I caress the sides of Taehyung's face with feather-light touches. I press a light kiss onto his slick lips, breathing in the scent of syrupy blackberries. The hazy fruit scents hang around us in an endless cloud of pleasure. My body is filled to the brim with heat, heat that overflows the senses with crushing weight. My limbs feel sticky with the residue of their mouthy kisses and sweat.

My head is stuffed with hot cotton. A tingling sensation travels through the back of my head and down my spine. It's an uncomfortable jolt, a sharp kick to the body as I fall into another wave of heated buzz.

"Falling asleep, baby?" I whisper into Taehyung's ear. I lightly nibble at the curve, teasing the soft skin between my teeth. "Are you a sleepy baby?"

Taehyung's eyes flutter open and meet my gaze. There is clear exhaustion wrought on his face but his pretty eyes remain electrified. Hungry. Unsatiated.

Taehyung whispers something but I couldn't catch it. I'm not even sure if he's speaking real words. His vowels and consonants slur together into a mess, pushed through his puffy lips in a slow drawl. He reaches up to take my face in his hands and brings me down to his lips again.

Raising my shoulders as I lean down on him, I kiss him deeply. I insert my tongue into his mouth, roving before it meets his. A low moan reverbs from the base of his throat as I press into him.

The scent of thick berries and the tang of sweet mint blossom from his bare body.

"Lottie..." Jimin sighs. His hand prodes at my side.

I break away from Taehyung's lips and look over at Jimin. His hand falls back down on the blanket. His dirty blond hair is messy around his head with small tufts sticking out from too many fingers running through it. The marks running down his neck are like jewels on a necklace, strung together and turning shades of violet.

"Lottie," he repeats as if he were dreaming. He reaches out again. Jimin gives me a tired grin. "You smell so nice... come here..."

My gaze softens as I look upon his slender figure. The blankets of the bed have gathered around his body and created the bones of a potential nest.

Taehyung's eyes open slowly and his lips form a sad pout. He bats his eyes at me and reaches out. "Don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere," I promise. I glance between them. "We should move together..." I scoot closer to Jimin and grab Taehyung's shoulders, attempting to drag him across the bed with my weak arms. The ache between my thighs becomes more noticeable as I move around, so does the wetness.

The sensory discomfort of being sticky and wet begins to dampen my full focus on thriving during the heat.

As much as I want to revel in their heat-inflicted scents, to be covered with enough scents to mask my own, it's the aftermath of heats that triggers the need to take a bath.

"What's wrong, Lottie?" Taehyung asks, his voice rough. With strained arms, Taehyung sits up and observes me. "Are you alright?"

I offer him a bleak smile. "I just remembered that I didn't take a bath. A real one."

Taehyung lays a kiss on the crown of my head. "Didn't my tongue wash you enough?" he asks smugly.

I chuckle and brush his black hair back from his face, tucking a small section behind his ear. I kiss the tip of his nose while resting my hand on his soft pudgy stomach, still full from Yoongi's wonderful breakfast. "You did plenty, babe."

"No baths for you... you smell too pretty..." Jimin compliments with adoration in his eyes. He moves his arms again, "Here... sit here... I want to cuddle with you..."

"Time to sleep..." Taehyung moves towards Jimin and takes my wrist in his hand. He moves me towards Jimin then he lays down on his stomach. Jimin inches close to Taehyung and gently covers him with a blanket. Taehyung buries his face into the pillow before turning his head slightly with a gentle smile on his lips.

Jimin coos about how cute he looks and ruffles Taehyung's thick hair. Then he looks over at me, expectantly. "Come on, Lottie, it's cuddle time."

My heart lurches for him, desperate to succumb to his love again. The heat simmers within my body, threatening to overflow again. My cheeks heat and turn bright red once again. "I..." I glance at the door. I want to cuddle so badly but I want to be clean. "I want to."

Jimin's expression falls with utter disparity.

A sharp kick delivers to my chest.

I shake my head quickly, immediately regretting my answer. A sudden rise of emotion comes up my throat and makes it difficult to breathe. Tears flood my eyes without warning with overwhelming shame for wanting something other than my mates.

The heat of a Luna or Sol is cruel to any form of rejection, whether it's somebody else or my own thoughts. It's an all-consuming force of love. It's hormone-charged with the volatility of a newfound Alpha.

"Oh Lottie..." Jimin whispers.

Hurriedly, I wipe the tears from my face with the back of my hand. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking. I just--, it's not you, you know that, and I..."

Taehyung sits up from the bed again and turns over to look at me. His eyes widen with surprise. "Why are you crying, Lottie?"

I hide my face in my hands as the pain in my chest acts like a knife stab. "It's not you, it's not you. I just thought about taking a bath and--, and--" my breath hitches, "--it, the heat doesn't understand sometimes. I don't want to reject, I didn't want that, I got distracted and it--, I can't control--"

"Shh shh, it's alright..." Jimin leaves his spot on the bed and welcomes me into his arms. He holds me tightly while rubbing my bare back. "I got you, Charlotte."

Taehyung crawls over and sits beside us. He, too, wraps his arms around me and warms the space around us. His scent mixes lazily with Jimin's orange blossoms.

Together, with their sweet syrupy fruit scents, remind me of the freshly picked berries from the garden and ripe oranges on a cool spring day. They become the nostalgic scents of my life with the pack I was born into. The memories of days spent on those grassy hills with the wind in my hair. The stolen moments of wandering through the forest with Namjoon, searching for mushrooms and strange moss patterns on the rocks.

They smell like childhood and innocence in all of their bright scents.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize, Lottie. We understand," Jimin comforts, kissing my temple.

Taehyung pulls us into his embrace and begins to lean sideways. I go limp in their arms, not caring where they take me so long as they continue to hold me. Before I knew it, Taehyung tips us over and we fall onto the bed in a tight group hug.

"Close your eyes, baby, all you need to do is breathe," Taehyung says.

My breaths are shaky even as I attempt to steady them. They come out sputtered gasps and catch as I inhale but as I focus on simply breathing, I find a familiar pattern and I begin to return to a normal state.

"There you go..." Taehyung encourages me as he wraps his leg around my waist, hooking me against him.

Jimin readjusts his body and sits on the opposite side of me. He snakes his arms around my body. "You'll be okay. We're here right here."

I didn't mean to fall apart. We were having such a beautiful moment and I ruined it. Why can't I be a normal Luna when it comes to this? Why don't I ever allow myself to fall to the whims of the heat?

I shouldn't be afraid of it anymore. I should be over this. I'm an adult for goodness sake. I'm not a stupid twelve-year-old wolf who is terrified of going into a heat. I don't have trauma or any reason to fear it, so why do I keep hesitating even with the people I love? It's hurting them, and it's all my fault.

"You're going to be alright... there we go... all sweet and sound..." Jimin's arms tighten around me, holding me close. He kisses me gently as he continues to whisper love into my sensitive ears.

"I'm so much work," I whine back. "Why do you even like me?"

"Don't be like that, you know we love you," Taehyung reprimands. "Nobody is perfect, and we don't expect you to pretend to be."

I tell Namjoon the same thing, but like me, he never believes it. We are more similar than I thought.

"I'm so scared that something is going to take you from me," I admit quietly. "Take you all away from me. The freeze. The Nightwalkers. Alpha Grayson's pack, I almost forgot about them...I just remembered..."

"Alpha Grayson?" Jimin mumbles in confusion.

I close my eyes and press my hips against Jimin's, seeking out more of his physical comfort. "A few days ago, we heard reports that they were coming in our direction. Before the Nightwalkers contacted us. We met them two years ago."

"I might remember that..." Taehyung's voice rumbles. "It was in the summer... Namjoon said we were lucky that it was summer...they didn't attack us then..."

"They're a smaller pack than the Nightwalkers, but they're violent all the same. I'm so afraid that something is going to take you all away from me. I want to protect our home, and I thought a heat would keep me from doing that."

"That's why you kept avoiding it." It dawns on Jimin. "You kept yourself busy for so long... And not taking breaks..."

"I just wanted to keep us safe," I explain as my heart sinks, accepting my shame. "I was being ruled by fear. I let myself fall apart. I'm sorry that I hurt you all in the process."

"You say that you are our's, but you owe yourself the highest responsibility." Taehyung lays a kiss on my cheek. His breath is warm and soothing against my tear-stained face. "And don't forget, that we want to take care of you too. You're not alone, Lottie."

His words trigger a memory to resurface. An old memory, back when Namjoon and I shared our first heat together.

It was terrifying. The chaos happening in my mind was enough to force me into a heat, and Namjoon helped me through it. I felt too young to feel such intense and sensual emotions. I was inexperienced in every aspect of love.

Namjoon was one of my closest friends, and I didn't want to ruin it.

I avoided people, best I could. Even my own friends when I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to deal with questions or the scents of others. I was miserably alone and endured heats by myself until Namjoon convinced me to let him help me.

We hid in my bedroom in the ungodly hours of the morning. We locked the doors and shut the windows. We even stuffed blankets underneath the door to keep the scents from escaping, out of fear of being found together as if anybody would care.

Heats were not shameful in the pack; this form of thinking came from my bias against Lunas and Sols while being a human. I created a screwed-up narrative about them and I almost destroyed myself over it. I struggled to surrender to the heat, and momentarily locked myself in a heat paralysis.

It was Namjoon's gentle voice and kind eyes that brought me back.

Once I got ahold of myself, we attempted to move with the heat's desires and wants. I wanted the heat to be over with, to check it off like a box on a checklist. I was uncomfortable, afraid, and embarrassed. I had no idea what I was doing, and no amount of sex talks from the Lunas could prepare me for the real thing.

Namjoon, thank Hestia for his maturity, was patient with me. He didn't have experience in heats, but he had been in the werewolf talk circles longer than I had. He had a vague idea of how things worked, and I let him lead me into it.

I remember how when we were done, how hyper and childishly excited we felt. The idea of being twelve years old and going into heats together fueled phantom energy within me. While Namjoon napped for the rest of the day, I was bouncing off the walls with energy and thoughts of being "more adult than the others". It was a silly notion, but at the time, I felt like my entire world shifted.

Despite what the Lunas told me and how normalized it is among the pack, indulging in a heat felt forbidden and mysterious.

Furthermore, I no longer felt unbearably alone. I had Namjoon, and he had me. Our friendship had ventured into unknown territory, but it appeared like our relationship hadn't changed. We were still Charlotte and Namjoon. Our biological titles made no difference in how we saw each other.

It was the start of a brand new life for me.

I only wish I had accepted it sooner.

Maybe I wouldn't have those lingering insecurities years later had I been mature and calm about it.

"We have washcloths, maybe you don't need a full bath..." Taehyung suggests. He nibbles the edge of my ear, testing the skin between his teeth. "I'll wash you with my own hands..."

My stomach flutters and is aroused at the thought of Taehyung's hands rubbing all over my body. Imaginations of his large, veiny hands wiping over every curve of my body and massaging my skin until it was radiating with heat.

"She likes that idea..." Jimin chuckles. He audibly sniffs the air and smiles. "And so do I."

"My fruity boys..."

The burning within my body slowly lowers to a light simmer. My cheeks are beginning to cool as Jimin's breath touches the trails of my tears. The rapid beating of my heart slows and paces itself, allowing me free and unrestrained breaths.

My body angles itself towards the boys. I burrow my head into Jimin's shoulder and wrap Taehyung's arms around the curve of my waist. He presses behind me and entangles his legs in mine. Soon, we have magnetized together and become a safe and warm pile among the blankets and pillows.

Our scents waft through the air and create a hazy atmosphere of sultry thoughts and soft kisses. A full silence weighs heavy in the room; the comforting and peaceful type that reminds you that you aren't alone. The silence cradles us in its gentle hands until we begin to fall asleep, coming down from the intense heat.

My eyelids grow heavy and the aches in my muscles ease from the stillness.

"I love you," I say to both boys.

Taehyung hums his response in a deep, rich tone. Jimin smiles gently and nestles his head against mine. "I love you too..."

We drift into a blissful nap, enjoying each other's comfort and pleasure, and I feel the weight of the world lift from my shoulders.

"Base Seventeen is reporting activity along their borders," Yoongi reports while standing in front of Namjoon's desk. He holds a bundle of notes in his hands and looks at Namjoon with deep concern. "I know they aren't close, but it's close enough for concern."

Namjoon groans and lets his head fall into his open hands. "Why now?" he complains. "Why is everything happening now ?"

Yoongi's eyes soften with empathy. "It'll be alright, Joon. We can handle this."

Namjoon grimaces and drops his hands from his reddened face. He sighs sharply through his nose and looks mournfully at his pile of journals. It all feels worthless. His attempts to study the violent, nomadic packs and the archaic, territorial packs were useless against the reality of their situation.

Yoongi clears his throat quietly. He looks down at his notes again with a sincere expression. "They aren't sure which pack it is. It's a moving pack, though. They are heading in our general direction and at the pace they are going, if they don't change course, they will arrive tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, everything's tomorrow," Namjoon says, deadpan.

"Don't worry about us," Yoongi retorts and tucks his notes underneath his arm. He casts Namjoon a playful yet scolding look. "You wound me. You make it sound like we're completely helpless."

Namjoon opens his mouth to argue but Yoongi holds up his hand.

"We have everything under control. All you need to worry about is getting through your meeting with the Nightwalkers and that green-apple bastard of an Alpha."

"A bad seed, that one."

Both wolves look towards the door of the office in unison.

Seokjin stands in the doorway with a sly smile. "Am I right?" he adds.

Namjoon groans and hides his face in his hands again. " Hyung... " he whines.

Yoongi rolls his eyes while fighting a smile. Then he shakes his head at his hyung, "Can't escape you, can I?"

Jin comes into the room with graceful, long strides and comes to Namjoon's side. He places his hands over Namjoon's tense shoulders and leans down to whisper into his ear. "Is our Joon worrying himself into a hole again?"

Namjoon cast Jin a pleading look, peeking from his hands. "I'm not..."

Seokjin massages Namjoon's shoulders, rubbing at the tense muscle with expert precision. Namjoon clamps his mouth shut as Jin digs deeper and forces back a rising moan. The touch of Seokjin's hands, the rhythmic slide of his palms, and the pressure of his fingertips into Namjoon's skin are damn near heavenly, especially right now.

"How about you let your hyungies take care of you?" Seokjin suggests with a playful lift in his voice. He leans down again and brushes his lips against the nape of Namjoon's neck, sending shivers down his spine. A hot coal of a heat appears in the base of Namjoon's stomach, burning and turning over within him. The urgent and desperate heat, and his instincts begging for the embrace of his hyungs.

In painfully traditional packs, the Alpha is also the oldest member of the group. Namjoon is what would be considered the middle child in the family. His position as the Alpha has never come between him and the older members or has caused any strain on the pack's relationship dynamics. In fact, it makes it all the more exciting.

It's always an interesting experience to go into heats with the older hyungs. The dominant instincts of his Alpha self battle with the role of being younger than them, and the reverse for the older members. To be submissive to an Alpha, but to tame the younger member's wild and rebellious instincts. It makes for a thrilling night of games and switching.

There are dangerous times ahead.

Namjoon believes he finally understands why Charlotte was hesitating and avoiding her heats. The upcoming danger makes it impossible for him to feel safe and truly enjoy the heat. He can't afford to savor these wild emotions when his pack is in danger.

"Hmm...this is really bothering you," Seokjin states. He looks over Namjoon's shoulders, peeking at the journals and pages of notes. "I think it's time you took a break. You have studied enough."

"It's not about studying," Namjoon explains quietly. "I'm trying to figure out how to talk to Nik without starting a war. I don't want things to escalate."

"Trust yourself. You're a wonderful speaker, Joon-ah. If the world hadn't fallen apart, you would be speaking at the U.N as some kind of humanitarian."

"You give me too much credit," Namjoon grumbles, leaning back into Jin's comforting touch. "But thanks, hyung."

"It's almost lunchtime. Come help me with lunch."

"You said that I'm a nightmare in the kitchen and a danger to society when given a cutting knife."

"You may have demon-possessed hands, but I love your company. This soup won't make itself."

Yoongi laughs quietly at their exchange and motions them to follow him. "Let's go then."

Namjoon's brow lowers as his worried thoughts return to him. Then he gazes up at Jin with a look of doubt. "How can you be so confident about this? Aren't you worried too?"

Seokjin's eyes are soft as he removes his hands from Namjoon's back. "I am cautious and we're doing everything we can, right? Jungkook and Hobi are checking the borders, reinforcing the fences, and scenting. We are tracking the nearby packs and reviewing our defense plans, and making sure our escape routes are secure. We're doing a great job, and I trust that it will be enough."

A sinking feeling continues to nag at Namjoon. In the back of his mind, images of the burning pack houses and the distant guttural howling of violent wolves are vivid as ever. Echoing with eerie clarity and serving as a constant reminder of what could happen to them.

He's seen it happen.

And he has seen Seokjin on a hospital bed, clinging to life and fighting to make it through the night.

Jin places his hand on Namjoon's cheek and gently lifts his head. "I know that look. And I'm telling you that it won't happen. We won't go through that again."

"I'm so scared of losing you," Namjoon says as the heaviness grows worse. "Of losing any of them. I don't know if I could go through..."

"We won't go through that," Seokjin comforts with absolute certainty in his tone. "We won't lose anybody. It won't be like that. We're prepared, they--" for a moment, his voice hesitates, "--they weren't. We're ready for an attack."

"And to be ready for an attack, we should be in the best condition," Yoongi adds. "That means we should probably eat something. Come on, Namjoon, let's make some food."

Namjoon nods and forces his anxious thoughts from his mind.

We are going to be okay. We're doing everything right. We won't be caught off guard. Not like the others.

The three wolves move from the office and into the kitchen. The older boys chat casually about possible soup options while Namjoon awaits instructions. While they talk, Namjoon finds himself in awe of the two hyungs once again, specifically of Seokjin.

When Namjoon stayed with Jin's pack for his Alpha training, he remembers being baffled by Jin's carefree and spontaneous attitude. Seokjin introduced himself to Namjoon when he arrived and in the same breath, teased Namjoon about his buzzcut. Namjoon thought his energy was fake, some kind of show he put on for others.

In young Namjoon's eyes, Seokjin wasn't normal, to put it bluntly.

Jin was chaotic, unique, a little vain, cracking dad jokes whenever the opportunity arose and doing things on a whim of a thought. However, as Namjoon grew to know him, he realized how introverted Jin could be. He saw how caring he was to the other wolves, especially to Hobi and Yoongi, and how he could turn somebody's day around with his charming smile and goofy jokes. The rose-scented wolf was unapologetically beautiful, inside and out.

Namjoon remembers a time when another wolf, Hisayuki, attempted to bully Seokjin. Hisayuki was an older wolf and had been one of the leaders of a wolf house before Seokjin applied for the position and was accepted. He acted as if he were an unpresented Alpha and all of his hormones were suffocating his brain. He had a group of friends that followed him around like lackeys. Hisayuki made snide comments about Jin, both in front of him and behind his back, and constantly talked about how "girly" he smelled.

"What kind of male wolf smells like roses?" Hisayuki once announced during lunchtime, purposefully loud enough for Seokjin to hear from across the room.

Tamonte, one of his friends, added, "He's probably an Omega! Like the other Omegas, he's made to be fucked. Bet if you asked, he'd probably suck your--"

Namjoon doesn't remember what happened between that sentence and throwing himself over the table to lunge for Tamonte's throat but he does remember Seokjin grabbing him by the collar and forcing him back down.

Namjoon never lost control before, but he was mere moments from doing something horribly violent to Hisayuki and his dumb friends. His blood was boiling, and he could feel his instincts fighting against remaining calm. He wanted to explode. He wanted to force Hisayuki and his friends to apologize and use his Alpha's power to bring them to their knees.

Namjoon was appalled by how they treated Seokjin. He had done nothing to deserve that, and Namjoon was ready to teach them a lesson they wouldn't forget. Yet Seokjin managed to hold him back and talk him down.

In his blur of emotions, he managed to throw his plate from the table. There was broken glass on the ground. Hobi was already trying to gather it with a crumpled napkin.

"Listen to me, they aren't worth it. It doesn't bother me, Joon-ah, it really doesn't. I don't want you to get into trouble either," Seokjin said.

Namjoon was reluctant to let it go but finally relaxed back into his seat. He apologized to everybody for throwing his plate, and they accepted his apology. He looked over at the table Hisayuki and his friends were at and realized they had lowered their voices and were talking in a tight circle. Then Namjoon asked why Seokjin let them talk about him like that.

He simply smiled and explained. "I just don't care. Everybody knows they are full of crap. I won't let their insecurities affect me, I won't allow it. The best thing to do in this situation is to ignore them. All they want is attention, and I won't waste my time on them."

"Namjoon, could you get started on boiling the water?" Seokjin's voice brings him out of his daydream.

Namjoon snaps to attention and nods at Jin. Then he searches through the cabinet for a pot large enough for soup.

Seokjin is amazing, they all are so amazing.

Each member of the pack is precious to him. And he can't handle the idea of losing a single one of them. He fears it would break him completely. He loves them so much, and he'd do anything to protect them.

Even if it means sacrificing himself for them if only they can be safe.

A/N: It's been a while but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Things are becoming tense for the pack as we approach the fateful meeting with the Nightwalkers! We have a little more angsting to go but the climax is coming! Thank you for reading, and remember to leave a vote and comment below with your thoughts! Don't be a stranger! It truly means the world to me! <3