Bear

(AUTHOR) Can you hear my crying as I'm posting this? Because goodness, I feel like I just gave birth after struggling to push the damn baby out for a whole month.

“You really don’t want to keep visiting with the others?” I ask Hoseok as we both sit in the living room on the same couch, a shy distance between us, I’m honestly surprised that he sat next to me at all but I’m not complaining, not at all.

I could see that my presence was keeping the coven from fully expressing themselves so I moved away to make myself some tea instead, I sure was not expecting Hoseok to come after me saying that he was in need of some quiet but I welcomed him with a smile and he helped me get two cups while I put the water to boil.

We’ve been here since then, silently listening to them walk around the house as we sip the calming liquid, it’s nice but I can’t help but wonder if he’s forcing himself to stay here with me because he doesn’t want me to be alone or if he truly needed a break.

He shakes his head and looks towards the corridor where we can hear Jungkook, Jimin and Taehyung screaming their amazement as they stumble into another gigantic room, I did hear Jin say earlier that the bedrooms here are nearly three times bigger than what they currently have, he sounded utterly shocked.

Those are the kind of comments that make me understand more where they come from and why they would be afraid of my wealth. If I put myself in their shoes, would I be confident in myself if I struggled to afford something that my mate could buy without even blinking an eye?

I feel like I would be pretty embarrassed, I too would want to show that I can afford such things, it’s natural to want to impress so to be unable to do so, how does it affect one’s mind? It must be hard.

“I don’t need to visit to know that it’s going to be perfect for us, as long as they’re happy and by my side, I’ll be happy too, I don’t need anything else” he murmurs and I hum, a small smile because that sounds lovely.

“Home is where the heart is” I muse back before sipping more of my tea, my gaze on the large window facing our couch, the lowering sun easy to see from here, the rays peeking through the trees’ leaves allowing for very nice playful shapes in the surrounding grass, it makes me want to sit outside with a book in my lap, why have I never come here during my free time before?

“You can… you know, you can come here as often as you want to, the door will always be open for you, I mean- I know it’s your house and all, but don’t feel like you can’t visit us whenever you feel like it just because we’re going to live here, I’m sure the others would agree too, you’re… you’re our mate, we want to see you and get to know you more”.

I turn my head to gaze at Hoseok, find his eyes already on me, orbs sincere in the offer that was given, how kind of him to reassure me like this.

“Can I really? I guess I’d have to try and warn beforehand though, I wouldn’t want to spook you or make you nervous about my random arrivals, I don’t want to be a source of stress”.

He smiles and shakes his head at my response, his body looking a lot more relaxed than when the door had opened for the first time earlier, has it only been an hour? I feel like hours have gone by.

“You won’t, I’m not going to behave the way I did earlier again, I promise. We just read so much about you on the Internet yesterday that my stress level kept increasing exponentially, so coming face to face with you freaked me out but… you’re not at all like what I had imagined in my mind, you’re… easier to be with. I’m really sorry for hurting you, it wasn’t my goal at all, it was overwhelming but it wasn’t your fault”.

Oh sweet Hoseok.

I settle my cup down on the table besides me and then turn my body so my back rests against the arm rest so I can face him properly, legs bending at the knees and to my chest to avoid taking too much space, a blanket over my legs would’ve been perfect, I’m going to have to equip the house a bit more, there’s not much here except for the basic necessities and the furniture.

“What kind of things did you read? I just want to make sure that you didn’t find anything false, there were no bad rumors right? Tell me if you found anything weird, I hate when papers exaggerate things about me, if you have any questions, I can answer them myself” I ask him intently, how far on the web did they go just to find stuff about me?

Hoseok mimics my posture from the other end of the couch and grins a little. “Weird? Except for when we read that you were going on a ridiculously long list of blind dates, I don’t think we read anything else that really stuck out badly to us”.

I nod my head with a sigh, thank goodness, I would hate for their view of me to change just because of some random theories or fake scandal that litter the web like sticky spider webs - even when you remove them they keep bothering you.

“Alright, I can live with that one. That reminds me, my mother is going to kill me when she finally manages to call me again… poor Solar” I mumble before sighing again, I am not looking forward to that moment, maybe I should stay in a hotel for a while?

Do I run away until she calms down? Surely dad can calm her down before I go back home? Maybe that would be safer for me, I don’t want to endure her wrath, I need to think about how to tell them about my mates first.

I can’t take too long, it should be done within the week because it’s always when you try to hide something that people start paying attention.

I’m honestly surprised that no one ever reacted to their white strand in all of the years that have passed, they’re not discreet, it’s the first thing most people notice when they look at me, but then again, if the seven of them didn’t know about me, I guess many others also remain unaware of my existence, or at least appearance. If anyone made links between the coven and I, they either didn’t care or didn’t want to get into something that doesn’t have anything to do with them.

Hoseok frowns at my comment, the idea of her getting mad at me not something fun to think about. “Will she be mad because of us? Because you left in the middle of the day to come back to Korea? We did hear that she’s not seen under a good eye at the moment, the public is angry with her because of what she made you go through in the Philippines”.

I stare at him for a few silent seconds before pursing my lips into a tiny smile, I can’t really deny his words, but I did make the final decision myself so if anything, it’s entirely on me.

“She’s been running after it, mind you, her sending me on all those blind dates apparently shocked more than one and my leaving all the men hanging without warning any of them that I will not be coming surely made their parents get mad at her for wasting their time, she’s probably trying to excuse my behavior in a way that the aristocracy will continue to believe that they are wanted when really, I couldn’t care less about them. Maybe I’ve gotten sick, or something urgent came up with work, who knows?

That’s how it is when you grow up in a rich community, it’s all about making contacts and keeping them, not because you want to but because they’re advantageous. I’ve never been one to do that much so in that sense, I’m not expecting a very nice conversation with her but it’s not your fault, don’t worry. It was meant to happen at some point, her modifying my flight for her own wishes went too far to begin with, I went to the Philippines for work, not to soothe her need to see me dating”.

Hoseok looks down like he’s internally debating on something, I poke him with one foot to get his attention, grin when his eyes look up to mine in surprise. “Don’t ever question yourself about how far you’re allowed to go with me, if you have something to say, then say it. I can take it”.

He seems to take my words seriously because he sits straighter, orbs staring right back at me as he prepares himself for any kind of reaction on my part, I already have an idea of what it is he wants to say.

“I just don’t understand how you can feel close to someone who doesn’t seem to respect you at all. She knew you went there for work, didn’t she? Why would she tamper with your schedule just to see you go on blind dates? You mentioned not wanting to disappoint your parents, but do they try to not disappoint you? It seems to me like they always do what they want without thinking about how it would impact you or how you would feel about it, I don’t like that”.

Well that was awfully honest and straight to the point, but that’s good, that’s exactly how I want them to be with me - able to say what’s on their mind openly.

I link my fingers together on my knees as I relax in my seat, mind wondering how to respond to his question, I don’t miss the bodies getting nearer before stopping a few feet away from the living room, clearly they’re all interested to hear what I have to say to that.

“What you have read about my parents… it must have been things like them being cold, haughty, sweet to a limited amount of people, and surprisingly, they’re always those with the biggest amount of money out of a group, that’s what you saw, right?” I ask first, he nods hesitantly, it must sound weird coming from me, it makes me smile to myself.

“That’s a facade, a little game of theirs? Dad doesn’t really care, that’s why he never goes to any parties anymore, but mom likes feeling wanted, cherished, our family is well known, she gets to have people following her around to keep her busy during at least one night.

Mom is actually simply bored, she keeps herself busy by filling my days because that way, she gets to observe as things unfold, she feels useful. While she seems cold to others, she’s actually a very loving mother, it’s just that her game depends a little bit too much on me now, she’s putting all of her energy in finding me possible dates because she wants to see me fall in love.

Add to that me never refusing her sudden plans and she believes that I find it fun too, at a certain degree, or that I at least don’t mind. While to me, it’s obvious that I hate going on blind dates, I’ve been made aware very recently that I’ve never taken the time to tell her that I don’t want to go so she truly believes that she’s helping me towards happiness.

Is she overbearing? Absolutely. Will she one day grow tired of me not finding the one and eventually go along with a plan of hers that consists of telling me she’s found the perfect man for me and that I’m going to learn to love him after the wedding? Possible, I wouldn’t put that above her, although I assure you, it will not happen.

But is she a bad mother because of it? No. When we’re at home, she laughs, smiles, sings, cooks while dancing, you’d actually forget that we’re one of the richest families in Korea if you were to see us when we’re resting without any responsibilities, we’re just… private about that side of our life”.

That seems to be information none of them were expecting because the silence that takes over the room is filled with understanding as they shift their way of thinking, they were all hating on her in secret, weren’t they? I can’t really blame them, I sometimes myself feel at a hard limit when it comes to her.

The six men standing look like they’re hesitating now, but Hoseok keeps on the same expression, his eyes boring into mine, it makes me tense unknowingly, that has not convinced him, has it?

“If she’s such a good mother in your eyes, why don’t you tell her that you want your mates? She would understand, and if not, she would accept it, for you” Hoseok asks another question, one that is less easy to answer, because that’s the part about her and dad that I don’t know.

The wilt to my shoulders makes him pinch his lips, he can see that this is where it’s problematic for me, the family’s beliefs something that gets in the way, my mind fearing being the odd one out and the impact it would have on me.

“You’re afraid” he states, Hoseok doesn’t sound anymore like a shy and hesitant young vampire, it takes me a little by shock, the way his eyes have turned observant, he doesn’t say things tentatively, he knows that his observations are true and he knows that I know it.

“You’re afraid that by being honest with them, you’re going to lose what you have, you’re afraid that their behavior with you will go from loving to hateful, you believe that your family might get rid of you upon learning that you cherish your mark while they’ve learned to hate the very concept behind it” he continues and I feel smaller with every words he utters, because he’s right, for every single one of them, he’s right.

“You think that your mother is loving, that she loves you but in reality, are you really sure? What you’ve stated earlier about her, you didn’t enumerate a single thing that she does for you that doesn’t stem from her selfish desire to see you follow in her footsteps. Does she love you, or have you convinced yourself that she does?”.

“Hoseok, that’s enough, you’re going too far now” Namjoon warns lowly when my heart turns into a messy heartbeat, I haven’t felt like that often in my life, Hoseok’s words hitting my weakness, one deep and secret weakness that even Solar doesn’t know about, when was the last time my fingers shook that much?

The vampire’s eyes turn guilty when he realizes what he’s done but I wave a reassuring hand his way even though I know that I’m not fooling anyone right now, I’m feeling incredibly vulnerable and it’s not something I’m used to dealing with.

Though it makes sense that my mates would be able to bring such a feeling to the surface of my soul. Their wealth has no impact on their mind, on their intelligence and I can assert that they must be a lot more similar to me than they currently believe, they only need to learn to make use of that strength properly.

“Don’t feel bad, I asked for it. You’re good, Hoseok, you’d make a good detective, you’ve got me cornered and I didn’t even have to say anything for that to happen” I praise him but it only causes his lips to curl down some more.

He didn’t mean to do that, his job took over his mind, Hoseok is after all known to be the best of his class when it comes to observations skills, even his teachers fear his mind, he sees too much in our silence.

“I… I’m sorry, Y/N, I shouldn’t have said what I did” he lets out before sliding his legs off the couch to stand up, my first reflex is to stop him because the last thing I want is him bowing in apology but when he instead kneels besides me on the floor, his soft hands grabbing mine in his hold to squeeze gently, I shut my mouth.

“I’m just worried that you’re going to take the blame for everything when you haven’t even done anything bad. The reactions your parents have to you revealing the truth about us, it’s not yours to own, it’s not within your control, but your life shouldn’t be within theirs either, you should be able to make your decisions freely without having to fear the reaction of others” he explains softly and I take the time to process his words.

He’s right, so very right.

I look down at our linked hands, it feels warm, tender, and the way his thumb runs over my hand as if to be forgiven, it’s so soft, have anyone ever given me such delicate attention before? It must be something that belongs only between fated, or maybe it’s a Hoseok thing.

I smile and look up to his eyes as he gazes at me in concern, one hand freed so that I can remove the hair from his forehead before cupping his cheek, my soul feels comforted and soothed when he leans into my touch, he looks like a puppy right now, a cute little puppy.

“Thank you for worrying about me, Hoseok, you’re very kind, you know that, don’t you? Your words did not harm me, nor did you, I’m fine” I tell him, watch as he stills before smiling back lightly, eyes closing as he nudges his face into my hand more, it’s adorable and I can’t resist it when I lean forward to kiss his nose, his blush absolutely endearing as it spreads over his cheeks, I kiss it a second time, just because he hasn’t moved away.

To have this kind of contact with a mate, to be able to show him how willing I am to love, just how it is that I intend to love, it’s exactly what I’ve been dreaming of for so long, it feels wonderful to hold him between my hands, his warmth and softness at the mercy of my finger tips.

“Now while I hate to break this moment because it’s absolutely lovely to look at… am I the only one currently smelling smoke? As if something’s burning?” Jin asks all of a sudden and…

I gasp, just now remembering a very important detail, eyes widening and meeting Hoseok’s quickly blinking ones before I let go of him, body jumping off the couch in a second before I start running direction the door at the back of the house, one that leads to the outside patio where I’d put the food to be cooked in the barbecue.

I pray that it’s nothing I can’t recover, maybe the smell is misleading and it’s nothing bad after all but when I push the door open to see beyond it, when my eyes catch sight of a black cloud seeping out of the grill, the smell of smoke even stronger from here, a panicked whine gets stuck in the back of my throat as I try to think of what to do next, this is bad!

“Damn it!” I exclaim before hurrying to turn it off, it doesn’t matter that I need to walk through the smoke, eyes burning to reach that goal, my first reflex is to make sure everything remains safe for my mates because I did not invite them here only for them to get hurt but before I can make one step into the toxic cloud, an arm sneaks around my front and pulls me back into a large chest just as Yoongi makes careful steps towards the barbecue to turn it off with a towel over his nose, the others nearby and ready to act in case anything happens.

We all hear the click of the heat being turned off and once that done, once Yoongi steps away from the smoke and near Jin who proceeds to have a look at him to make sure he’s fine, we all stare at the mess in silence as we process that dinner is now ruined.

Why did this happen? I took the time to inform myself properly to make sure it would be a success, it would’ve been so good, yet here it is, the high quality meat I had gotten for them good for trash, the veggies and potatoes most definitely incinerated, I really messed up good.

“Are you okay? Please don’t do something so reckless next time, you can’t approach smoke without any protection like you did, it’s very bad for your lungs, you didn’t breathe any in, did you?” I hear Namjoon ask as he turns me around and when I look up at him with a teary-eyed pout, he freezes at the sight before smiling softly.

“Oh darling, it’s okay, we can find something else to eat, it’s okay, don’t cry it’s just food”.

At his words, every eyes fall on me and it doesn’t take too long before Jimin teleports to my side, Taehyung on the other with their hands rubbing my arms, why am I the one being comforted right now when I could’ve burnt down the house? A propane tank blowing up is going to fill my dreams tonight.

“Hyung is right, Y/N, we can find something else to eat, it’s alright, let’s go back inside, okay?”.

I nod my head and wipe my eyes with one hand, orbs looking back at the grill one last time as they lead me to the door, heart in shambles because… I’m sorry for ruining your sacrifice, dear animal… I’m so sorry.

---

“Why is he carrying so many bags? Why are there so many bags? How much did she order? What’s in there? Dead bodies?”.

I chuckle as I listen to Jungkook share his observations from the living room’s window, the restaurant I called to replace the dinner I failed in doing going above and beyond my expectations when they heard my name, they must have thrown in a few freebies to make my heart swoon, it might just work if my mates like the food.

I open the door as the delivery man reaches it and I watch as his eyes widen at me, didn’t he know he was bringing food to one of the Dolce? His poor heart is drumming for survival, it sounds uncomfortable.

He baffles little sounds that I’m not really sure are supposed to be words before he starts handing the bags over but Jungkook and Jimin grab them before I can make a move and the vampire’s eyes widen even more when he notices our similar white strands as they run to the table with amazed shouts because the bags are that heavy - it has to be dead bodies, Jungkook is… forty percent sure of it.

Fully aware that there’s quite a sight behind me at the moment, most likely in the form of five men standing fiercely behind me because I can see as the poor delivery guy shrinks to the point that he doesn’t even dare look at me anymore, I smile and get my wallet out to grab a stack of paper money, more than what the food requires, then hand it to him.

“Listen carefully to what I’m going to say, okay? I have enough contacts to be able to find you in the blink of an eye, so if you say anything to anyone, and I mean anyone, about what you’re seeing here, it doesn’t matter where you flee, I will hunt you down before taking you to Court where you will regret every single morning you opened your eyes with the knowledge that you exposed something precious before I could do it myself, do you understand?”.

He desperately nods his head and accepts the money with shaking hands, orbs quivering in his eye sockets when he takes in just how much it is I’ve given him, am I bribing him? Yes I am, he’s being bribed by a Dolce into keeping his mouth shut.

“I-I haven’t seen anything, n-nothing at all so you s-shouldn’t w-worry, I don’t know what there is to s-say when all I saw is D-Dolce Y/N alone at home, nothing t-there, e-enjoy the food!” he stutters out heavily before bowing lowly and when he runs back to his car, eager to get as far away from here as possible, I close the door with a satisfied noise leaving my throat.

I love it when they understand quickly and make no move to resist. Maybe it’s because they know that I can truly ruin their life if I want to. Any harm done to my mates would be enough to make me want to ruin every single culprits without even a second of hesitation.

“... that was pretty hot, I never thought I would ever see something like that from up close but it’s really cool” Jin chirps happily, his eyes glistening with pride.

It’s still hard to believe that he has the Dolce Y/N keeping his coven safe, a coven she might very well become part of eventually, soon he hopes, but he’s bathing in the reality offered to him, he accepts it with arms wide open.

I put my wallet away and grin before walking past them and to the table where the two young vampires are currently freaking out over the amount of food I got, eyes wide and lips parted in shock because that’s the kind of food that belongs in rich restaurants, not the ones they can afford.

They’re going to have to get used to that one, because from now on, that’s what they’ll get every single day - quality food, I’ll be coming over with groceries whenever I can.

“Can you really trust his words? What if he says something later?” Taehyung asks as he joins my side, a valid question, but Hoseok speaks up before I can.

“Then he goes to Court for having purposefully brought harm to a coven’s well being and security despite having been asked not to. For every facet of our life that gets affected by his actions and words, it becomes to him a penalty that he’s going to have to fix.

In such a situation, he couldn’t possibly fix anything so it’s the same as becoming stuck in a prison, all for what, because he saw someone’s mates? That would be ridiculous, I’m sure he knows too. He got money out of it so he’s going to keep his mouth shut and have a good meal at the end of the day”.

I whistle, impressed and Hoseok’s chest pushes out slightly, much to our delight and amusement, he’s not very discreet but it’s an endearing charm to have. Yoongi wraps an arm around his shoulders with a pretty smile that makes my heart melt before he turns his gaze to me.

“Hobah is almost a law graduate, he’s completing an internship in a law firm at the moment so he knows a lot about that kind of thing, he’s very smart, the top of his class, he’s too modest when it comes to his skills”.

Oh? “Really now? Any preferences you have? What kind of tasks do you see yourself taking care of once you graduate?” I ask him, interested to hear more about his job as the others start heading to the table to help Jimin and Jungkook because they can be seen drooling and Jin fears it getting all over the food, such good food cannot be attacked that way.

Hoseok shrugs a little and Yoongi nudges his neck with a kiss, a sight that has my guts pinching because I wish I could receive that kind of attention too, although I know that right now is too early.

I hope they feel that comfortable with me soon, my affection-starved body longs for such a touch and I don’t know how long I can remain proud without begging for at least a hug, I don’t want to look pitiful in their eyes.

“I don’t really have any preferences, to be honest. I just want to work with a good salary so I can help Namjoon in supporting our coven, he’s been handling most of the heavy costs that run after us because he currently has the best job out of all of us and I want to share his burden”.

Namjoon smiles softly at that, his eyes shooting hearts for the vampire who seems bashful about the loving attention he’s getting, he’s just stating facts but he knows that it means a lot to their coven leader, they all know that he’s tired.

I hum at his words, a reality that makes my soul twist for them, they’ve all been working hard, haven’t they? So hard. This is when I feel blessed that I never had to worry about money in that way, my problems were on the opposite side of the spectrum.

Too much of it and you find annoying flies sticking to your skin all the time.

I observe as Jin gathers enough glasses from the kitchen for everyone before bringing my gaze back to Namjoon’s impressive side profile. “What job do you do, Namjoon? If you don’t mind me asking” I ask, the man looks at me as he sets a plate down at one of the seats.

“I’m an assistant at a medium sized company, I do a bit of everything and… yeah, it’s not a bad job, it pays well” he answers simply but I can see it on his face, it’s so obvious in his voice, misery, a whole lot of misery.

“Who do you work for?”. He sighs before turning back to the table to continue distributing the plates evenly. “CreditExpert”.

I hum with a slow nod of the head, yeah, that explains everything then.

They’re reputed for keeping the lower employees in a low position while giving the higher ones to whoever they like, family, friends, it doesn’t matter if they’re good at their jobs or not. It’s not a good company, he must’ve been doing the worst tasks out of every possible tasks.

“You must have been looking for a new job then” I state casually, a few heads raise at that, all except Namjoon who instead frowns lightly before nodding slowly. “I’ve been thinking about it”.

“Why? You must be so near to a promotion by now, you said it yourself recently, do you not like it there?” Jimin asks, he didn’t see that one coming, they all thought Namjoon was proud of his job so why does he look so dejected right now?

I click my tongue at that, it gets their attention. “A promotion? Unless Namjoon is part of the Council’s family or close friends, that promotion won’t happen. They keep their bigger money among themselves, they’re not known to take good care of the lower half of their employees”.

Bodies stop moving as minds process and I start coming up with an idea, fingers drumming on my skin as I slowly make my way to Namjoon.

There are two possible ways as to how Solar could react to this. One… she’s happy, because it means more time with her mate, more rest and less responsibilities. Two… she gets mad, because she takes it as me wanting to see my mate more than I want to see her.

Either way… we do need a second secretary, she’s overwhelmed and I can’t make her follow me everywhere all the time like this, she’s given up too much of her life for me.

“Now, Namjoon, you tell me if that’s me once more going too far. I’ve been… in need of a second personal assistant for a while now, Solar is a good worker but she doesn’t get a lot of time off work, she doesn’t spend a lot of time with her mate and I’ve always felt bad about it, but she’s the kind of worker that when also a friend, will take it upon herself to make sure I don’t end up doing more than I should, so in that sense, she’s been overworking, I’m pretty sure of that.

You can take time thinking about it, you don’t have to give me an answer now or you can refuse right away, it’s your decision. As one of my mates, I trust you a lot more than I will ever trust a stranger, and seeing as you already work in that kind of field, you would be familiar to most of the tasks needing to be done, Solar would guide you as well so what would you think about working for me?”.

His eyes snap to mine instantly, in disbelief, but also in hope, I can see the desire in his orbs as if it were my own, I smile before adding an additional explanation that I feel is important he knows now rather than later, I wouldn’t want him to regret agreeing too quickly.

“You have to be aware that where I go, you go as well so it’s possible that I take you away from your coven at times, but it won’t be all the time. When I go abroad, I only need one person by my side, Solar and you can determine who stays behind whenever it happens, I don’t mind, as long as someone stays at the company to make sure that everything keeps running well in my absence.

And before you start wondering if this is favoritism - it is a little bit, yes, I’m recruiting you because you’re my mate - but this is not the kind of position I want to give to just anyone. I chose Solar myself all those years ago, I’m doing the same with you, anyone complaining about this is not part of my work family, you can ignore those people”.

I expect for him to take some time to think about it but I am not disappointed when he quickly nods his head at me like taking any longer would give me time to change my mind.

“I’ll take it, I’ll do it” Namjoon answers without hesitation, his posture proud, he’s glowing, and when the others cheer at his answer because “If you had refused, I would have kicked you there myself, you lucky bear”, it makes me chuckle, I guess it’s taken rather well then?

“You really think he would have refused upon learning that he’ll have to follow you everywhere? If anything, that only convinced him even more that he needs that job” Yoongi tells me with a grin, I can only chuckle in answer as I observe the way Jungkook jumps on the tall man for a celebration hug, face peppered in kisses as Namjoon hugs him back tightly with a dimple smile, they’re adorable.

“Hoseok” I call out next, the vampire startles before turning his head towards me with round, confused eyes.

“If you ever want to work at Dolce Inc., let me know. I might not be able to give you an assured position, Eunwoo takes care of the law matters for my company, including the employees so it’s not really within my control, but I can at least assure you an interview, you’d have to prove to him that you can be part of the group yourself but we could definitely do with someone like you on our side”.

“Ohhhhhh, Hobi hyung also got recruited by our great, pretty mate, how lucky!” Jimin croons as he wiggles his eyebrows at the blushing man, but the nod of the head I get is firm, I can see that he will definitely think about it and that’s enough to me.

I smile at Jimin’s comment and shake my head. “I only recruit people who I know will do well, I have a good judgement when it comes to people, I’ve never been wrong about someone in all of my life” I praise myself and Taehyung stares at Jin.

“She’s just like you, hyung, she flatters herself”.

“And that’s wonderful, she’s allowed to flatter herself”.

“Oh? Does that mean you’re allowed too? What does it take to be allowed to flatter oneself?”.

“Skills, of course, it takes skills”.

“... so only Y/N should be allowed then”.

“... Yah! What are you insinuating?!”.

Taehyung bursts into giggles before running my way, it takes me by surprise when he grabs my arms from behind me to use me as a shield but I’m more than willing to protect him from the man whose ears are red like a tomato when he comes over, my arms under the playful man’s control when he raises them to threaten Jin.

“Beware, young vampire, my body is not under my control and you might get hurt if you do anything that appears dangerous” I warn him, words that have Taehyung laughing giddily to himself as he makes me move to match what I’m saying, the others all smile at the sight gracing their eyes, even Jin, he can’t help it.

“How terrifying… I guess I’ll have to… keep my distances then, that would definitely be safer” he muses while remaining exactly where he is but I nod my head in satisfaction nonetheless because I managed to keep the danger away from my mate, didn’t I? Why do I feel so proud? He wasn’t even in danger to begin with!

“A good decision, you shall remain safe then” I hum happily, soul and heart the happiest they’ve ever been as I gaze the seven mates around me, smiles on every faces, futures that can now progress side by side, would they ever merge one day?

I hope they do, I want my life to become one with theirs, I want to be part of what they have so dearly.