "Sorry." Was all that she said. Then left the food on the trolley and went inside the house.

"There is no use trying to figure this out. Lets go." Hoseok said firmly as he stood up.

All of their hearts beating faster with slight panic churning in their abdomen, they picked up their pace to reach the white study and knock once before entering.

One look at their Master, and every single Hybrid's heart froze in fear.

Because sitting before them was not their loving Master, but the Kim Anya that the world feared.

Her eyes were cold and icy as they pierced through them, "Come inside. Close the door." She said curtly.

Jin, Yoongi, Jungkook, Hoseok, Namjoon and Jimin stood frozen in their spot, Taehyung looked like he had shut down after hearing that tone.

"Master . . .?" Jungkook said in a soft confused voice while his heart clamored wildly.

"I do not wish to repeat myself."

Jin shook his head, his voice having desperation in it, "Master, wha-"

"The. Door."

Tae's hand automatically went to the handle as he closed it shut. Yoongi too was stunned as was he afraid. This was a side of her that the hybrids had seen plenty of times, dealing with others.

Never in their wildest dreams had they thought to experience it on themselves.

"Sit."

"Please Master," Hoseok's voice had tremors in it, "We were all happy last night. What changed? What happened?"

Anya tilted her head, making the flow of her black hair uncover her bare shoulders in the off shoulder white dress she wore. Her eyes went to Hoseok's and remained sharp, no hint of softness in them.

"I happen to be someone who is eloquent in my desires of actions that I want from the person opposite to me Hoseok." Her voice was mocking, "Do not be someone who mimics a deaf person in my presence." She commanded again, "Sit."

Jimin was afraid. He was afraid. He was scared of what was happening.

So were the rest. They could not bear to take this from her.

Slowly, they started to lower themselves on the floor.

"Do you have poor memory as well? Did I not explicitly ask you all to never sit on the floor when chairs are available?"

Jerking up, the 7 dispersed themselves around the room, sitting down quickly in any seating surface they could find.

"Jimin."

Jimin's head jerked up.

"Stand before me."

Trying to calm his breathing, Jimin came to stand before her.

"I will be asking you a few questions. Kindly answer them the best you can." Jimin nodded at once.

"What do you know happened to you?" Anya started off casually.

"I was given a drink which was targeted specifically for me. it poisoned me to the extent of endangering my life."

Anya nodded, "Why was it specifically applicable on you?" she coolly continued, folding her hands against her chest, just beneath her breasts.

"It bound to the venom in my blood. None of the rest have it." so far now, Jimin did not find the questions difficult.

Anya spun her chair around from one side to the other, keeping her gaze fixed on the downcast eyes of the hybrid in front of her. She picked up a pen from the table, and teasingly bit its tip,

"Tell me Cobra, what was the one rule I insisted upon in this household? The one rule applicable not just to you all, but also to everyone who lives in this house?"

The question made everyone freeze. Understanding was slowly coming forth in their minds.

"To never hide anything. Because knowledge is power." He said in a low voice.

Anya mockingly made an impressed expression, "Why was the venom in your blood?"

Jimin could not answer that, he physically could not make the words form in his mouth. He closed his eyes.

"Mhmmm" Anya fiddled with the pen, "I can see you do not wish to provide an answer to that query. Alright, I can be considerate. Let me change my question." She spun her chair around to turn away from him, "If the venom was not in your blood, then do you think the attack would have worked?"

No. it wouldn't have. The miserable answer resonated in his mind.

Anya's voice became emotionless as she did not wait for him to answer her, "Tell me, what are the things that are the most precious to me?"

Silence.

"Do you think I am enamored with my wealth? Or my properties? Do you think I greatly enjoy the power I wield?" she asked. With each syllable, her words expressed the bitterness she felt, "Do you think my standing in the society is what is dear to me?"

No one spoke.

"Again, do NOT make me repeat myself."

"No." Jimin answered in a whisper.

Anya turned around slowly, "3 weeks. The venom in your body was getting stronger because you chose to keep the most vital information about your breed away from me. A fact that I knew even when I met you for the first time in the room allotted to me in that cursed Auction. Something that I considered an honour, as the person you bonded with, to help you. But you hid that knowledge."

She looked around the room to find 6 pairs of downcast eyes, "You all did."

Anya looked at Jimin bitterly, "And do you know what was the consequence of it? One of the people who has become the reason I know what the word happiness signifies, was almost killed. Someone who became one of the colours that painted my black and white world in bright shades, almost died." Her words were almost strangled.

"Someone I love was left to die in front of my eyes." she breathed heavily, "While I stood at the side, incapable of doing anything to prevent it. All I saw was my world shattering in every direction from the inside out, while I stood in one place, letting it happen."

She stopped, abruptly turning away. After a few seconds, she said again in a composed voice, "And the primary blame lay with you Jimin. Not Michael."

"I trusted you to come to me when the time came, but you broke that trust. You broke it."

Jimin could not dare to open his eyes, not if he wanted the hot tears to flow down his cheeks at the resigned and anguished emotions he sensed behind her anger.

He did not have the privilege to have the comfort of feeling his tears flow.

"Did you enjoy it?" Anya asked quietly, "Did you all enjoy my misery? Were you thrilled to know the depth of my feelings?"

"Master . . ." Taehyung was seconds ago from bursting into tears. Jin and Yoongi had their jaws clenched, fighting against the memories of the past few days, trying not to hear that ghostly desolate singing in their mind.

Joon, Jungkook and Hoseok were ashamed to think that they all had wished to know exactly that, but one glimpse of the reality had plunged them in the horror of realizing that a wish granted, did not follow the route of their imagination. A wish, could be completed, using the support of a nightmare too.

Anya remained silent for a few minutes, while the hybrids tried to bring their own emotions under control.

"That is something I do not wish to be repeated in the future." Anya said when she had composed herself. Her voice reverted back to the cold tone.

"I promise, I promise Master-"

"Save it." Anya savagely cut Jimin off, "Your promises don't mean much to me right now."

Jimin physically felt a punch land on his chest as the words reached him. He gasped for breath as he took a step back. Those few words, had the power to bring him down in a way that his entire past could not.

"If in the future another occasion or situation arises for ANY of you where you feel hiding truths from me might be beneficial for me, might spare me pain, then you are likely to repeat your mistakes again. That kind of a martyr or selfless or superior attitude is the very reason that anyone might succeed in their endeavors against this family.

Irrespective of any bitter truth or any fact that might cause unpleasantness, it has to be shared and known by every member of this family, not just me. That is how we remain united against the world. That is how, no one finds a weak point in us.

You have no idea how many people want to tear into me, and soon, those jealousies will be extended to us. The easiest way for them to achieve it would be to simply use this method. And you will keep anything that you might perceive to be dangerous to me. That is how easily they might harm us.

But unfortunately, you have still not grasped this fact."

She finished dispassionately.

Anya turned around to spear each of them with a look, "To drive home that fact, you need to understand the consequence." Anya looked at Jimin. "You will accept your punishment."

The pack lifted their heads at her.

"You are still mine, Unclassified or not. Conditioned or not. You. Are still Mine."

"I accept it" Jimin said in a rush. Honestly, a punishment would make him feel better about the situation he knew he was partly to blame for.

He knew the torment his Master had suffered due to him, and a punishment was something that would feel like a little atonement.

"Good." Anya nodded, her eyes flinty, "20 strokes. If you take this punishment till the end, then I will put my trust of your promises back in you Jimin. If you stop, then nothing in this world will make me trust you again. This will be carried out in your room, that is part of it. You love your room, I want you to have an echo of bitter memory associated with it every time you step inside it. That will serve as a reminder. Am I clear?"

Jimin nodded at once.

Anya nodded to 2 cases on her table. "2 whips were delivered in the morning. Kindly select the one that bruises the most out of them."

"Master" Joon interrupted while Jimin went to inspect the whips.

Anya whipped her head towards the Code Silver, "Not a word from you."

The answer made Joon's throat go dry as he choked on air. Tremors racked his frame at her words, his stomach churning so hard that he felt himself dry heave, felt the need to throw up.

He knew.

He understood.

"Get out. Wait in Jimin's room. Now." Anya bit out.

"Master . . ." Joon almost whimpered.

"You will obey me Hybrid!" Anya raised her voice.

"Please . . ." he still pleaded, while the rest of the pack looked at him in confusion.

"Its just been 1 week since he woke up . . . the weakness . . . please Master . . . was almost lost to us . . . Please" he pleaded, not making sense.

Jimin gulped at the worry in that tone, his hyung . . .

"I will increase the number of lashes Namjoon." Anya warned.

Hosoek gripped Joon's shoulder, whispering, "Its light Punishment Joon, you know that!"

"No," he whispered back, "In the current state, its not." Saying this, he got up and left.

Anya watched him leave, the regally turned back to Jimin, "If you have made your selection, proceed to your room. All of you will be present there. I will meet you there in few minutes." Saying so she dismissed them.

Jimin clutched one whip in his hand as he and the rest descended the stairs, to see Arissa standing in the living room.

She took one look at the whip and bit her lips hard, tears welling in her eyes.

"Hey hey hey, none of that! Its okay! Ari, honestly, this is nothing!" Jimin came forward to the older woman to hug her, "SHhhhh."

But it was a big thing. Even though the other 5 hybrids knew they deserved it, even though they knew what she said was true, that they would have indeed repeated it again in the future, somewhere in the corner of their mind, a slight betrayal formed.

They never though she would have done the thing that she despised the most. Reminding them of their degrading past in this new future they lived in.

Maybe that was the point of it. Maybe that was the real punishment. To remind them of their worthless past.

"Sweet, sweet boy. Stay strong, okay?" Ari cried as she kissed Jimin on his cheeks once and then strode out of the living room, getting out of the house.

Joseph said from the kitchen, "I will stay Master Jimin. I will tend to you once the ordeal is over." Unlike his wife, he held firm to his emotions.

Jimin was honestly confused. All he could do was nod.

They turned to go to his bedroom.

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FLAKER :

Flaker was sitting in the corner of the dark room, hugging his knees to himself as he banged his head repeatedly against the wall.

For a week straight, he had been in the dark room and he still could not see anything. The cursed laughter did not stop even for a second.

He had tried shouting out, just to hear his own voice, but the volume from the speakers had drowned that out.

A small slot had opened on the door where 4 slices of bread was tossed on the floor along with 1 plastic cup of water 3 times a day. Other than that, he had no sense of time. His whole existence was only filled with the darkness and the laughter.

By the 3rd day, he had lost his mind. All he did was sit on the floor and keep banging his head.

The room had served its purpose.

He had become mentally unstable.

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JIMIN'S BEDROOM :

Anya entered the room to find Jimin anxiously standing in the center, while the rest sat around the settee. Namjoon remained at the far end, facing away from them.

For now, she would allow it.

"Ready?" she asked Jimin.

Without a word, Jimin pulled off his shirt and fluidly reached for the whip, presenting it to her.

Anya arched one brow at the offering, "What are you doing?"

Jimin floundered at that question, he looked at the whip and then back at her again, "Indicating that I am ready."

Anya looked amused, "By giving me the whip?"

That sent a ripple of unease flooding through the room. Yoongi and Jin felt the floor beneath their feet slowly slipping away, while Jungkook could hear nothing other than his heart beating loudly, the sound reaching his ears.

"What do you mean?" Yoongi demanded outright, standing up. His fear gave him that audacity. She did not mean what he was imagining, she just could not.

Anya looked at Yoongi and pursued her lips, "Yoongi . . ." she seductively strolled up to him and placed a small kiss over his thumping heart, "The night of the ceremony in the auction, afterwards, when both of us were talking, I said something about punishments to you, did I not? Tell me you remember it."

His mind at once brought back her words in its precise originality. He could hear the words in her sweet voice.

"My punishments would make you crave for the familiarity of physical pain or abuse, because I will make you suffer without doing any of those."

"No . . ." Yoongi backed away from her, his eyes widening in horror, "NO . . . You! You-" he bumped into the sofa and sat down abruptly on it, shaking fiercely at the realization of what was going to transpire.

Anya chuckled darkly at him and turned to Jimin, "I think you are still misunderstanding the punishment you agreed to Jimin."

The snake hybrid paused, dread flooding his veins.

"Stay strong" Suhan had said

"Oh my sweet, sweet boy, stay strong!"

"Please . . . Its just been 1 week since he woke up . . . the weakness . . . please Master . . . was almost lost to us . . . Please"

Jimin lowered his hand as he stared up in alarm. The rest of the 5 hybrids had realized it too.

They all looked at Joon standing before the window, his head bent, his shoulders drooping.

Namjoon was not pleading for Jimin, he was not talking about Jimin's weakness. He was not reminding them of Jimin being almost lost to them. He was-

"You will be whipping me Jimin. 20 strokes. That's your punishment." Anya clarified.

Jimin's body started shaking as the whip dropped from his hand. His body felt cold even to him. He shook his head. As a ringing started in his ears.

Anya laughed mockingly, "You thought you would be whipped?" she went to the center of the room, "Why would I do that? What exactly would that have achieved? A punishment is supposed to be painful enough to make you learn the lesson of never making the same mistake again. Physical pain given to you would hardly achieve that."

Jimin was slowly backing away, his eyes big on his face, his skin paling.

"Besides, I am not one of your trainers." Anya went toward the bed. "The strikes should have power Jimin. Do NOT insult or disrespect me by simply swinging the whip with no force behind the motion."

"No . . . no. . . no. . . I wont. No. please no. no." Jimin was still backing away.

Anya went to the foot of the bed.

"PLEASE! PLEASE MASTER PLEASE JUST LISTEN!" Jimin shouted at her. He raced towards her to hold her by her shoulders.

"I AM SORRY! I PROMISE! I REALLY PROMISE I WILL NOT DO IT AGAIN! PLEASE." He begged, as he started sliding to the floor.

"Prostrate yourself before me and I will make you watch while one of the security carries out your punishment on me." Anya said through her gritted teeth.

Jimin stopped at once, standing straight again.

His tears from his acute panic and fear welled over and spilled down his cheeks, "Please, please stop. Please stop. Why are you doing this to me? please, stop it. I cant."

"You of all people should know that I do not show mercy Jimin. Especially when there is a cause behind it."

"Master . . . a wavering voice made Anya turn her head to see a stumbling Jungkook coming towards them, "Please, stop. Please."

Anya's eyes flashed as she said icily, "If I walk out of this room right now, then remember one thing Jimin. Not only will I never treat you the way like I did, but I will no longer consider you to be mine. Decide."

Jimin was openly crying, his sobs getting louder and more deeper. He let go of her to clutch at his own head, almost tearing out his hair, struggling hard.

Anya quietly bent down on the floor and lay her upper body on the bed. She closed her eyes.

For long minutes all she heard was sobs.

Heavy panicking and broken sobs.

"All right. I will leave." She said.

That was the instigator. In extreme hysteria mixed with hurt confusion and fright, Jimin picked up the whip and swung it hard.

The blow landed right on her back.

Anya absorbed it, remaining quiet.

"NO" Jungkook shouted, lunging for them when Jin grabbed him by his waist, keeping him in place.

Hysterically crying, not realizing what he was doing and going with the momentum, Jimin landed 5 more swings on her in his scared state. He was reacting like a cornered, frightened animal.

But that was his limit.

The whip fell from his hand and he landed hard on his knees, screaming and crying out loudly. His upper body too gave up and fell on the floor but his screams did not stop.

His face was red, his cheeks stained with tears. He could barely keep his eyes open, or see through them as he brokenly sobbed hard, curling on the cold floor, thumping his hand repeated hard on the floor, as if punishing them

He broke.

Anya quietly stood up to look at them.

Joon was facing away from them but had slid down on the floor while his shoulders shook. Yoongi, Jin and Jungkook were looking at her in abject horror, their faces wet.

While Taehyung and Hoseok were in shock. They were just numb.

"Never repeat this again. Never in your life, keep any truth from me. that is the only rule in this household." Anya said once, then giving them a lingering glance, walked away.

Jimin remained curled up on the floor, weeping, while the rest of them remained where they were.

The door opened again after a few minutes and Joseph entered the room with a small wet towel, going straight to the figure of Jimin, curled up into a ball on the floor.

Joseph gently lifted him up and wiped his face with the towel, shushing the crying boy.

"Don-don't mak-make me d-d-do th-that a-a-a-ag-again. Pl-pl-plea-please. T-tell her. T-to n-n-ne-never m-make m-m-me do th-that a-a-ag-again" he sobbed and hiccupped it out.

Joseph smiled and hugged the boy warmly, letting him cry out in his shoulder, "Then promise to never do it again."

"P-pr-pr-promi-promise" Jimin hiccuped it.

Joseph gently rocked him as he said, "Once when Suhan was a boy, some boys from a local gang had approached him. They had been in disguise for months before they got a chance with him. They made him trust him, befriended him for months.

That day, they told Suhan that they had inside intel about the gala party they would be attending. It was a winter ball. They said that they knew a person was sent to rape Anya, that he would be the one wearing some kind of a coat pin, but they were not sure about the source so the info could be wrong." Joseph continued as he gentled the snake hybrid.

"Suhan was young, but he knew making accusations about the elite in the winter ball on the basis of sketchy info to their parents would earn him a scoffing from his mother, so he decided to keep a look out for his sister by himself. He did not tell anyone.

That was what those men wanted. Suhan being distracted. By the time the ball was winding down, Suhan was agitated and on the edge. When he saw a glimpse of someone going to the balcony who had a coat pin on him, he foolishly tried to follow.

Half a way, a man tried to kidnap him.

Obviously, I was keeping a watch on him and foiled the rather pathetic plan, but Anya took it to her heart that keeping information from her to keep her safe resulted in worse scenarios.

She made us promise to never do it again. And frankly, even though the incident of their childhood was foolish, her reasoning is right. Keeping things in a household of this wealth and status can just provide the weak point to anyone looking for it."

He stood up with a now calmer Jimin.

With red eyes and red nose, Jimin asked, "What did she do to Suhan?"

Joseph smiled, "She did not talk to Suhan for 11 months."

Jimin's eyes rounded.

Joseph smiled, "Yes, her punishments never cause physical pain, but the mental abuse she is capable of inflicting makes one wish for the pain instead."

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ANYA :

It was evening by the time Anya made her way to the music room. Her back ached pretty bad, but she still sat down slowly in front of the piano.

Idly, she ran her finger on the white and black keys, letting her mind free from the constraint she had held it in since the day of the poisoning.

She finally let herself feel the fear that she had kept at bay, of losing Jimin. She let the fear of losing any one of her hybrids, free in her body.

Her hands started stroking the keys of the piano, coaxing the melancholic strains of a tragic song when at last, she allowed herself to weep.

Drop by drops drizzled from her eyes as she lost herself in the song, in the past few days of the tragic repercussion she had suppressed.

The evening lengthened itself to night, and Anya kept playing different melodies, her tears turning into a downpour of sentiments which no longer remained quiet, but broke out in lamenting sobs.

She let all that fear drain away at last, now that she knew her Jimin was safe.

Now that she knew, crying no longer signified a fear that manifested itself as reality.

Little did she know that Jimin sat outside the doors, or that a Jaguar, Panther and Eagle remained right outside the window, on the ground. Nor did she know Joon, Hobi and Taehyung sitting still on the beds in their rooms, their superior hearing picking up her songs and tears.

Oblivious to the facts, she let herself run dry, stopping the music once she felt composed again.

"Will you be taking Michael?" Suhan's voice asked her from behind.

Anya flexed her fingers, massaging them individually, "Its time I stop playing their game. They crossed the line when they dared to harm what is mine."

Anya wiped her cheeks, "Now they will dance to the song I weave. Michael is mine. So is D, whoever he might be."

Suhan remained quiet for some time, "They knew that we were going to have coffee that evening. How?"

"Your office is bugged. Fair to reason, so is mine." Anya replied.

Suhan nodded. He walked towards her and bent down beside her to play a tune with one hand, "You'll show no mercy?"

Anya played with one hand, harmonizing the beautiful tune with her brother, "No mercy."

But unknown to her, Jimin lifted his head, his eyes stony cold, as he stood up from the wall. He walked out of the door towards the garden, a fire burning in his chest, his gait, predatory.

He lifted his eyes to look at all of his brothers slowly gathering around together.

"Michael may be hers, But whoever D is, he is ours." The violence in his words was calmly suppressed.

The rest 6 nodded.

"Who ever started this game since the auction, all the players in it," Yoongi agreed darkly, "will pay for what we suffered today. We wont let them touch her."

"That means we need to participate in the game." Jungkook leaned back against the tree, "No longer will I remain in the sidelines."

"No, we wont." Jimin clenched the fist which had whipped his Master, "They made me go through an ordeal in my life over which I would have happily chosen being a hybrid in the death games. They are the ones responsible for the pain she suffered."

Turning away from the rest, his eyes glinting with a malice, he said "The annual gala. That is when we will be presented to the society. They will attend it. But before that, we need more."

Taehyung smiled viciously, "And I know just the person for it. Did Master not promise a dinner invitation to Jennifer and Han?" Mind replaying the sound of whips falling on the delicate skin of his Master made Taehyung grit his teeth, "Lets play with them. They always wanted us to. Undoubtedly, they are part of this circle."

"I'll ask Master to let us handle the night after she invites them. I'll ask her to make the invitation the day after." Jin replied, agreeing with him.

Taehyung felt his canines lengthen in his mouth. If nothing else, he needed to tear someone apart. Anyone, who was part of the cascade of events which led to his Master bearing bruises of a whip, used to punish them.

"This will be fun." Hoseok licked his lips, wanting to taste blood of D.

"Yes. It will be." Joon agreed.

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A/N : 23.1k (Yes I'll make sure future chapters are much shorter than this 😅)

The song in the early part of the book is Butterfly by BTS.

This incident is going to bring out the darker sides of this household. Including the hybrids. Mrs. Han and Jennifer will be now meeting these Hybrids, thinking they are still as docile as before.

Hope I was able to convey the attachment Anya has to them well.

My ability at editing extends as far as turning on a filter on snapchat, so with that in mind, this was the cover that I could edit. I know it is kinda basic, but, tadadada NEW COVER!

Do you have any favourite scene from this?

Did you enjoy the story? This Chapter?

Please please do vote and comment. I LOVE reading your comments, even if its just a smiley.