⬪ 𝚍𝚍 : 𓃦

Changbin heard it. Of course he heard it. He could barely hear your heartbeat, as faint as it was, before all he could make out was Seungmin's, pounding loudly in his chest before he let out strangled cries of your name, begging you to come back to him; to wake up. So Changbin ran faster, running straight into the house with the front door already open. He knew it was Jungkook -- he could smell him -- but he wasn't going to go after him, at least not now. He had bigger issues to worry about, and he could track down the rogue hunter later.

As soon as Changbin found the room his brother was in, holding you in his arms with your lifeless eyes still open, he gently shoved Seungmin out of the way and laid you back down on the floor. CPR was the first thing he had to start doing. He wasn't a stranger to death, so he knew what to do.

"Ch-Changbin..." Seungmin whimpered, but he wasn't even sure what he wanted to say. He was feeling and thinking too many things to make any sense.

"I know it hurts, but you need to hold yourself together," the older wolf stated in a firm but understanding tone, his eyes focused on your unmoving face. "A person can only last so long without oxygen before it fucks with their brain, so we need to restart her heart."

Seungmin tried to ignore the snapping of your ribs as Changbin performed CPR, wincing as he asked, "How?"

"Defibrillator, preferably. But... I have another option, but it's...a lot for a human."

"What is it?"

"Just go see if you can find an AED," he said, dismissing Seungmin's question. "That's the safest option for her."

As Seungmin raced off to tear the house apart, Changbin continued steady, precise compressions. It wasn't the first time he'd performed CPR on a human, but he was really hoping it would be the last.

"C'mon, _____," he breathed, refusing to give up. "You gotta come back. How could you of all people be so reckless, anyway, huh?"

He honestly was genuinely curious. How did it end up that you ended up getting shot and killed? And for Seungmin? That wasn't something anyone was expecting.

But what really got him was that you died to Jungkook. How could you die to your brother when you were clearly the stronger hunter? Changbin didn't know the whole story -- he didn't really know any of the story, he was just told that you were dying and he was the closest to your location since he was already racing to find Seungmin -- but he couldn't imagine a scenario where you would end up being overpowered by your estranged brother.

Unless all you could do was take the bullet for Seungmin, maybe? Maybe you had arrived too late?

His thoughts were interrupted by Seungmin coming back into the room, breathlessly saying, "All I found was a taser."

"That's not strong enough," he grunted. "Go into my back pocket and get the vile with the blue stuff in it."

Seungmin searched Changbin's pockets without question, coming up with what seemed to be a shot. The vile was clear, showing off a blue liquid so bright that it may have been glowing.

"What is it?" Seungmin wondered, holding the shot out to his brother.

Changbin stopped his compressions to take the medicine from Seungmin. He held the vile up to his eyes and flicked it a few times to make sure it was mixed. His brows furrowed, seeming unhappy with his second option.

"Well, I brought this for you," he sighed. "This is basically adrenaline for werewolves. If it were you in this situation, I'd inject you with it to restart your heart. But given it's a human..."

Seungmin gulped, finally understanding Changbin's worries. Adrenaline for a human wouldn't be nearly enough for a werewolf. So adrenaline for a werewolf was more than likely very unsafe for a human.

Unsafe for you.

"I'm hoping if I only do a small dose, it'll still be enough to get her heart going," Changbin mumbled as he eyed the numbers and lines marking the vile. "The problem is...I'm not a doctor and I don't know what's too much and what's not enough."

Seungmin took a deep breath, tears still falling from his eyes and down his cheeks as he nodded, "I trust you."

Changbin glanced to his brother, "You sure?"

"You really can't make it any worse," he shrugged with a sad laugh that almost sent him spiraling into more sobbing.

So with that, Changbin stabbed the needle straight into your heart, just above the gunshot wound. He pressed the syringe with his thumb, deciding to go with half the vile...and then just a little more just in case.

You gasped. It was loud and sounded like it made your throat hurt, your chest rising with it. Changbin yanked the needle out and watched with wide eyes as you blinked for the first time in the last 10 or 15 minutes.

Seungmin started crying again.

You started choking on the liquid that had began to build up in your throat, and Changbin was quick to sit you up as you coughed, blood and mucus splattering on his and your clothes, and into your lap.

"_____!" Seungmin cried, a hopeful smile on his face.

And almost as quickly as you came to life, your eyes closed again, and your body went limp, flopping forward into Changbin's chest.

"_-_____?" Seungmin's voice was full of worry again, thinking you'd only come back to him for a few short seconds. "Changbin?"

But your heart was still beating -- and erratically at that.

"Call Seungcheol," Changbin ordered, still holding you to his chest, feeling liquids -- maybe spit, but probably more blood that had tried to come out of your mouth when you were shot -- soak through his t-shirt. "We're gonna need help now."

"Is she okay?" Seungmin asked as he took Changbin's phone from his hand after he got it from his pocket.

"She's breathing," Changbin stated. "Now we have to make sure it doesn't stop, and we need to make sure this adrenaline doesn't kill her. Her car's out front, so we'll take that."

-

Despite being woken from their slumber, Aya and Joshua were wide awake as they worked to stabilize you. The whole house was up now, gathered downstairs with the rest of Bang Chan's pack that was showing up to see what the fate of Seungmin's mate would be.

Chan had beat Changbin and Seungmin to Seungcheol's, going up the stairs to Joshua's room where they'd use his desk as a makeshift operating table. He kept an arm around Seungmin's shoulders as they watched Aya and Joshua work to remove the bullet without causing any more issues.

When Ryujin and Minho got there, Ryu ran straight up the stairs, bursting into the room with wild sobs. Chan had to initially hold her back as she fought to get to you, like she could do something. If he had a dollar for every time she threatened to hunt down Jungkook, he would've had enough to pay off a doctor to keep quiet about the situation and send you to a hospital without getting outted.

Eventually, after getting your bullet wound under control, Chan declared he needed some air before he left the room, leaving Seungmin, Changbin, Ryu, Minho, and the two doctors to it.

"Adenocor isn't working," Joshua murmured, hearing how rapidly your heart was still beating. "We need to get her heart to slow down."

Aya turned to look at Changbin, who was now hanging back on Joshua's bed, "What did you give her?"

"Lycanthamine."

Aya's eyes widened, but her eyebrows stayed set low, "How much?"

"Maybe...two-thirds of a vile," Changbin shrugged before letting out a groan. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not a doctor! I tried!"

"What's happening?" Seungmin asked, not understanding anything that they were talking about.

"Lycanthamine could kill her," Ryu stated in a quiet, monotone voice through her sniffles.

"What? But she-- She's breathing!" Seungmin argued.

"And if her heart doesn't slow down to a regular pace, she won't be soon," Joshua murmured, still focused on trying to reset your heart. "We cauterized the bullet wound so there shouldn't be any internal bleeding. The only thing now is how fast her heart is beating. It's only getting faster."

Seungmin had stayed intently focused on the sound of your heart -- which, admittedly, was the fastest heartbeat in the house. It was fast and intense, but at least it was beating.

...Right?

"Too much Lycanthamine will kill a human," Changbin sighed, guilt clear in his voice even though he was trying to stay neutral and composed. Seungmin turned to look at his brother when he spoke, and he could see the regret all over his face, though he looked mostly pissed at himself. "Remember? You said you trusted me."

Seungmin wanted to say something, but before he could, he heard you begin to hyperventilate. Your eyes were still closed, but your chest was rapidly rising and falling with shallow, quick breaths. The beating of your heart was now rapidly increasing instead of so slowly that he hardly noticed.

"What's happening?" Minho questioned as Aya and Joshua were rushing to inject you with more medicine and check your vitals.

"Her heart is going too fast," Aya explained, trying to stay calm but she couldn't help the slight panic that leaked into her tone.

The room was filled with voices, quick and panicked. Aya and Joshua trying to work with each other to figure out how to slow your heartbeat down, Ryu explaining to Minho and Seungmin what was happening and why, and Changbin beating himself up silently behind them.

It only happened for 60 seconds. 60 seconds of absolute chaos. 60 seconds of Joshua and Aya rushing around each other and doing whatever they could think of to help. 60 seconds of voice muddling together, the mayhem piquing the interest of the werewolves downstairs who could hear the rushed talking and your even faster heartbeat.

And after 60 seconds, dead silence.

The whole house seemed to stop when your heart did. Joshua and Aya froze, golden eyes staring down at your lifeless body, eyes scanning your face, then your chest. Ryu, Minho, and Seungmin stopped talking with Minho mid-sentence. Changbin stopped pacing, turning his head toward the desk. And everyone downstairs, still a little on-edge from Ankita's allergy scare even after she left for the hospital, frozen in their places as they waited for what would come next.

Aya sighed, dropping her head as her eyes closed, "Call it."

Ryu screamed. The cry she let out sounded strangled, scratching her throat as it came out. Minho held her tightly, keeping her from going to you and making things worse -- not that they could get much worse, but he didn't need her punching you in the chest in a futile attempt to bring you back to life.

"Call it?!" Seungmin cried, looking down at the older wolf. "What do you mean?! That's it?!"

"1:17am," Joshua sighed, his eyes closing as he tried to keep his composure.

It hurt both of them to say it. A mate had died, and it was a mate of someone that may not have been in their pack, but they were still close with -- especially Aya. But there was nothing else they could do. You had now died twice within just a couple hours of each instance, and no doubt the insane amount of werewolf adrenaline had fucked with your heart. The odds of them getting it started again were slim to none.

Aya looked up at him with sad eyes, "Min, I-- ...We did everything."

"Aya, c'mon," his tone turned from angry and demanding to broken and pleading. His eyes were glossy as his bottom lip began to quiver. "Please, there's gotta be something; this can't be it, right? Aya?"

"Seungmin, I'm sorry," she stressed, taking his hands and looking him dead in the eye even though she didn't want to. She felt mildly responsible since you were alive for at least as long as it took to get you to them, and then some, but you still died because her and Josh couldn't fix you. "Her heart is damaged. We can't restart it again. I... Minnie, you know if I could do more, I would. I can't...I'm sorry..."

Tears welled in Aya's eyes, and that's when Seungmin knew that was really it.

His knees gave out, falling to them on the floor as he let out loud whimpers and sobs. Aya got down beside him, wrapping her arms around him and trying her best to comfort him as Changbin walked over and patted his back.

Downstairs, it was Seungcheol who quietly announced to the pack that you were gone. Chan had tried to contact Jisung to let him know, but his phone was turned off. The room was somber, wolves holding their mates just a little tighter. Tears were shed, even by those who hardly knew you, but because they couldn't even imagine what Seungmin was going through. They'd all heard the stories of what happened when a werewolf lost their mate, and now Seungmin had to live with that.

"God... Poor Seungmin..." Soonyoung murmured.

"I can't believe it..." Bomi let out a soft, sad laugh. "_____ was always so tough. She was one of the strongest people I know. Honestly, I thought she'd live forever."

Chan let out a deep sigh, wiping his tears with the back of his hand before he dropped his arm from around Aeri and stepped away, "I should...go upstairs."

"I'll go with you," Aeri stated more than she was offering.

"You should stay dow--"

"I'm going," she pressed again, walking toward the stairs before the alpha even could.

As the pair began up the stairs, all of the wolves suddenly stopped and looked toward the door. A handful of them let out low growls.

"What?" Juri asked when Seungcheol began moving her behind him.

"Jeonghan, get the mates upstairs," Seungcheol ordered quietly. "Jun, Wonwoo, and Hao, go with them."

"Felix, go," Chan nodded his head toward the stairs, telling him to go with them.

"Christopher, what is it?" Aeri demanded.

Bomi stood from the couch, catching onto what the wolves were sensing, eyes narrowed as she wiped the last of the tears from her eyes, "Namjoon."

"Where's that spineless psychopath?" Hyunjin growled, already striding toward the door, "I'll tear him apart."

"Hyunjin," Chan growled.

The younger wolf stopped in his tracks despite the way his jaw and hands clenched.

"Seungcheol," Bomi spoke up calmly, eyes staying toward where the door was located even though she couldn't see it, "can I have my gun?"

"You're not--"

"And you are?" Bomi interrupted her mate's protests before they even started. "A werewolf against werewolf hunters? Absolutely not."

"I'm not leaving," Mingyu stated.

She shrugged, "Then stay behind me."

Soonyoung was the one to retrieve Bomi's old weapons as the mates were brought up the stairs to be kept safe. The rest of the werewolves stayed gathered behind Bomi, though none of them seemed happy about it from the way some of them continued to try to press so close against her that she was almost squished against the door.

Bomi opened the door before Namjoon could even knock. He was accompanied by Yoongi and Jimin.

"What do you want?" she questioned before Namjoon could even open his mouth.

"Would you believe me if I told you we want to help?" he asked.

She scoffed, "I'd sooner believe that Yoongi fell in love."

Yoongi rolled his eyes, "Ha ha."

"Why should we believe you?" Seungcheol was the alpha to step around Bomi to stand beside her. "Werewolf hunters don't help werewolves.''

"Not to mention you've only caused absolute hell for my pack," Chan spoke up, standing on Bomi's other side. "First a jealous ex, and now a jealous brother? No fucking way we want anything to do with you guys."

"I assure you, Taehyung isn't with us," Namjoon promised. "Him and Jin are out searching for Jungkook. What happened between him and _____ was not approved of by us. He did that behind our back."

"What he did breaks the treaty," Jimin added.

Namjoon nodded, "Exactly. That's why we're here to help."

Bomi narrowed her eyes, "You want to help because Jungkook broke the treaty?"

"Correct. It's the least we could do. Please believe us."

"And how could you help us?" Chan quizzed.

Yoongi let out a huff before he asked, "Do you want _____ back or not?"

-

Ryujin was already standing in the doorway when Chan led the hunter into the room. Her face was blotchy and swollen, and her eyes still had tears in them, but her gaze was fierce and, and she pointed an angel blade at the trio.

"Ryu--"

"Go away," she stated harshly, interrupting Chan. "I don't care if you think you can bring _____ back. I don't trust any of you."

"We tried to talk to her," Joshua told Seungcheol who gave him a questioning look from behind the hunters, "but she threatened us with the knife."

"Ryu," Namjoon began calmly, holding his hands in surrender, "we just want to help and then we'll be out of your life. You'll never see or hear from us again."

"That was supposed to be the case before," she pointed out. "Who's to say Taehyung and Jungkook won't team up and go behind your back again?"

"We'll make sure it doesn't happen," he promised.

"You know how tight we can keep the leash," Jimin smirked.

Ryu's eyes narrowed further, seeming to consider their offer.

Finally, she stated, "I want a deal with Jungkook."

"We can't find him," Yoongi plainly shrugged.

"Then bring him to me when you find him."

"If that's what you wish," Namjoon nodded. "But until then, we can't make a new treaty so that way we can come find you."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Finally, Ryu lowered the knife and allowed Minho to bring her off to the side, allowing the three hunters in.

"How're you going to bring her back?" Chan wondered.

"Deal with the boss," Yoongi sighed, rubbing his hands together as he approached your body, still laying on the desk.

Joshua's eyes furrowed, "Boss?"

"Yoongi's a demon," Bomi explained, though she seemed very unimpressed.

"So...are we making a deal with...the devil?" Chan wondered slowly.

"This one's on the house," Yoongi told him, still facing your corpse. "Just between me and the big guy."

Seungmin walked over to stand beside Yoongi, golden eyes looking at your face that would've looked like you were sleeping if he knew your heart was still. Then he looked at Yoongi.

"Will she be...different?"

"No, but she'll be really sick when she wakes up."

Yoongi turned his head to the small audience, an eyebrow quirked and annoyance on his face, "Any other questions or can I get on with this?"

The room was silent, all eyes on Yoongi.

So the demon turned back to your body, closing his eyes as he hovered his hands over your heart and your stomach. He murmured to himself in a language Seungmin couldn't understand for a while, a soft glow starting to come from Yoongi's hands and slowly grow brighter and around your body. Yoongi's eyes shot open, eyes engulfed in black as his chanting continued, and your body began to bow upward toward his hands. With your body levitating off of the table, Yoongi leaned over toward your head, cradling your head with one hand while he used his thumb of his other hand to part your lips. What looked like white smoke came from Yoongi's lips as he continued to whisper words, and the smoke seemed like it was being sucked into your mouth even though you weren't breathing.

Then your body lowered back onto the table, with Yoongi still transferring the odd smoke into your mouth, and the light around you dulled.

Yoongi stood up straight again and watched your face without expression, the room behind him silent.

"W-what now?" Seungmin broke the silence, tearing his eyes away from your face to look at Yoongi.

And that was when you shot up, eyes wide and gasping for air like you had the first time. Yoongi caught you, expecting you to do this, and then quickly stepped to the side, still holding onto your shoulders as you coughed and threw up off of the desk and onto the floor. Black liquid mixed with blood pouring out of your mouth.

"God...fuck," you groaned when you could finally breathe.

"_____?" Seungmin said your name in a hopeful voice.

But all too soon, you slumped against Yoongi, eyes closing again.

But you were breathing. Your heart was still going, and at a normal pace this time.

You were alive.

"She'll probably be out for a while," Yoongi explained as he gingerly laid your body back down. "Like I said, she'll be sick for about a week, give or take a few days. It'll be bad. She's gonna throw up black stuff a lot, and probably have the chills. It's not gonna be pretty. Just stay with her. If she doesn't show signs of getting better within the next 7 days, bring her to our HQ."

"Now go find Jungkook," Ryu ordered behind him. "Leave."

Yoongi turned around, flashing her a sarcastic smile, "Of course, princess."

Yoongi stalked out of the room without saying anything else, and Jimin quickly followed after him. Namjoon lingered, eyes trained on you for just a moment longer before he moved toward the door. He met gazes with everyone in the room before he stopped on Ryu.

"We'll be in touch," he promised before Seungcheol and Bomi followed him out.

Even when the door closed, Seungmin didn't move. He continued to stand at the desk, next to your head. All he did was stare. He was afraid if he touched you, you might stop breathing again.

Ryu, however, rushed right over to you. She threw her torso over your body and sobbed loudly, but Seungmin's eyes stayed on your face.

Finally, he very gingerly took your hand in his and squeezed, eyes filling with tears once again. He was shocked he even had tears left in him.

Behind them, the two packs discussed if they should bring you back home or keep you there, but Seungmin wasn't paying attention. All he could focus on was your heartbeat. The sweet, sweet sound of hearing your heart again. He never thought he'd treasure that sound so much.

"Minnie," Chan's voice was right beside him as he put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Seungcheol's gonna make up the bed downstairs for you to stay with _____. Aya's mom will be over in the morning to check on her."

Seungmin nodded mindlessly, hardly even hearing Seungcheol.

The time it took to move your body was a blur to him. Your chest was wrapped in gauze, and Aya put a heart monitor on you. Seungmin had to admit he was impressed by the amount of equipment she had managed to smuggle into the house through various means.

By the time he crawled into bed beside you, he realized just how exhausted he really was. He wasn't sure the time, but he knew it was very early in the morning. He had been running purely on adrenaline and heartbreak, and now with his head against a pillow and your warm body beside him, all he wanted to do was snuggle against you and close his eyes.

But even unconscious, Seungmin respected your boundaries, settling for just wrapping his hand around yours before he closed his eyes, falling asleep to the sound of your heartbeat.

-

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