FOUR YEARS LATER (14)

KIM TAEHYUNG

"Where is she."

None of them answers me, and I can feel my eyes burn into the color of scarlet. Fury grips every part of my body.

"You lost her? You lost Youmin?"

"I-I'm sorry, my prince." A man stutters, but I've already left him. I'd deal with all of them when I got back later, with her safe in my arms. And then I'd never take my eyes off of her for another second.

I shift, my body turning from human to black wolf in a moment. Her scent is much stronger now, but I can tell she's far away.

These damn idiots.

How could I have ever trusted Youmin with them?

I'm halfway there when her scent suddenly changes. Shock courses through my body, and I stop running without knowing. My claws tear against the ground to find my balance, and I look up to the air, completely stunned.

No— what?

There was still a faint trace of honey and vanilla, but now it was different. It smelled almost metallic— like blood.

A thundering roar escapes my jaw.

I cover the remaining distance in a heartbeat, and what I see drives my mind into insanity. Bloodlust clouds my senses, and I lunge at the first wolf, sinking my teeth into his neck and killing him instantly.

Youmin's crying against a tree, and her body's in an unnatural shape.

Wolves from the opposite pack. They'd wandered into my territory, and had touched what was mine.

"Taehyung....."

She whispers weakly, and then I hurl the bloody corpse of the last wolf to the ground to turn to her. I shift out of my wolf, and find her shaking and crying.

"It hurts."

She's shifting. My mind instantly blurs with panic, and I drop to her side with fear replacing the bloodlust in my eyes. She screams, delicate features torn with first pain.

And for the first time, I can't do anything but watch her suffer.

She jerks, and I reach out for her instinctively. Then someone tugs me back, away from my trembling mate.

"Tae— she's shifting. She needs to do it herself." Jimin gasps, and I growl lowly when I see her cry out again. Then her tearful hazel eyes catch on me, and she starts to reach for me when another wave of pain doubles her over.

I need to hold her.

"You can't interfere!" Jimin hisses, and another growl escapes my lips. "Kim Taehyung! You know this!"

She jerks again, another choked cry tearing from her delicate lips. Tears streak her cheeks, and my hands twitch by my side.

Then it's over.

My eyes land on a white wolf, her hazel eyes roaming around the clearing. She steps out carefully onto her little white paws, and I watch in wonder as she moves on the ground.

"A white omega." Jimin breathes, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "You've got yourself one of the most rarest kind, Taehyung."

_________________________

6 YEARS LATER (20)

What if she doesn't want me?

I can't sleep, knowing that tomorrow Youmin would find out I was her mate. Would she accept me? What if I wasn't enough for someone as beautiful as her?

Then the door creaks open, and that very girl comes in, looking jumpy. I instinctively move back a little, and she slips underneath the covers next to me. It was like habit— but I could never be as conscious of her as now.

"Taehyung." Her voice is so soft when she calls my name, and I turn to her. Her hazel eyes glow in her pale skin, and her hand finds mine in the dark.

"Taehyung, I'm scared."

"For what?" I say, and she looks down.

"My mate— what if I find someone tomorrow, and he doesn't want me? What if he doesn't want me to carry his pups? I don't...."

"Trust me. He will want you." I whisper, clasping her fingers together. "And he will want pups. Yes— a lot of them. Don't be afraid about that."

But she sighs softly, coming closer. Her figure fits perfectly to mine, and my hand tightens across her curves as she wraps her arms around my shoulders.

"Can I tell you something?" She whispers, her scent of warmth and vanilla so powerful it's driving me dizzy.

"Yeah. Of— of course."

"I know I'll be assigned a mate tomorrow." She murmurs, and I can feel her swallow. "And I know I have to be with whoever that is for the rest of my life. That I have to stay with him."

And my heart shatters when she breathes out quietly.

"I don't want that to happen."

________________________

It's the morning of Youmin's twentieth birthday.

And I am in pieces.

I hadn't slept a single second last night, thinking about what she'd said. That she didn't want a mate, and that she didn't want me. She didn't want to live with me for the rest of her life.

She'd wake up soon. I'd ended up leaving the room, and now I was outside of the Palace because I didn't want to see that disappointed look on her face once she realized I was hers.

I can't take that.

I don't think I'd be able to live in a life where Youmin didn't want me.

Then I sigh painfully when my heightened senses tell me she's awake. I can picture her lifting her face into the air, breathing in deeply.

She's running through the halls now, graceful and elegant.

Until she's behind me.

"Taehyung—" Her shocked voice comes, and I force myself to turn around and face her. She looks hurt— stunned, and I stifle an agonized growl from my throat.

"You're my mate? And you knew for all this time?" She whispers out, and I nod. "How could you not tell me? I was, I was so—"

"I'm sorry, Min." I murmur, wanting nothing but to disappear. I wasn't enough for her. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel forced to love me. I'm sorry."

And I'm about to turn away when her arms wrap around me fiercely.

"Taehyung, I'm so happy. You have no idea how happy I am right now." She says, smiling lovingly. My eyes go wide at her look, confused and lost.

"I— thought you didn't want a mate, princess."

"Because I love you." She says, burying her face in the front of my shirt. "I couldn't imagine living with any other. Anyone except for you. And now— gosh, I'm so relieved."

My hands grip her waist, lifting her up easily from the ground. Her legs wrap around my body, a smile still on her face as she circles her slender arms
around my neck.

"Can you kiss me?"

Before she even finishes the sentence, I connect my lips to hers. I'd waited twenty years for her to grow up, watching her start as a giggling baby to the angelic omega in front of me now.

I'd waited twenty years to touch her.

I kiss her softly at first, knowing I couldn't be too rough with her from the beginning. I hold back, when I want to make her mine.

But then she reminds me that she's no longer the sweet child I'd watched grow.

I can feel her press harder, fighting for dominance. It makes me almost burst out in laughter, pleasure tingling up my spine as I tease her for a few moments.

An omega fighting against an alpha.

Soon she's broken away, gasping for breath as I smile at her lovingly.

"It was cute while it lasted, Min." I whisper, tugging down the collar of her shirt until it shows the smooth, pale skin of her throat and shoulder. "Are you ready?"

She nods, and I run my tongue over my sharpened teeth as I grip her upper arm.

So much time.

Her fingers dig into my back when I break the tender skin, marking her as mine. She mewls softly, and I quickly seal the wound to soothe the pain.

My eyes are blood red when I break away.

"You're mine, Princess. Know that always."

*END